Using technology to increase effectiveness of HR in School Districts

Using technology to increase effectiveness of HR in School Districts H-GAC discussion September 23, 2011 1

HR in school districts plays a critical function “To meet today’s demands for high student achievement, some school districts are beginning to rethink the role their HR departments play in school improvement efforts. School district human resource (HR) offices play a crucial, but often overlooked, role in the success of school improvement efforts because they determine whether qualified teacher and leadership candidates are successfully recruited (and retained), or look elsewhere for work.” Source: Center on Reinventing Public Education 2

Research evidence on the importance of strong principals and teachers is mounting “There is overwhelming evidence that strong leadership in a school can make a real difference in student achievement – indeed, research concludes that “there are virtually no documented instances of troubled schools being turned around without intervention by a powerful leader” and that “the impact of good leadership is greatest in schools where it is most needed” “Research has shown that teacher quality is the single most important variable that schools control in their efforts to provide students with an excellent education. A 2006 analysis of Los Angeles public school data concluded that, “having a top-quartile teacher rather than a bottom-quartile teacher four years in a row may be enough to close the black-white test score gap” Source: Kenneth Leithwood, et al., How Leadership Influences Student Learning, Universities of Minnesota and Toronto, 2004, New Teacher project, Gordon, Kane and Staiger, 2006 3

HR needs to play a multifaceted role. Evaluation Defining teacher and principal effectiveness Sourcing candidates Payroll and compensation Training Selective hiring Developing career pathways On-the-job support and development Source: Wallace foundation Onboarding 4

.Technology can be better utilized “Efforts to reshape district HR to improve its efficiency and effectiveness touch on three critical areas: addressing skill deficits of the HR employees, increasing the responsiveness and power of the department, and investing in technology to better manage information.” “Superintendents and school boards need to recognize that technology investments in HR are not single-shot events – they are open ended and expensive. But without the institutional capacity that information technology provides, HR departments will struggle to respond to demands for change and performance” Technology not a silver bullet, but has significant potential Source: Studies commissioned by the Wallace5foundation

Example technology: Recruiting and talent management system What is reality? What is possible? Posting requisitions when an opening is available Largely manual screening of resumes to filter candidates More automated candidateposition matching that brings the most effective candidates upfront Limited ability to tie back employee performance to recruitment channels Ability to understand where your most effective individuals are coming from Long processing time after candidate passes final interviews Faster processing (e.g., through integrations with third party sites for certification, fingerprinting etc.) Manual intervention for each step in hiring process Building an evergreen ‘pool’ of qualified candidates to recruit from Greater efficiency and better communication through auto-triggers

Case example: EmpowerHR system Vision: Develop a world-class integrated recruiting and employee management system that allows district to strategically use its resources to attract, recruit, and retain the best employees to increase student achievement Preapplicant Applicant Finalist Employee Employee managers District team (outside HR) Recruiters HR employees Applicants 7 Alumni

Case example: Major functionality Following areas are helpful to build scenarios around for a recruitment and talent management system: Provide sourcing support for recruiters Create requisitions and post to sites Interface with applicant Enable effective searching/short listing Manage Interviews Interface with third party sites Conduct reference checks Manage hiring Recruit all employees, not just teachers Ensuring Data integrity/security Effectively manage communications Provide configurability and flexibility Providing reporting and tracking Integrate with enterprise systems 8 Outlined in detail later

Case example: Key requirements (Page 1 of 3) Interface with applicant A potential applicant logs in and is able to create and update their user account via a selfservice interface. He/she can retrieve and/or reset login information, receive HR communications, upload/update resume and resume-related documents such as cover letters, certifications, awards, transcripts, sponsorship history, and transcripts and also upload short presentation videos. Any file uploaded by an applicant is automatically subjected to a virus scan. A potential applicant logs in and is able to submit one resume to a general pool and/or search and apply for specific posted positions. The resume should be parsed by the system and the applicant can confirm the parsed fields. He/she may search for a job by standard key word searches, by job titles only, by job category, by posting date, by education level, and by geographic city area. He/she can save their search criteria, in their user account to reuse at the next login. The applicant can use tools in system to help identify his/her eligibility and suitability for different positions within district. As the applicant uploads information about certifications, the system asks how they obtained their certificate (i.e. ACP program, University, etc.). to move applicants to different stages and connects to sites to test certifications. The system should be able to handle duplicate application submissions 9

Case example: Key requirements (Page 2 of 3) Enable effective searching/ short listing HR personnel and/or hiring managers log in and can search in various ways such as 1) Finding applicants by first name, last name, email, username, certifications and assessment scores 2) Finding new registrants by date range 3) Keyword searches on scanned and stored resumes 4) Short listing candidates based on preferences such as education Level, experience, certifications, and preferred areas of city to work. Searches should pull up information contained in an attachment (even if it is not in the application). HR personnel should be able to create applicant pools or categories that hiring managers can view. The system must be able to capture and screen applicants against minimum job requirements (e.g. job description, willingness to relocate, certifications, and education required). HR managers should be able to create rules for auto scoring questions and/or resume items and be able to immediately see the top candidates on logging in. The system must be able to notify recruiters of qualified candidates that have not applied for a specific job opening. The system must be able to chart preferences of applicants so HR team can help equalize supply. 10

Case example: Key requirements (Page 3 of 3) Providing reporting and tracking HR personnel can log in and view standard reports on process metrics, sourcing metrics, compliance, quality of hire, and hires. In addition, the system should be able to report on – 1) Number of applicants in each stage of the evaluation process – 2) Number of applicants going thru the process by subject/certification level/years of teaching experience etc. of applicants – 3) Listing of prospects by school and city – 4) Analysis of employee performance (e.g., test scores) by where they came from, their pre-screener scores etc. – 5) Standard recruitment metrics such as time to fill, cost per hire, applicant to hire conversion ratio, interview to hire conversion ratio etc. The system should also allow analysis of hiring rate from various third party sites. The system must be able to create custom reports, and save and print reports and export data to external desktop packages. . 11