Employee Engagement: How to Audit School Culture and Staff Well-being
In schools, employee engagement is a crucial component for creating a thriving, productive learning environment. This post is designed to assist UK school leaders and educational professionals in understanding and fostering employee engagement. We'll discuss the critical role of senior leadership, delve into the ten pillars of employee engagement specific to education, explore various levels of staff engagement, and look at how to identify signs of this disengagement.
The Role of Senior Leadership in Fostering Engagement
Before delving into the pillars of engagement, it's important to understand the vital role of senior leadership in schools. Senior leaders, as the main drivers of school culture, hold the responsibility of embedding engagement into the ethos of the institution. Their approach to leadership, communication, and advocacy sets the tone for a collaborative and inclusive environment. So how can senior leaders can effectively champion engagement?
Ten Pillars of Employee Engagement in Education
The ten pillars of employee engagement (Dr. Kalindi Kale, Symbiosis Coaching) offer a framework for understanding the essential areas influencing staff morale and productivity. Here are the pillars, alongside how each may apply to educational contexts.
Relationship with Senior Leaders: The rapport between staff and senior leaders significantly influences staff retention and satisfaction.
Job Satisfaction: Creating an environment where educators feel fulfilled and valued.
Well-being: Prioritising the mental, physical, and emotional health of staff members.
Alignment with School Values: Ensuring staff internalise and embody the school’s ethos and objectives.
Workplace Satisfaction: Emphasising fair remuneration, empowerment, and clear role definitions.
Interpersonal Climate: Nurturing positive relationships across different departments and teams.
Feedback Culture: Establishing a norm of regular, constructive feedback.
Recognition: Implementing transparent systems for acknowledging staff achievements and contributions.
Professional Growth: Facilitating career development opportunities for educators.
Ambassadorship: Encouraging staff to become advocates for the school, indicative of high engagement levels.
Understanding and implementing these pillars is crucial for school leaders to foster a positive, engaging, and dynamic educational environment. Each pillar represents an area of focus that can significantly enhance staff engagement and satisfaction.
Levels of Staff Engagement
Understanding the various levels of staff engagement ican help to address their specific needs and motivations. I love this classification of engagement levels, ranging from highly engaged to at-risk staff members.
High Affinity and High Satisfaction: Staff who are both committed to and content with their roles.
High Affinity and Medium Satisfaction: Engaged but potentially underutilised staff.
High Satisfaction and Medium Affinity: Content staff with moderate commitment to the school.
Medium Affinity and Medium Satisfaction: Staff with neutral feelings towards their role and the school.
High Affinity and Low Satisfaction: Committed staff who are dissatisfied with their roles.
High Satisfaction and Low Affinity: Satisfied with their role but not fully committed to the school.
Low Affinity and Low Satisfaction (Risk Zone): Disengaged staff requiring immediate attention.
When assessing staff engagement within an organisation, the green zone in the Engagement Levels Framework – representing 'Engaged' and 'Fully Engaged' employees – is a critical indicator of the health of a school's culture. Should fewer than 75-80% of staff be within this green zone, it signals an urgent need for the prioritisation of engagement strategies. Senior leaders may be tempted to dismiss or justify the significance of these figures, ascribing them to external factors or regarding them as a transient lull. Yet, such an attitude can lead to a culture of complacency and overlooked chances for enhancement.
It is imperative for senior leaders to address this data directly, acknowledging that a predominantly disengaged workforce is apt to experience higher turnover, reduced job satisfaction, and poorer student outcomes. Hence, it is vital for leadership to adopt a proactive approach, scrutinising the root causes and executing focused interventions. Through transparently recognising areas for development and actively striving to boost engagement, senior leaders can manifest their dedication to the well-being of their staff and the triumph of their school. Such measures not only bolster morale but also establish a precedent for a transparent and responsive leadership style, which in itself can be a formidable catalyst for engagement.
Identifying Signs of Disengagement
Recognising early signs of disengagement is critical for preventing wider issues within the school. Key indicators such as increased absenteeism, lowered morale, and high staff turnover can signal a decline in engagement. Have you experienced any of the below in your current or previous setting?
Increased Absenteeism: Regular absence can indicate a lack of engagement or underlying issues.
Reduced Participation in School Activities: A decline in involvement in extracurricular activities or staff meetings.
Lowered Morale and Motivation: Visible lack of enthusiasm or drive in daily activities.
High Staff Turnover: An unusually high rate of staff leaving the school.
Decline in Performance Quality: Noticeable drop in teaching quality or administrative efficiency.
Poor Interpersonal Relationships: Increased conflicts or lack of collaboration among staff.
Resistance to Change: Reluctance or opposition to new initiatives or changes within the school.
Reduced Communication: A decline in open communication and feedback sharing.
Understanding these signs enables school leaders to intervene early and implement strategies to re-engage staff, thereby maintaining a positive and productive school culture.
The Engagement-Attitude-Action Framework
The Engagement-Attitude-Action framework, developed by Symbiosis Coaching explains the interconnectedness of staff engagement, attitudes, and actions in a school setting.
Based on the Engagement-Attitude-Action model, staff attitudes can be categorised into four types, each with distinct characteristics:
Yes-Men/Women: These individuals tend to avoid confrontation and risk, and prefer to remain inconspicuous.
Victims: They often avoid confrontations, retreat inward, are risk-averse, have a short-sighted view, and may acknowledge ideas but remain inactive.
Stars: These staff members are comfortable with change, open to new ideas, optimistic about the future, enjoy being challenged, and are resilient to minor setbacks.
Cynics: They typically exhibit feelings of anger and frustration, are unwilling to listen, overly self-confident, rebellious, and often unsympathetic or apathetic.
The Engagement Levels Framework is a powerful tool for school leaders to assess and improve staff engagement. Understanding the different levels of engagement enables leaders to tailor their strategies to meet the specific needs and motivations of their staff. For instance, staff with high affinity and high satisfaction (the 'Stars') require different support and opportunities compared to those in the 'Risk Zone' of low affinity and low satisfaction. To effectively use this framework, school leaders should first conduct a thorough assessment of their staff's current levels of engagement. This could be done through surveys, one-on-one meetings, and observation.
Once the levels of engagement are understood, targeted interventions can be designed. For 'Stars', the focus should be on providing challenging opportunities and recognising their contributions, thereby nurturing their continued growth and motivation. For those with lower levels of engagement, the approach might involve addressing specific concerns, offering support, and finding ways to reconnect them with the school's values and goals. For example, staff who are satisfied with their role but lack a strong connection to the school (high satisfaction and low affinity) might benefit from team-building activities and initiatives that deepen their understanding of the school's vision and ethos.
Regularly revisiting and reassessing the engagement levels is crucial for continuous improvement. This ongoing process not only helps in maintaining high levels of engagement among the staff but also in identifying and addressing issues before they escalate.
Fostering a culture of engagement in educational settings requires a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of employee engagement. By focusing on the roles of senior leadership, the pillars of engagement, levels of staff engagement, signs of disengagement, and the Engagement-Attitude-Action framework, educational leaders can create a supportive, engaging, and effective environment. This approach not only benefits the institution but also contributes significantly to the well-being and job satisfaction of its staff. The success of a school lies in the engagement and dedication of its educators and staff members, making this, in my mind, an essential focus for all educational leaders.
About This Series
As Shane progresses through his Organisational Development Coaching Certification, this blog series serves as both a record of his educational journey and a practical guide for leaders in international schools. Each article simplifies complex OD principles into actionable insights, specifically tailored for the multifaceted world of international education.
