Lifestageretention
Best Practices in retention
Support from colleagues and administrators is one of the most significant factors in a teacher’s decision to leave.
Therefore, it is critical for organizations to foster a culture based on collaboration, support, and mutual respect. By regularly soliciting and responding to staff feedback, as well as frequently voicing meaningful appreciation for employees, leaders can build a strong community that motivates and retains their staff.
Need more help with designing best practices in retention? Partner with us.plan
Step
1
Calculate Retention Rates
Start by assessing the current state of your retention efforts. How many staff members, including teachers, school leaders, and other staff, are returning each year? Of those that did not return, how many departures were “unwanted” (an employee personally choosing to leave the organization) versus “wanted” (an employee being intentionally let go by your organization)? Calculating your holistic retention rate allows you to understand the scope of your retention challenges, while segmenting by specific subgroups allows you to pinpoint targeted areas of improvement.
RESOURCES
DEIA Callout
Segment attrition rates by demographic factors (e.g. race/ethnicity, gender, age) to identify if staff members of particular identities or subgroups are overrepresented.
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Step
2
Define Success Metrics
Retention rates vary across geographical location and school model, which means a strong retention rate depends on your context. Typically, a retention rate of 80% is considered to be a strong baseline. Defining your success metrics requires assessing your prior year’s data and setting an ambitious but feasible target for improvement. Additional metrics should focus on leading indicators, such as “100% of high-performing staff members participate in a Stay Conversation before Winter Break” and “the Intent to Return survey process is completed by Spring Break.”
DEIA Callout
Set specific retention goals by demographic subgroup, including race/ethnicity, age, gender, tenure, and role groups (i.e. teachers, school leaders, non-instructional staff).
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Step
3
Conduct Root Cause Analysis
Conduct a deeper root cause analysis to allow you to determine any potential trends in employee attrition. Looking at last year’s data, why did each staff member not return? More broadly, do you notice any trends? Root cause analyses should take into account staff feedback survey data, exit survey data, and 1:1 conversations about your organization’s Employee Value Proposition with a representative sample of staff members. After taking all these data into consideration, outline the top 3-5 drivers of attrition and how they are aligned to various employee subgroups.
DEIA Callout
Review your top attrition drivers for potential bias to identify underlying trends in the departure rationale for staff members of various identities.
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Step
4
Leverage Others
The best way to understand the root causes behind retention challenges is to ask your staff. Seek staff members who have chosen to stay and ask them what keeps them at the organization, and alternatively, what would cause them to leave. For staff members who have recently left, find out what triggered them to leave and what could have been done to retain them. Integrate these questions into Stay Conversations, mid-year performance evaluations, exit interviews/surveys, and staff culture surveys.
RESOURCES
DEIA Callout
Ensure you are analyzing data by key demographic indicators and other lines of difference to understand trends specific to a sub-group of team members.
EdFuel can design retention systems and processes for you.