With the introduction of performance-related pay (PRP), an increase in responsibility measures and workload, changes to pension and national insurance, a decrease in subsidizing and the shifting sands of performance tables, it isn’t an understatement to say that the current ‘employment deal’, or in HR terms, the psychological contract’ of the teaching profession has changed. The psychological contract of economies past i.e. an occupation for life has gone. The psychological contract of today compensates performance over administration and employability over devotion. Teacher pay is presently linked to performance as opposed to the length of service and increasingly includes the ‘justification’ of larger than appropriate salaries
The impact of these shifts on schools and school enhancement is critical. In spite of the fact that school heads are working to influence positive change in the sector over the long term, the pace of progress implies that it will require time to feel the impact of this the corridors of the schools. While MATs face indistinguishable difficulties from their maintained counterparts, they are better set to influence long-term sustainable change from the ‘inside out’ whilst at the same time mitigating the effect of the ‘outside in’. Whilst teachers may be disillusioned with their profession, MATs have the ability to shape their employment and working practices to provide schools in which teachers are enabled, supported and excited to teach. MATs should use the freedoms afforded to them to construct, articulate and maintain their own organizational psychological contract.
The psychological contract is the ‘silent partner’ of the employment contract however it is different in that it is unwritten and subjective. It is focused around the worker's desires of the employer and how they hold up their end of the ‘employment deal’. These expectations relate to areas such as reward, recognition, development and progression, security, management support, flexibility and work/life balance and autonomy, fair treatment and trust. The administration of the mental contract is vital to positive work connections and the assistance of worker decision so as to enhance enlistment and maintenance.
Here are my some tips on how MATs can evaluate, impart and moderate their authoritative mental contracts:
Dig into the data
To enhance recruitment and retention, you have to comprehend the local landscape that your MAT possesses. Dive into the turnover information with the goal that you can distinguish the pain points your MAT. Is it attraction or retention? Is it location or legacy? Is it reputation or competition? Is it strategy or process? Is it money or marketing? Do they feel supported with the sufficient training and development opportunities? Ask staff what it likes to work for your MAT. Find out what keeps them working for you and what stops them applying for other jobs.
Root yourself in your reality
To get a truthful and complete image of the current psychological contract of your MAT, you should be objective. Look at your MAT policies, salary scales, performance management processes, benefits, training packages, and progression routes. Decide how competitive your employment deal is and how far it goes to address the issues of your MAT as well as the desires for your staff. Think about whether it is reflective of your ethos and culture. Consider what your staff has told you and recognize any inconsistencies. Identify what you believe is going well but in reality, is falling flat and either fix it or get rid of it.
Build trust with consistency
Irregularity is the death knell of the psychological contract. In the event that any of your pioneers work in a path in spite of your MAT mission, vision and qualities it will be observed. From the moment that staff joins your MAT, they are constantly yet often unconsciously assessing whether leaders do what they say they will honor the promises they make, lead by example and apply policy fairly and consistently. The consistency of behaviors all throughout the layers of the MAT is just as essential as consistency of policy. External influences might drive change and you may need to do things you would prefer not to do however regardless of anything else, you and your staff are on a similar side. Your staff needs to trust that you will do your best to treat them reasonably and if for any reason a promise needs to be broken, that not only you will be honest but that you will be supportive.
You don’t need to be better, just be different
Before you recruit, invest time in job design. When recruitment goes wrong, it tends to be before it has begun so don’t just dust off the old job description, person specification and advert. It's in employment structure that the psychological contract is developed to do it consciously and creatively. It's where you can not only plan for the future as well as assess the present and learn from the past. Reflect where the job fits in your structure and whether it’s an attractive and do-able job. Each role has its perks and its quirks so be up front and where you can, balance them out. Don’t just do this at school level either, look across your MAT in terms of opportunity and progression. Remember, progression doesn’t have to mean ‘upwards’. If you can define progression differently in your MAT, you can expand your talent pool and your organizational capacity.
Get performance management right
In your MAT, this procedure is where the psychological contract is at its most vulnerable. It’s the only process aside from management that spans all the employee expectations we covered earlier; reward, recognition, development, progression, fair treatment, autonomy, and trust. It shouldn't facilitate under the table spending cuts, nor should it be autonomy and trust. It shouldn't to be a procedure in its own right. Some observe performance-related pay as an accountability measure but within your MAT it should to be about development, limit assembling and enhancing the nature of educating i.e. .e. a force for good rather than a blunt instrument of punishment. This way, not only will you get more from your staff, they will be more than happy to give. As a MAT, the training and development of your central and leadership teams is just as crucial as they will need to be both competent and confident using the systems and processes your MAT puts in place to monitor school performance and implement successful school improvement strategies.
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