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HR Partnering

Writer: Laura Mitchelson
Laura Mitchelson
Oct 2
2 min read


What We Know About Human Resources in Schools

  • 70-80% of international school budgets spent on human capital

  • Managing human capital often falls to Directors and Heads of School

  • Strategic plans target retention, wellbeing, inclusion and innovation

  • Schools need HR to cover compliance, salaries and immigration plus drive recruitment and retention


HR Partnering delivers on all this without the expense of full-time hires.


What is HR Partnering?

Experienced HR professionals, working on site or virtually, as an extension of the school team. They deliver targeted, strategic support that gives the school ‘just in time’ support.


Why It Works

1.     Effective management of human capital is complex and requires a creative, systems thinking approach to culture, engagement, succession planning, leadership transition, recruitment, retention, and risk management.

2.     The range of work demanded from HR now means a 1–2-person team can’t usually deliver to the standards of excellence demanded by international schools.

3.     The ecosystem of vendors supplying recruitment, executive search, leadership training, PD, medical insurance, crisis management, information systems, tech platforms, coaching, and strategic culture programs has grown exponentially, making it almost impossible to keep up with all the options.

4.     HR Partners develop the strategic HR capabilities of the internal team by transferring knowledge and expertise, mentoring staff and sharing templates, protocols, mechanisms, calendars, frameworks and tools.


What HR Partners Do:

·       Strategic People and Culture Planning that align to the strategic plan

·       Cost Control (cost per hire, attrition, absence, time to competence, engagement)

·       Change Management

·       Crisis Planning and Procedures

·       Policy Reviews and Rewrites

·       Salaries and Benefits (scales, benchmarking, communication)

·       Recruitment (JDs, interviews, assessments, candidate communication)

·       Induction and Onboarding

·       Reward and Recognition Programs

·       Appraisals (performance reviews, evaluations, rollout plans)

·       Mediation, Mentoring, Coaching

·       Leadership Development (competencies, 360s, transitions)

 
 
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