SIMON scholen was looking for teachers, in a market where almost every school group is after the same people. By recruiting proactively and in a modern way, the foundation still found 6 new colleagues.
Recruiting staff in education is no easy task these days. That is why SIMON scholen tackles it in several ways: proactively pursuing recruitment and moving with the times. That is how the foundation still found 6 new colleagues.
Bayram Uysal
HR Adviser at SIMON scholen
SIMON, a foundation for Islamic-based education in the central and eastern Netherlands, is looking for teachers. That comes with several challenges, says HR adviser Bayram Uysal.
SIMON was mainly looking for primary school teachers. A challenge, as it turned out, because almost every school group is looking for them these days. On top of that, the schools within SIMON are spread over a very large area in the central and eastern Netherlands. That makes it difficult to share staff between them.
“That makes it hard to put together a cover policy. You cannot ask someone from Enschede to come and work in Nijmegen or Den Bosch for a day. That kind of travel time is not exactly motivating.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
SIMON is a community of Islamic-based primary schools.
“They are really just ordinary primary schools. We teach maths, reading and writing, for example. On top of that, the norms and values the children learn at home are also upheld at school. But the emphasis is on education.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
In principle, that does not limit the target group, because the teachers do not have to be Muslim.
“Ideally, we would have a 50/50 split. 50% Muslim, 50% non-Muslim. But that would be a luxury. The most important thing is that I find someone who is simply good at teaching.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
Even so, the religious foundation can be a barrier for candidates. Teachers are also scarce, because schools cannot just put anyone in front of a class.
“They really need to have the right qualifications. The schools inspectorate also visits every so often. So as a school group, you have to take this seriously.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
Because recruitment in education can sometimes be a bit more difficult, Bayram and his colleagues found various ways to grow SIMON’s workforce as much as possible. The common thread: moving with the times and recruiting in a modern way.
“We really try to take a good look at ourselves and be a good employer in the broadest sense of the word. We look at how we can improve our terms of employment, which courses we can offer our staff and which training is available. For example, we set up our own SIMON Academy. It allows our teachers to develop in subjects such as language and maths, but also, for example, in dealing with certain behaviour.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
Anyone familiar with recruiting in education probably knows it: when it comes to teachers, the choice is not exactly huge. SIMON decided to deal with that proactively.
“Every school group fishes in the same pond, and that pond is small. That is why we try to enlarge the pond for ourselves by offering training to career changers with a higher professional or university degree. They are then linked to a teacher training institute and can complete a primary teacher training programme through a shortened route in 2 years instead of 4.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
For many career changers, that proved an attractive option, but it is not a miracle cure.
“You do need the capacity for it, because these people also need to be supervised. We do not always have that at the moment.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
Alongside these solutions, Bayram also decided to actively search for staff on social media and to outsource recruitment through RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing). That is how he started working with Pro Contact. Together with interim recruitment and job marketing, RPO played an important role in this modern way of recruiting.
“We specifically look for people who are already working somewhere, but are ready for a new challenge. We need to trigger them.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
So far, the campaign has generated plenty of traction: it has already had lots of clicks and has resulted in 6 new colleagues. The foundation is well on its way to filling its workforce.
The best thing about RPO? For Bayram, above all, it takes work off his hands.
“I was kept well informed throughout the process, the communication is pleasant and my contact person is in direct contact with the various head teachers. That saves me a lot of work.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
Bayram is very busy, but he still really enjoys working at SIMON scholen.
“I really feel like a fish in water here. I truly feel part of the organisation. I am always working on innovations and opportunities. This partnership was an example of that. What else can we do, instead of the things we have been doing for years? The world around us is changing, so our recruitment tactics are changing too.”
Bayram Uysal, HR adviser at SIMON scholen
At SIMON scholen, RPO made the difference.
6
new colleagues
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