Building strong relationships with our academy Principals is absolutely essential for the effective running of recruitment at Leigh Academies Trust. With them being the leaders of the academies we recruit for, we have constant communication with them to determine their needs and recruit accordingly. This involves daily or weekly communication with them either via phone calls, emails or face to face meetings – whatever form of communication we use, we make sure we have a clear understanding of their recruitment needs.
We are fortunate to have such dedicated Principals who are heavily invested in the recruitment process to ensure they are appointing the best possible staff, whether this is a teaching assistant or head of department – each member of staff is vital to the success of the academy. An important ingredient in the process which can set us apart from other sectors, is being able to open our academy doors to accommodate visits and also arrange telephone calls to discuss roles further, in order to provide a clearer insight for our candidates. This allows potential candidates to see the academies in action, what they have to offer and what to expect from the role they are applying for.
With the view to improving our service even further and gain an understanding of how we can work even better with our academies, we have requested feedback from each Principal as we approach our busiest time of the year – the May resignation deadline! Positive feedback was given based on our constant communication and always being at the end of the phone for guidance and answering queries. With trust being built within our relationships, our Principals are confident in taking our advice and following recruitment strategies in order to successfully fill their vacancies. From this feedback, we also know that our Principals appreciate the constant updates, reminders and check-ins for all things recruitment within their academy.
Whilst it is incredibly important to have strong, professional relationships with our Principals, it is also vital to be able to get to know them on a personal level. For example, I had a great conversation with one of my Principals the other day about panic rooms and the fact he has completed over 400 of them! This helps to create an empowered working environment and creates a deeper sense of responsibility and drive as you have also gotten to know the individual you are working with, rather than it just being a name on an email.
Developing these strong relationships ultimately helps the recruitment process as it allows us to have a better understanding of their needs and how they work. Becoming comfortable with them also encourages us to ask more questions to get to know their academies better and recruit the very best candidates for our academies!
