Best Foot Forward: How to Attract Top Talent in a Candidate’s Market

After slowing considerably through the fourth quarter of 2022, the U.S. labor market has experienced another surge of growth. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers added 517,000 jobs in January, with unemployment at the lowest it has been since 1969.

While this is good news for American workers, it leaves employers navigating a challenging hiring landscape with high competition for candidates. From leveraging compensation to cultivating new recruitment funnels, K-12 organizations will need to be creative to attract, develop and retain the talent they rely on.

Developing Local Pipelines

Research has found that 61% of teachers take their first role in a school within 15 miles of their hometown. Furthermore, 34% opt for a position in the same district in which they attended high school.

Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) was already experiencing a teacher shortage when the pandemic hit. During 2019-20, we maintained 356 teacher vacancies — or 18% of the total teaching staff — throughout the school year. For us, that created significant momentum around recruitment, development, retention and talent cultivation.

This started with helping students of all ages see value in working in the field of education — whether as teachers or administrators. Through our four-year Future Teachers of Odessa program, students in grades 9-12 can earn up to 78 semester credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree in education.

Understanding that many of our future teachers were already living in our catchment area, we knew we needed to be intentional about nurturing local talent.

Addressing Systemic Barriers

We also concentrated energy around programs that can address licensure and process barriers for prospective educators.

ECISD is one of three public school districts in Texas authorized to certify and license teachers. Through our educator preparation program (EPP), candidates can teach on an intern certificate while completing a research-based training pathway to earn their standard certificate.

Similarly, our full-year residency allows university students to replace the traditional, unpaid student teaching route with a salaried role under the mentorship of a highly effective educator.

By identifying hurdles to pursuing teaching — such as a lack of structured, compensated training — school districts can expand access for young professionals.

Paying Attention to What Candidates Care About

One of the simplest ways to improve the search process is by paying attention to what candidates value most.

At ECISD, we found that salary was weighted much higher than benefits for early career teachers. We used this insight to restructure our compensation package, directing the maximum amount of resources toward paying an attractive wage.

Districts should regularly assess their offerings to ensure that compensation remains competitive with the market value — and responds to candidates’ priorities.

Investing in Development and Coaching

Alongside compensation, candidates are highly motivated by access to personal and professional development.

At ECISD, we offer an instructional model for teachers that blends observation, feedback and real-time coaching. We provide executive coaching for administrators. And we support staff pursuing certifications, licensure or credentials.

Talent development is likely to look slightly different for every district, but our conversations with prospective educators and executives repeatedly demonstrate how important it is.

This is particularly true today. Previously, teacher development was designed around the assumption that an individual might teach for thirty years within the same system. However, contemporary educators often aspire to move more frequently between roles, organizations and even careers. Investing in how we develop and sustain talent allows teachers to perform at the highest level possible — whether for decades or just a few years.

Leveraging New Opportunities

The pandemic introduced new challenges to our education system. But it also allowed us to re-examine if there were better ways to meet the needs of our students.

At ECISD, the transition to remote learning helped us uncover new ways to leverage virtual tools. While most teachers and students have returned to the classroom, we have solved a long-term tutor shortage by moving these positions online.

Through our Opportunity Culture program, we have also introduced a strategic staffing model whereby highly-skilled teachers can split their time between coaching peers and classroom instruction.

The ways we do business are evolving, and school systems must look for new ways to find and deploy talent. People are drawn to systems that do interesting and unique work. Districts should ensure they are being as innovative as possible in their workforce planning and development — and communicate that priority when they market their positions.

The Path Ahead

School districts will continue to operate within a tight labor market in the months ahead. As administrators, we must be flexible, agile and open-minded with the incentives we use to attract skilled employees to our organizations.

In the case of ECISD, the strategic investments we’ve made in human capital have paid dividends. Since introducing new pipelines, rethinking our compensation and development models and pivoting based on lessons learned during COVID-19, we have reduced our vacancies by over 85%. As of May 2022, the district had 51 teacher vacancies and was at a 98% fill rate.

Traditional recruitment funnels miss the opportunity to engage new people in the profession — to the detriment of our districts and our students. The journey to becoming a teacher is changing. By creating multiple pathways to hire and retain talent, we can meet this new reality head-on.