Whether they are database administrators, network analysts, or site technicians working directly with faculty and students, the increased reliance on technology demands dedicated and knowledgeable IT staff. Juxtaposed with a decline in available applicants: over 49% of public schools responding to a recent National Center for Education Statistics (opens in a new tab) reported at least one non-teaching staff vacancy – this is a recipe for staff and students not being able to reliably access technology tools when there are technical staff shortages.
Regardless of why shortages occur, retaining valuable employees who are already part of the team is a critical focus. Open tech positions and high absenteeism rates leave help desk tickets unaddressed or delayed. Teachers unable to receive timely assistance because of a malfunctioning projector or connecting a laptop to the Internet add to frustration and force on-the-fly changes to excellent, technology-rich lesson plans. And if they can’t trust their technology, they often give up and revert to low-tech learning experiences for students, further exacerbating learning loss.
Taking the time to conduct internship interviews can be especially beneficial for a school district.
How internship interviews can help
Honoring the voices and contributions of staff is an important component of any equity initiative. To help understand why great staff stay, Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) Business Services Department leaders have embarked on a series of tenure interviews. Modeled after the traditional exit interview, we asked, “Why wait until great people leave to figure out how we can motivate them to stay?”
During these interviews, small and large group discussions connect staff with department leaders to gain insight into what they like about their jobs and why they stay in the district (and what would make them leave). Suggestions for better recruiting, welcoming, and onboarding minority employees are also collected.
Maximizing attractors and minimizing detractors is the name of the game; Knowing what these are is the first step.
The MDUSD Process
In-stay interviews take place after the workday at local restaurants with snacks and a cozy atmosphere. Including half a dozen department leaders and 20 to 30 employees, the events incorporate low-stress but structured activities that anonymize and randomize participant feedback.
During the 90 minutes, participants from IT and other business services departments consider discussion questions and written responses, such as:
- What do you love about your job?
- If there was one thing you could change about your job, what would it be?
- Why do you stay in this position/district?
- As you think about your onboarding, is there anything that could have been different to improve the transition to our Business Services team?
- What are your leaders doing really well to make you feel welcome, appreciated, and valued?
- If you identify as a “minority” (person of color, LGBTQ+, etc.), do you feel welcome in MDUSD? Follow up: What could MDUSD do to better recruit people from underrepresented groups and/or make them feel more welcome and cared for?
Graph paper on the walls, sticky notes on the tables, and a low-stress environment allow participants to contribute honest answers.
What we learned and next steps
One of our ‘Ahas’ was that open and effective communication is what keeps our employees engaged and feeling part of the organization. For example, our IT staff reports: “Keep us informed of what is happening in our department and the most important news in the district, even if you think we are not interested.”
TI team members say they stay in our district for a number of reasons, including proximity to home, outstanding benefits, a belief that they make a difference, and their overall joy and satisfaction in helping our students and staff. They recognize that historically their colleagues in the IT department have not been as diverse or representative of our student population as they would like, and have offered suggestions on how to hire with an equity mindset and intentionally hire qualified, student-like staff. and the staff they serve.
Best practices for facilitating internship interviews
– Begin by selecting participants who have been with the district for three to nine years.. These people are still fairly new, have a greater ability to move to another district, and may not be fully enrolled in the retirement system. If there are not many staff in this range of experience, include others from operations departments to ensure a safer environment and broader feedback.
– Encourage attendees to be open and honest.. Start with a 15-20 minute brainstorm on sticky notes, with each idea having its own sticky note to collect multiple ideas. Once the sticky notes are attached to their corresponding question page, have a facilitator group the ideas into columns of similar suggestions and share each out loud to validate each idea, while seeking clarification where necessary.
– Take the time to acknowledge the exchangeand discuss next steps so employee suggestions can result in deliberate leadership action.
– Be open to letting your team tell you how they did it. In a recent stay interview, a staff member shared: “I felt valued and cared for, not to mention he took me to an inexpensive place with great food..” Another added, “I appreciate being asked for my opinion and I feel like they really listened to me..”
While there is never a one-size-fits-all approach to recruiting and retaining great staff, adding tenure interviews to our arsenal has helped us better connect with staff to learn why they stay and how we can continue to value their incredible contributions.
