Better benefits could help alleviate educator turnover

Key points:

When talking about compensation packages for public school employees, conversations often center around salaries. TO recent Pew Research Center survey It was found that only 15 percent of teachers are extremely or very satisfied with their salary. Further, recent NEA studies concluded that even if salaries increase, it is not happening fast enough to keep up with inflation, with teachers and education support professionals (ESPs) earning 5.3 percent and 10 percent less than a decade ago, respectively.

According to the NEA, 54 percent of ESPs reported having severe or moderate problems making a living and more than a quarter said they participate in or use assistance programs. What's more, Pew found that only one-third of teachers are extremely or very satisfied with their benefits options.

Persistently lower salaries and poor benefits are likely among the culprits behind another troubling figure in Pew's findings: 29 percent of teachers say they are likely to look for a new job in the next school year, and 40 percent of those teachers seek to leave the field altogether. And while these levels of dissatisfaction paint a bleak picture for today's school workforce, they actually point to areas that school districts can reevaluate to ensure educators have a competitive and supportive comprehensive compensation package.

Here are some steps that human resources leaders within school districts should take now to make their benefits a more valuable part of the total rewards package:

Meet employees where they are

Today's K-12 workforce is diverse. Zippia Demographics shows that 59 percent of teachers are over 40 years old, 28 percent are between 30 and 40 years old, and 12 percent are under 30 years old. The generational divide creates variable values ​​and needs. On the one hand, there are teachers who buy a home or a car for the first time. On the other hand, there are teachers who send their children to university or even prepare for retirement.

To meet different needs, it is time for district leaders to reimagine total reward benefits packages as an a la carte model. Just as students can choose from multiple options in the lunch line, employees have access to a list of benefits from which they can create the plan that best fits their individual needs. For example, younger employees are interested in the flexibility to opt for benefits that can meet immediate, short-term needs, such as emergency savings programs and student loan repayment. Alternatively, more senior employees are interested in a more simplified benefits package, such as retirement planning, estate planning, and accident and illness coverage.

Outside of a la carte plans, school districts can rethink how they support improving teacher skills. A study by the Economic Policy Institute It was found that only 28 percent of teachers receive reimbursement for attending conferences and workshops, where they have valuable opportunities to present their work and share best practices with other teachers. Benefits like tuition reimbursement for continuing education make it easier for faculty, professors, and staff to complete graduate work and move into administration or take their learning back to the classroom.

Provide support between benefit renewal cycles.

On average, it takes school districts 3-5 years to reevaluate benefit packages. These gaps can leave staff without support as their needs evolve. Instead of sidelining conversations about benefits outside of these renewal periods, districts should consider voluntary benefits they can introduce throughout the year. These offerings make it easier for employees to find solutions to the problems they face today.

Voluntary benefits, such as employee purchasing programs, bill payment programs, and more, can be implemented at any time and often at no or low cost to provide more options for staff and offer support between renewal cycles. In particular, employee purchasing programs can relieve employees between pay cycles when they need to purchase major appliances in case one breaks, or tires in case one goes flat. These programs allow employees to spread payments over multiple paychecks without additional interest instead of using credit frequently. Furthermore, its implementation does not entail any cost for the employer.

Make the most of current benefits

While it is important for districts to ensure their benefits package reflects staff needs, utilization of benefits is also important. TO MetLife Study 2024 found that 62 percent of employees are not completely sure they know all the benefits available to them and 45 percent of workers do not fully understand their benefits package. Additionally, only 18 percent of employers say their company managers are well equipped and comfortable discussing benefits with employees. To overcome this obstacle, HR leaders must continually educate workers about available benefits before open enrollment and throughout the year.

Districts must also reimagine how they approach communicating benefits to employees. According to the MetLife study, 50 percent of employees said they would like to receive email reminders, while 49 percent said they wanted access to an online portal/website or video resources/podcasts. Much of the information needed to answer common questions is available through benefit partners. To ensure that faculty, professors, and staff have the appropriate information needed to make informed decisions about their benefits, human resources administrators must work directly with their benefits partners.

360 degree support

Total compensation should reflect all the hard work of teachers, support staff, and teaching staff every day. Districts should rethink how they provide benefits packages, including offering more a la carte options, introducing more voluntary benefits between renewal cycles, and improving communications about available benefits. When districts create more comprehensive benefits packages, they demonstrate their support for staff both inside and outside the classroom.