Case Study: Stemming the Turnover Tide at a Charter School Group

TalentBridge combined its proven track record in the education sector, its expertise working in other industries, and a thorough understanding of the client’s specific needs to stem the turnover tide for a charter school network’s six facilities in southeastern Wisconsin.

The Situation

Employee turnover is a significant problem across the education field, with too few candidates to meet the demand. But for this client, the turnover rate was nearly 50 percent and there were many positions to fill – particularly teaching and administrative roles. There were also open leadership, custodial/maintenance and food service positions. The school’s team of in-house recruiters was too small to keep up, and the deficit was not shrinking. Only four months remained to staff up for the next school year, before the already-small pool of quality candidates had committed to jobs elsewhere. The situation had reached crisis level. 

The organization had worked with TalentBridge several years earlier to recruit substitute teachers and called on us again to meet its general staffing needs.

The Solution   

We began by meeting with the organization’s National Director of Talent to understand the network’s over- arching strategy and how we could help. Meetings with the school principals gave us insights into their specific circumstances, and site visits allowed us to experience the individual schools firsthand. 

We then crafted a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) program that drew on our experience working with both public and alternative schools, as well as in recruiting and hiring for the food service and custodial and maintenance industries. 

We worked seamlessly with the organization’s national and local human resources teams and school leaders. Externally, we were the client’s representative to candidates. Internally, we were the face of the human resources team, providing school leaders and other in-house customers with timely updates and responding quickly to their inquiries and needs.

Our team sourced candidates, reviewed resumes and completed initial screening interviews before presenting candidates to school principals for in-person interviews. We then extended offers to selected candidates and began the compliance process. 

Technology played a significant role in our success. We used robust recruiting and staffing platforms that would have been cost- prohibitive for the client to access on its own. Social media and texting were essential in promoting open positions and communicating with candidates. Video was a powerful tool for engaging with teaching, executive and other leadership candidates; personalized videos were created to share details of the position and invite the candidate to apply, and candidates recorded short videos that showcased their communication skills, professionalism and personalities to the schools. 

The Results

We recruited and hired 278 people in preparation for the 2023-24 school year: 

• Administration (Administration, Dean of Students, School Operations Managers): 25 
• Teachers: 130 
• Teaching Assistants: 99 
• Custodial and Maintenance: 13
• Food Service and Food Service Management: 11