You must take appropriate precautions to ensure your school’s employment practices don’t expose your school to undue risk.
Employment practices is a broad category, encompassing interviewing, hiring, onboarding, professional development, and in some cases, termination. Your school must have the right plans and procedures in place to treat employees fairly and, if an employee feels treated unfairly, avoid unintended legal action.
Martin Kelly, President of ISM Insurance Inc., shares areas where you should focus your efforts to help mitigate risk when it comes to employment practices. You can hear his recommendations in this video.
We want to hone in on two areas of potential risk that Martin mentions to share a bit more insight.
Hiring Practices
Job descriptions for open positions should list the duties and responsibilities of the role, and clearly define the characteristics and the competencies required.
These job descriptions should also outline your school’s Essential Expectations for employees and describe how a position would be expected to align with those statements.
For example, a few Essential Expectations might include:
- support and act within the school’s mission and values;
- uphold the school’s professional standard of personal presentation, punctuality, professional courtesy and discretion;
- represent the school effectively to its constituents;
- maintain a professional demeanor on and off campus; and
- maintain professional credentials, as appropriate.
Essential Expectations provide a strong, consistent cultural agreement about how all members of your school behave.
Professional Growth and Renewal
ISM’s research has shown that school employees do best in predictive and supportive environments. They’re better able to navigate their roles, so they can offer more to their students and colleagues. This, in turn, empowers students to flourish.
Your school must have procedures in place to ensure employees know what to expect when it comes to their roles and know where they can turn for guidance and insight. Give them the tools they need to be successful so they’re best able to support your students.
When it comes to protecting your school, start with your employment practices to ensure you’re doing what’s best for all of your school’s constituents.
Additional ISM Resources:
The Source for Business and Operations Vol. 17 No. 4 Tips to Keep in Mind During Hiring Season
Additional ISM resources for members:
I&P Vol. 42 No. 9 Essential Expectations of Senior Administrators
