RECRUITMENT IN AN ORGANIZATION:
Part 1: Educational Sector
INTRODUCTION
Districts and schools—the entities that employ teachers—are constantly engaged in activities relating to the recruitment and retention of their
instructional staff. In the face of a growing school-aged population, schools and districts must struggle to maintain standards for teaching quality while continuously recruiting bright new teachers and seeking to retain their most effective existing teachers. The dual goals of recruiting and retaining effective teachers are often difficult to realize due to insufficient and sometimes dwindling resources. Current U.S. economic conditions are causing many states to roll back their expenditures on public education. Although the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (the No Child Left Behind Act) authorized $3.175 billion in federal funds to be appropriated for the training and recruitment of high-quality teachers across the nation, those who dispense federal, state, and local funds to education will be hard pressed to find programs that raise the quality of teaching in the most cost-effective manner. It is, therefore, of particular importance at this point in time that we turn to reliable empirical research to inform the policy community of the advantages and shortcomings of various policies to recruit and retain effective teachers. In June 2002, the Education Commission of the States commissioned the RAND (Research and Development) Corporation to undertake a review of the research literature on teacher recruitment and retention. The intent of the proposed literature review is to assemble and discuss the published evidence that helps answer the following question: What strategies promote the recruitment and retention of effective teachers?
This review answers questions that are somewhat broader than what is listed above for the following reason: Although there are many studies that focus on the recruitment and retention of teachers, few focus on the recruitment and retention of effective teachers. We, therefore, review the broader empirical
literature that deals with teacher recruitment and retention and do not restrict ourselves solely to the small number of studies that focus on the recruitment and retention of effective teachers. We discuss the issue of teacher quality in a conceptual framework in Chapter II, however, and make an effort to tie the
broader literature to this issue wherever possible throughout our review.
The goal of this report is to provide researchers and policymakers with a review of the research relating to teacher recruitment and retention that is both comprehensive and evaluative. Thus, our review of the empirical studies selected for discussion is intended to serve not only as a compendium of available research on the topic of teacher recruitment and retention but also as a guide to the merit and importance of these studies ( 2004).
POLICIES TO PROMOTE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
In this chapter, we discuss research that focuses upon specific policies to promote recruitment and retention. In the supply-and-demand framework, we maintained that individuals based their decisions to enter or remain in the teaching workforce upon their assessment of the attractiveness of the teaching profession relative to alternative opportunities accessible to them.
Individuals measure the relative attractiveness of teaching by comparing the compensation levels, working conditions and intrinsic rewards it offers with those of other occupations available to them. Districts, schools, and other educational institutions, therefore, can undertake measures to change compensation, working conditions, and the factors that contribute to personal satisfaction when they wish to increase, shrink, or otherwise influence—e.g., affect the quality of—the supply of both new and continuing teachers.
Upon reading the research literature regarding these policy levers and the results that might be expected of them, we found it helpful to group policies into three categories: (1) compensation policies, (2) pre-service policies, and (3) in-service policies. While the policies studied in the literature that relate directly to the issue of compensation are fairly similar in nature, the pre-service and in-service policies that are the focus of published research are far less homogenous. In the three sections below, we discuss the research that falls within each policy category in turn (Brewer et al 2004).
1. Compensation Policies
We reviewed a large number of studies that dealt explicitly with the relationship of compensation to recruitment and retention. and (1997) maintained that between 1960 and 1990, the “true” real wages of teachers (adjusting for education, experience and other variables), particularly teachers in
elementary schools, declined relative to wages for other college graduates. If so, then specific districts and schools could have acted to increase the relative attractiveness of the teaching profession by increasing salaries to offset the general decline. In our review of the research, we consistently found that cross-sectional variation in salary was indeed associated with teacher recruitment and retention. Even authors of previously reviewed studies citing psychological factors, such as a desire to help young people or to contribute to the betterment of society, as among the reasons to enter teaching cited salary, as well,
as an important factor motivating teacher dissatisfaction and decisions to quit (e.g., and 1989; 1993; and 1984; and 1992; and 1982) as did many other authors.
The sheer volume of empirical work on the topic of teacher compensation and its effect on recruitment and retention stems from three sources: (1) the existence of several sources of data on teacher salaries, (2) the fact that information on cross-sectional variation in salaries can be used to infer the effect of increases or decreases, and (3) the high policy interest in teacher compensation. In general, the reported effects of compensation found in the research have been derived from coefficients on salary in turnover or attrition analyses.
2. Pre-service Policies
The literature on pre-service policies is fairly sparse, with the exception of studies that focus on nontraditional and alternative certification programs. Many of these studies suffer from measurement and methodological issues, however. We found few studies that controlled for self-selection in their discussion of program effects on recruitment or retention. If participants in alternative programs are in some way different from those in traditional programs, and if these differences have effects on recruitment and retention that are independent of teacher program effects, then it is difficult to tease out true program outcomes. In addition, the duration of teaching spells is not well measured in many of these studies. Teachers in alternative as well as traditional programs typically spend a year in an internship, but whether this is included as a year of teaching may not be treated consistently. We reviewed a few studies on alternative certification programs that were carefully conducted and some that, although flawed, provided useful insights. Apart from studies that dealt with alternative certification, we found two sufficiently empirical studies that focused on policy effects on minority recruitment into teaching.
3. In-service Policies
In reviewing the research that discussed in-service policies, we found that a number of “working conditions” were related to success in recruitment and retention. Mentoring and induction programs, class sizes, disciplinary issues, the matching of teaching assignments to teachers' skills, the level of autonomy granted to teachers, the amount of administrative support teachers receive, the way in which grievances were handled, and the ability of the students taught often appeared to play a prominent role in teachers' decisions to quit or remain on the job.
Part 2: Hotel Management
Aggressive Recruitment for Entry-Level Workers
Organizations compete intensely for entry-level workers, especially in the food service and hotel industries. Particularly in short supply are the 16- to 24-year-olds.
The National Restaurant Association projects a shortfall of as many as 1 million workers in the food service industry by 1995. It is for this reason that this industry, along with the hotel industry, has been so aggressive with its recruitment methods. In particular, Marriott Corporation has been one of the most successful and aggressive organizations. Most importantly for other industries' point of view, its methods are appropriate for a wide range of industries. In the rest of this chapter we will look at some of its more successful programs.
MARRIOTT'S PROGRAM
Marriott has enhanced its ability to recruit and retain employees through the Adopt-A-School program. Each organization runs its Adopt-A-School program differently, but Marriott begins by hosting a two-day seminar called "A Workshop with Professionals," for high school students of its Edison Career Vocational Center at corporate headquarters (, ). At these workshops the staff at the center speaks to the students about various aspects of the food service industry.
1. Adopt-A-School
Adopt-A-School programs are national programs that create a partnership between business and schools. Sometimes these programs are called "Join-A-School." As the name implies, these programs involve a business's forming a partnership with some school. The school itself may be a high school or even an elementary school, vocational school, or university.
2. Practitioners as Teachers
Marriott's participation with high school work programs is designed to meet its needs and help high school students gain experience and consider careers in the hotel field, and the company makes use of other programs designed to influence students' career choices.
3. Long-Term Solutions
Marriott's local hotel staff has become involved in Adopt-A-School programs in high schools, junior colleges, and universities, thereby providing an opportunity for solving their labor shortages. Though the program is not of immediate help in solving labor shortages, Marriott hotels have even become involved with elementary schools.
4. Career Days
A business's exposure to students during school career days is a way to encourage students to choose a particular industry or job as a career. Related to these career days is a program that Marriott's Washington, DC metropolitan area calls "FREE," which stands for Find and Recruit Excellent Employees. FREE consists of several programs, including one to get high school students to have a better appreciation of careers in their area.
5. FHA
The Future Homemakers of America has a national membership of 325, 000 men and women in 12, 000 chapters. FHA's goal is to encourage personal growth leadership as well as family and community involvement. Primarily, FHA chapters explore home economics-related jobs and careers.
6. DECA
A less-known high school student organization is the Distributive Education Clubs of America. DECA consists of high school students who are interested in various careers in marketing, distribution, merchandising, and management. DECA is designed to be used as part of normal classroom instructional activities. It has two objectives: to further educate students in marketing, distribution, merchandising, and management careers and to promote an understanding of citizenship in a free competitive enterprise. Generally, DECA tries to develop not only a vocational understanding necessary to compete in these careers but also students' self-confidence, self-esteem, ethical standards, and communication skills.
7. Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement (JA) is the United States' oldest educational organization, funded by the business community and private foundations. JA includes the JA high school program, Project Business, Business Basics, and Applied Economics. Project Business is an enrichment program for junior high school students. Basic Business is at the elementary level, and the Applied Economics is a new classroom program for high school students. Those JA programs most applicable to business are the high school program and Project Business.
8. Project Business
Project Business is a 10- to 12-week economic education program that helps eighth and ninth graders understands business and economics. In this program, business consultants, on a weekly basis, share firsthand experience on the U.S. economic system. They also review other topics like supply and demand, the marketplace, and financial, personal, and global economics. Although it is not necessary for a consultant to address all of these topics, many are usually discussed in the classroom and through field trips to local businesses. Marriott found that a weekly commitment of two hours is advisable, including one hour per week in the classroom and one hour to prepare for the class.
9. Older Workers
As young workers become increasingly scarce, older, more mature people offer an opportunity for employers; they also provide a special challenge. There are several reasons companies are hiring older workers. Studies have shown that customers prefer to deal with older workers and go out of their way to be served by them (, ). Furthermore, these older workers tend to be more responsible, trustworthy, and productive. Marriott works very hard at recruiting and retaining these older workers. The reasons are simple: Marriott reports that these older workers have less absenteeism and a greater sense of responsibility for the company than do many younger workers and are more careful and experience fewer accidents. On the downside, Marriott reports that older people are sometimes reluctant to turn to the food service for employment.
10. Minorities
In this age of diversity, the decrease in white male workers and the corresponding increase in available minorities and working women make it imperative that we recruit and retain this population. One place to find them is through the Urban League, which provides special skill training programs, counseling, and job placement. The Urban League is designed to help African-Americans.
11. Disabled Employees
The Americans with Disabilities Act states that, as employers, we should all focus more on finding and hiring disabled workers. Marriott makes excellent use of this employee resource by employing more than 6,000 disabled people. Its philosophy is that if individuals are properly trained, supported, and matched with a job, then they can do an excellent job.
12. Using Agencies
You can always use the government to help you find employees; actually, there is quite a bit that government agencies can provide. The Private Industry Council (PIC) Training Programs can help you with staffing problems. PIC and other government agencies require a written outline of your training program to assure that their applicants have the opportunity to attain marketable skills.
REFERENCES
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