In a recent survey by UKG, 63% of teachers left their positions for more tech-centric districts.
Across the country, K-12 school districts need to combine people, processes, and technology to achieve success. Administrative offices that lack updated systems or operate through manual and paper processes are vulnerable to top talent leaving for districts that invest in technology. Outdated technology leaves your people feeling frustrated by time-consuming and paper-centric tasks that take them away from focusing on students.
As we end summer and implement our back-to-school initiatives, it is important to think about how technology aids retention. Becoming a destination district is not only about focusing on student success, but also about how we can ensure that outdated technology doesn’t affect student outcomes.
What is a destination district?
A destination district is often referred to as schools where parents move into certain communities so their child can attend that school. These districts also attract and retain top talent through employee engagement and ensuring they have the tools needed for success. Parents want the best for their kids, which includes sending them to a great school with great people who will educate them.
Curriculum offerings, athletics, career prep classes, and other extracurricular activities all attract parents and students to leading districts. However, districts and the offerings can’t do it alone. They need great people to implement those initiatives to aid in that success.
Simplify HR processes
Onboarding, professional development credits, direct deposit and tax changes, access to pay stubs, and many more employee-centric tasks are done manually or through disparate systems across the K-12 industry. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and separate HR modules create a cumbersome ecosystem of products that can often lead to costly mistakes and frustrated employees.
Offering a smooth and quick onboarding experience can make a difference in retaining new hires in the current labor market. Teachers use technology every day to aid in student success. So, why not use it for the back-office systems too?
Putting people first
At UKG, our purpose is people. We are centered around how we can not only provide great resources to our school districts, but how we can provide great technology solutions to serve their people and ultimately aid in student success.
Schools are overdue for a technology upgrade. And due to a shortage of teachers, rising retirements, and ongoing hiring and retention challenges, the need to equip schools with modern workforce solutions is dire. UKG’s HCM and Time for School solutions provide districts with a unified, all-in-one solution with one point of entry and without the need for bolt-on modules that require integration.
As the K-12 workforce continues to evolve, districts exploring ideas to support employee growth and long-term retention will go hand-in-hand with becoming a destination district. With various ways to use workforce technology in K-12 education, UKG provides districts the ability to adapt today to what employees will want tomorrow.