Tips from the school and the nursery that had the best feedback from our supply staff.
After each booking, candidates get the option to give feedback to the school or nursery. We were very curious as to why some clients get very positive feedback so we decided to interview the school and the nursery that got the best feedback from our supply staff. Here we want to share their best tips on how to handle supply staff, hopefully it can give you some inspiration!
- It’s important that the candidate is “seen” and feels welcome.
Create a culture at your workplace where you say hi to staff and “new faces”. A simple hi will go a long way. - An introduction to the school or nursery is important.
This can be done in different ways, both orally or in written form. To show the supply staff around in the building, staff room, toilets, lockers as well as information on what to do if something unexpected happens will give a welcoming impression and the supply staff will feel more comfortable. Do you have specific routines regarding phones, allergies, pedagogy etc., then it will be a good idea to have those printed out so the supply staff can read them through. - Introduce supply staff to his or her co-workers.
Being new, it can be hard to know who works where. If time allows, follow the supply staff to the room where they will be working and introduce them to the colleagues. - Clarity is the key when booking supply staff.
Regardless where you book your supply staff, clarity is the key. Give as much information as possible when creating a booking so the supply staff can prepare before arrival. If the candidate feels comfortable and prepared they can focus and do a better job with the students and children.
Write where the supply staff should go upon arrival. Do you have a lesson plan already? Send it to the candidate before arrival. This can easily be done through the platform by editing an existing booking. Click here to learn how to edit and add a lesson plan to a booking.
Do you notice that supply staff have difficulties finding the school, nursery or the contact person? Clarify this when creating the booking so you don’t have to spend time on finding each other. It can easily become stressful for both. The more information, the merrier! A tip is to update your Client profile, this information will be added to all future bookings. Click here to see how to update your client profile. - Create a booking with preparation time for the supply staff
To give the candidate the right conditions to begin with, add sufficient preparation time before the actual class starts. The preparation time should include time to go over the lesson plan, get material, get an introduction of the school or nursery as well as taking part in the routines without it being stressful. It will make the candidate more comfortable, which leads to better work done!
It will require commitment and time from you to manage supply staff, but in the long run it will pay off. At Humly we believe continuity and the right candidate at the right place can do great things, especially if the candidate gets the right conditions from the start. Hopefully you can bring one or two tips with you to your school or nursery!