Maintain Your IT Team: Initiate Stay Interviews for Long-Term Commitment
The Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) has taken a proactive approach to understanding and addressing staff retention and diversity issues by implementing a series of stay interviews. Modelled after traditional job interview questions, these sessions aim to gather valuable insights from staff members who have been with the district for 3 to 9 years.
According to the MDUSD Business Services Department, these interview questions are conducted in local restaurants after the workday, ensuring a relaxed and comfortable environment. Participants are randomly selected and their feedback is anonymized, promoting honest and open discussions.
During these sessions, staff are encouraged to share their experiences, thoughts, and suggestions. Topics range from what they love about their job, what they would change, why they stay in their position/district, and their onboarding experience, among others. Brainstorming using sticky notes is also encouraged to gather multiple ideas.
One of the key findings from these stay interviews is the importance of effective communication with employees. Staff feel valued and cared for when they are informed about department and district news. This open communication helps keep them engaged and part of the organization.
The increased reliance on technology in public schools has led to a demand for dedicated and knowledgeable IT staff. Unfortunately, more than 49% of public schools in the district reported at least one non-teaching staff vacancy, including IT positions. Unfilled technology positions and high absentee rates can lead to unaddressed or delayed help desk tickets, potentially causing frustration for teachers facing technical issues.
To address this, IT staff in the MDUSD have suggested hiring with an equity mindset and intentionally hiring staff who look like the students and staff they serve. This approach aims to foster a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
The stay interviews also gather feedback on whether participants feel welcome in the district, particularly for under-represented groups, and suggestions for improving recruitment and welcome for these groups. This is a crucial step towards creating a more inclusive and diverse environment within the MDUSD.
Conducting stay interviews can be beneficial to a school district as it helps to understand why great staff stay and what could make them leave. By acting on the suggestions from these interviews, the MDUSD hopes to not only retain its current staff but also attract more employees from underrepresented groups.
However, it is important to note that there is no publicly available information indicating that any specific school or school authority in the district has conducted stay interviews in the past few months. This underscores the need for more schools to adopt this practice to ensure a positive and productive work environment for all staff members.
In conclusion, the MDUSD's initiative to conduct stay interviews is a significant step towards fostering a more inclusive, diverse, and engaged workforce. By actively seeking and addressing staff concerns, the district is demonstrating its commitment to its employees and the students it serves.
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