The future of any country rests on the quality of education students receive from various learning centers. The teaching profession is crucial to Malaysian society as it helps groom young people to become whatever they desire.
Unfortunately, most learning centers in Malaysia are struggling to retain their teachers. So far, the rate of teacher turnover in Malaysia has been on the increase as each year passes by. As an education center owner, below are some crucial reasons why you should maintain a good teacher retention rate in your learning center:
- There are teacher shortages in Malaysia. Finding replacements would be daunting if you lacked the strategies to retain your teachers.
- The cost of recruiting and training new teachers is high. You can redirect such funds to improve class management and other areas.
- Studies show that high teacher turnover rates in learning centers negatively affect the performance of students in general.
Therefore, to reduce the rate of teacher turnover in Malaysia, we need to address the root causes of the problem. The key factor in teacher turnover in schools is STRESS. When teachers face a heavy workload, it gradually leads to increased stress, prompting them to seek alternative options for a better replacement. Thankfully, EdTech companies such as AOneSchools have created management software to take some burden off teachers.
5 Key Strategies for Improving Teacher Retention
As the owner of a learning center, if you must maintain or improve teacher retention rates, there are strategies you need to employ. These strategies have been proven to be effective. Implement the five strategies below in your education center, and your teachers will feel fulfilled and satisfied with their jobs.
1. Creating a Positive Work Environment
Studies show that a poor work environment can reduce employees’ morale and commitment. If a teacher is not happy with his or her work environment, the resultant effect would be to look for another workplace with a better work environment.
having excellent facilities in your learning center is a positive aspect, it has been discovered that most teachers prioritize the school culture over facilities. Teachers desire a work environment that respects and trusts them while providing a high level of job security.
Also, giving teachers more freedom in class management activities makes them feel more appreciated and valued. Doing these little things can improve job satisfaction rates and, subsequently, reduce teacher turnover.
2. Providing Professional Development Opportunities
Everyone wants to learn, including teachers! One of the mistakes most education business owners make is believing that teachers are only meant to teach students. To make teachers feel like you have a long-term plan for them, enroll them in some sort of professional development training that will make them better at their jobs. Fortunately, most of these professional development opportunities are not expensive and can be done online.
Apart from development training, another key factor that boosts teacher retention is collaboration. Teachers should collaborate so that no one feels isolated; isolation is a strong reason for a teacher to leave his or her job.
3. Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits
No matter how passionate a teacher feels about his job, he needs to be well compensated. If a teacher feels he is not getting the benefits of his hard work, he may decide to look for better alternatives. Therefore, according to your capacity as an education business owner, you should offer competitive compensation and salaries to your teachers.
Nevertheless, while it is true that competitive compensation can help teacher retention, education business owners shouldn’t go overboard. Owning an education center is a business, and you must strike a balance to remain afloat in your business.
4. Recognizing and Appreciating Teachers’ Efforts
Everyone wants to be appreciated for doing something outstanding. Showing appreciation to your staff means you value their contribution to the growth of your business. At the end of each academic calendar, organize events to recognize and appreciate your teachers.
It shouldn’t cost that much to wrap some gifts for your staff after each session. Teachers are less likely to leave a learning center where their efforts and achievements are appreciated.
Note: If you must do individual recognition, ensure that you do it so that it won’t cause tension among the teachers.
5. Streamlining Administrative Tasks
Technology has made it easy for learning centers to use school management and class management software to simplify their tasks. As an education business owner, you want to employ the right software to improve efficiency and save your staff time.
Tasks such as class schedule and attendance, parent-teacher communication, fee payment, and other messy manual paperwork can all be automated to save your valuable time. Teachers are proud to work in a place where the latest technologies are used to simplify work-related tasks.
Fortunately, education software companies in Malaysia, such as AOneSchools, are ready to implement the right technologies to streamline your administrative tasks.
With the increasing shortage of teachers in Malaysia, schools need to take action to mitigate teacher turnover. Creating a better work environment, providing development training for your teachers, offering competitive compensation, and recognizing teachers’ efforts are the simplest but key ways to improve teacher retention in Malaysia.
Boost Your Teacher Retention Rate with AOneSchool
Finally, implementing effective school management systems can go a long way toward improving teacher retention. Sometimes an excellent teacher becomes demotivated because of the time-consuming tasks that every teacher has to do. However, we can prevent that from happening!
AOneSchool eases teachers’ workload on taking attendance, sending student reports, creating teaching summaries, and sending class reminders to parents. On top of that, the communication between teacher and parents are all transparent and traceable.
Make the job for your teachers a bit easier and let them do what they are best at—teaching. AOneSchools has helped hundreds of learning centers in Malaysia streamline administrative tasks. Implement these strategies in your school business and see the teacher retention rate increase.
