Recruitment and retention remain pressing challenges across the education sector. Vacancies take longer to fill, teams are stretched, and leaders are being asked to maintain standards under increasing pressure. While much attention is rightly given to recruitment processes and workforce planning, there is another factor that plays a significant role in whether people join an organisation and, crucially, whether they stay.
That factor is how people experience leadership day to day.
When staff talk about their reasons for leaving, they rarely focus on one issue alone. More often, they describe a gradual erosion of confidence and motivation. Feeling unsupported, unclear about expectations, or under constant pressure without space to recover all contribute to decisions to move on. Equally, when people choose to stay in demanding roles, they often point to consistent leadership, clear communication and a sense of being valued.
For operational and support leaders in boarding schools, this can be an uncomfortable realisation. Many are managing complex systems and teams behind the scenes, with little time to step back and reflect on the wider impact of their leadership approach. Yet their influence on staff experience is significant.
A people-first approach to leadership does not mean lowering standards or avoiding difficult conversations. In fact, it often involves greater clarity, fairness and consistency. Clear expectations, timely communication and follow-through provide reassurance, particularly in challenging times. Small leadership behaviours, repeated consistently, shape culture far more than policies alone.
Retention, in this sense, is not a long-term objective to be addressed later. It is shaped every day through interactions, decisions and the tone set by leaders across the organisation.
To support schools thinking about this more intentionally, The Managers Training Company has created a practical guide, A People First Approach to Recruitment and Retention in Challenging Times. The guide explores how leadership behaviours and culture influence recruitment outcomes and staff retention, and where leaders can make meaningful changes within their control.
The guide is available to download here:
https://themanagerstrainingcompany.co.uk/recruitment-retention
