HR & payroll
HR providers for schools, academies and MATs: Should you switch, and when?
Using the right HR providers for schools, academies and multi-academy trusts (MATs) can transform HR provision and take the pressure off internal staff. With an increasing number of teachers leaving the profession – 7,800 more teachers left in 2022 compared to 2021 according to government statistics – HR departments have many challenges on their hands. Outsourcing HR to an external provider or employing software from an education sector specialist can go a long way towards improving processes and delivering better outcomes for teachers, pupils and the school overall. Over time though, schools often find that their HR provider is no longer fit for purpose. Learn whether it might be time to change providers and if so, when to make the switch.
4 minutes
Written by Nicola Ransford - Education Payroll Expert
Should you change your school’s HR provider?
If you have identified gaps or are noticing challenges with your school’s current HR provider, it may be time to consider a switch. When HR provision does not align with your needs, or the provider is not a specialist in the education sector, it can impact the entire running of the school. Some of the potential implications include:
- Payroll errors, which can lead to staff being paid late or incorrectly
- Data breaches or compliance issues
- Incorrect reporting
- Lower workforce motivation and trust in the organisation
- Difficulties recruiting and retaining staff, particularly skilled teachers
Signs it might be time to consider a new HR provider for your school
When it comes to HR providers for schools, there are several signs in might be time to consider a new one. Whether it's about maximising value for money, enhancing customer support, improving user experience, streamlining processes, ensuring connectivity between systems, or bolstering data protection, addressing these key areas can significantly impact the overall effectiveness of HR operations in educational settings.
- You’re not getting value for money. If costs are rising, service is poor or the provider simply does not deliver what you need, it may be time to switch.
- Customer support is limited or unavailable. Some HR providers offer the bare minimum in terms of customer support, so if you experience problems, require some advice or need to make changes to your service, it’s difficult to get in touch. This can be especially problematic if staff can’t make contact during the school day. Look for a provider that has dedicated customer service teams to support you when you need it.
- HR systems offer poor user experience. If you have an HR system that is old, clunky or difficult to use, this can interfere with productivity and there may be higher risk of human error. Many of the systems from leading HR providers prioritise a modern interface and great user experience — there are options in the market that can do a better job.
- Processes are time consuming and manual. Onboarding an HR provider should save time and reduce admin by streamlining workflows and automating manual processes. If this isn’t happening, a new provider can help.
- Siloes prevent connectivity. If you use HR software and find it does not communicate with the other systems you have in place across the school, you’re not alone. When you use systems from different providers, it can be hard to make them “talk”, resulting in duplicative processes and the chance for important information to go missing. Where possible, ensure systems are interconnected and provide a birds’ eye view of school HR data.
- Data protection is not robust enough. This can often happen when a provider is not a specialist in education and does not understand the full requirements of the sector.
Choosing the right HR providers for schools
The right HR provider for your school can help improve day-to-day operations. Good staff are the backbone of any school, and good HR can help build a motivated, happy workforce.
There will likely be various HR providers that can offer what your school needs, at least on the surface. So what should you look for in a provider? Here are some of the key attributes to focus on finding:
- Affordability. Don’t just consider the cost – consider the return on investment (ROI) and how the solution can help you deliver what you set out to do.
- Flexibility. Will the system or service give you some room for manoeuvre? Running school HR is never a simple task so an ability and willingness to be flexible is essential. HR software can be of great benefit here as it can be programmed to handle your requirements appropriately for you.
- Payroll capabilities. Paying teachers and staff on time is one of the core functions of HR in a school. Is the provider equipped to deal with your payroll and do they have a strong track record? And can they accommodate for employees with multiple job roles?
- Specialism in education. Does the provider understand exactly what a school needs? Look for providers that operate specifically to support schools.
- Pension capabilities. What does the provider offer in terms of pension management and processing? Can they handle different pension conditions and arrangements (across multiple sites in the case of a MAT)?
One of the key decisions you will need to make when it comes to HR providers for schools is what kind of provider will suit your setting. Some providers offer an outsourced service where a team or individual takes care of HR processes. Other providers offer cloud-based HR systems for implementation within schools, providing a platform to automate processes and run HR functions without the need to fully outsource them.
Pros of HR software
- Lower cost
- Customisable in terms of the modules and functionalities that can be chosen
- Puts internal teams in control
- Schools stay in charge of data and it is stored in one place
- Manual processes are automated
- Advanced reporting can be set up at the touch of a button
Pros of outsourced HR
- A personalised service
- Increased efficiency
- A direct point of contact with the provider
- The option to upgrade services if needs change
For many schools, HR providers for schools can support day-to-day operations with great success and can be tailored to meet individual needs. There is also the option to choose software and a managed HR service. Access Education offers market-leading HR software, as well as a managed payroll service with a 100% pass mark from the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals’ Payroll Assurance Scheme. Working exclusively with the education sector, our approach to HR delivers accuracy, reliability and flexibility for schools and MATs.
If you’re interested in learning more about Access Education’s HR and Payroll offering, watch the video below.
Timing is everything: When to make the switch to a new HR provider for your school
If you conclude that a new HR provider is the right route to take for your school, the next decision to make is on timing. These are some key considerations:
- Are you tied into a contract with your current provider? Check the terms of your current contract and find out if you are tied in for a certain amount of time, and what the penalties would be to leave.
- How can you minimise disruptions? Think about making the switch outside of term time when pupils and teaching staff are less likely to be impacted by the changeover.
- Are there year-end processes you need to tie up first? It may be best to start from scratch at the beginning of a new academic or calendar year.
- What are competitors offering? Identify potential options and keep an eye on them in the market. Providers may run offers or add services that influence the timing of your switch. Equally, their service could suit you less after they make changes.
- What are the onboarding costs? Ensure you understand all associated fees from the new provider. You need to know if switching at the time you want is realistic and affordable for the school.
Planning for your HR transition
These are some of the key steps to take to plan for your school’s HR transition:
- Define objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) so you know what you are working towards and can measure success.
- Assess current processes. Speak to internal staff and dig into the reasons that current HR provision is not working so you know what you are trying to solve.
- Ensure budgets have been fully planned and approved and that finances will be available to fund the transition.
- Assign roles and responsibilities. Everyone who will be involved should know what they are doing and have clearly designated tasks.
- Make and communicate the plan ahead of time, detailing everything the workforce needs to know about the rollout. This should include timelines and milestones.
- Plan for data migration. Your new provider will be able to help with this but you will need to define the data you want to carry over.
- Grant access thoughtfully, considering who needs access to which parts of the system for their jobs.
Special considerations for academies and MATs
The considerations for HR providers for schools discussed in this article are applicable to all educational institutions, but growing academies and MATs will likely have some additional analysis to perform. Academies, MATs and expanding organisations should consider:
- Data connectivity. Is it possible for data to be visible across individual academies? How will the HR provider handle large-scale data management between sites?
- Accommodation for different local authority areas. Make sure the provider can centralise and manage data for schools in different localities.
- Data security. More usable data is always helpful for analytics but it should not be visible to everyone. Consider how this will be handled by an external provider or, if using HR software, consider who needs individual logins.
- Points of contact. Will the provider need to work with different internal HR contacts? Who will own the relationship?
- Can the provider handle complex payroll processes across multiple sites that will ensure staff are paid on time, every time?
- Self-service options. The more staff you employee, the more complicated payroll administration becomes. Find out if your chosen HR providers offer self-service options for payslip retrieval, absence management, expenses and more, giving staff control and reducing the administrative burden.
How to measure HR success following the transition to a new provider
Some of the metrics you can use to measure HR software for schools’ success include:
- Staff turnover
- Retention rate
- Time to hire
- Payroll processing time
- Payroll errors
- Absence rates
Take a baseline of these metrics with your current provider and compare them after switching so you can understand the success of the exercise.
Choosing a market-leading HR provider for schools
The decision to switch HR providers for schools, academies, and MATs is a critical one that can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of HR operations within educational institutions. As the education sector faces increasing challenges, such as teacher shortages and administrative burdens, the right HR provider can alleviate pressure on internal staff and improve outcomes for teachers and students alike.
Access Education is trusted by 9,000+ learning institutions. We are a leading provider of HR software to revolutionise processes internally, as well as offering outsourced payroll for schools.
Related resources
If you found the information in this article useful, here are some related resources you may find interesting.
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