Databus Issue: 2005 1 02/07/2005
Using Automation To Step Up The Quality of Substitute Services
Shelley Schmidt Corporate Marketing Manager
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It’s no surprise that the average student now spends more than one school year of preK-12 education with a substitute teacher. We’ve all heard the statistics, but have you considered the numbers associated with absenteeism?
• A typical school district spends between 60 and 70 percent of its operating revenue on teacher salaries.
• The average teacher misses about seven percent of scheduled workdays, which means that about five percent of your operating budget is paying for services you will never receive.
To make matters worse, you pay for substitutes too. Instruction does not improve when a teacher is absent and time away from the classroom does not improve test scores.
While these numbers may be a bit depressing, there is good news. Advances in technology allow you to make the most of a bad situation. Using basic technology, like the telephone and Internet, you can move from simply dispatching substitutes to managing substitute instruction. And, it’s more than just automating the process; a superior system will actually improve the quality of instruction by matching assignments with the most qualified substitute available.
There are many factors to consider when evaluating substitute management systems. A quality system, however, should include the following few key components:
Increase absence-fill rates.
An automated scheduling system should certainly improve efficiency and customer service. Absence-fill rates will increase simply because automated systems are able to fill open jobs faster and more effectively than the process of manually calling substitutes. Almost any automated system is capable of doing this, but that’s where the similarities between an average system and an excellent system end.
Improve the quality of substitute instruction
Imagine filling an open algebra assignment with a substitute certified in secondary math or filling an open-music assignment with a music education major. This is where the best automated systems shine. A superior system fills open jobs with the most qualified substitutes available based on your district’s specifications. It should also allow you to control how substitutes in your district are contacted using criteria such as location, skill sets, overtime and union contract guidelines.
Expand the substitute pool
Do you have enough substitutes in your district? Maybe you’ve limited your recruiting efforts because allowing for flexible work schedules was a logistical nightmare. An automated system should allow you to incorporate opportunities for substitutes needing flexible work schedules. A smart system has the ability to manage multiple schedules by allowing substitutes to specify time of day and days of the week they are available. The system should also give you the flexibility of allowing substitutes to specify school locations and subject areas.
Empower principals
Many districts are frustrated with a lack of absent management at the school level. Your principals and work location supervisors should be able to easily control substitute selection at their locations, monitor absences and check the status of jobs. And, they should be able to view and coordinate employee activity anytime, anywhere using a telephone or computer. Additional features of a substitute management system should include the ability for principals to pre-assign substitutes, fill future jobs in advance and allow substitutes to retrieve special instructions left by the teacher.
Improve service
It goes without saying that your system should be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But, is it accessible via the telephone and/or Internet? Make sure your system uses both types of technology. It should give employees the ability to review and print historical data and report multiple-day, recurring absences. And, it should allow substitutes to search for multiple jobs (without having to take action on each individual job), review historical data and print assignment records.
By now you have a pretty good idea of what components to look for when evaluating a substitute management system. But, remember, there is so much more to transforming substitute management than just automating the process. What about managing absenteeism? If your district were to take it a step further and reduce teacher absenteeism, perhaps having enough qualified substitutes wouldn’t be an issue. What is your district doing to manage absenteeism?
First, you should be using the reports generated by your substitute management system to gain valuable insight into all activities that govern the reporting of absences and substitute selections. This increases your department’s efficiency in all aspects of human resources management and planning. For example, your automated system records and tracks the status of each assignment – from entry to completion – for record keeping and management reports. Using historical data, your district should be able to automate data collection for billing, internal costing and ad hoc management queries, as well as reduce the number of unemployment payouts.
Perhaps the single most important benefit to be obtained from an automated system is that it can actually reduce the rate of absenteeism in your district. The data available allows you to develop strategies that lead to improved teacher attendance. Use the data to track seasonal and annual trends in absenteeism then develop your school and in-service training calendars around those trends. Track absences by school to determine trends at specific locations. Knowledge is the key to solving this very expensive issue. Even minor improvements in teacher attendance will more than pay for the entire cost of an automated system.
One final point. An automated substitute management provider should offer you quality customer support in the form of training, service and continuing support. Find a company that understands education and has a proven relationship with its customers. Look for vendors with employees that have educational backgrounds and those that provide consulting services around education. Expect nothing less than a partnership with your vendor. Together, you’ll be able to manage substitute services and transform substitute management in your district.
Shelley Schmidt is the Corporate Marketing Manager for eSchool Solutions and has been with eSchool Solutions since 1999. Her prior experience includes 16 years with a large urban school district as a staffing specialist where she interviewed, hired and trained substitute teachers. eSchool Solutions provides administrative management and consulting solutions to the preK-12 education community. More than 500 school districts throughout North America use eSchool Solutions’ products and services. She can be reached at sschmidt@eschoolsolutions.com.
