Steiner Conference 2024
Recruitment challenges are common in every sector. Steiner Education Australia invited me to speak with their recent Government Leadership and Management Conference (GLaM) to share insights and tips.
The Steiner Education Australia’s Government Leadership and Management Conference was held at Chrysalis Steiner School in Thora Valley.
The Conference
I headed to Bellingen, NSW to deliver a workshop about Recruitment & Retention at the Steiner Education Australia’s Government Leadership and Management Conference. Gembridge has managed several recruitment searches in the Steiner community including CEO, Steiner Education Australia (appointing Andrew Hill), Head of School in Port Macquarie (appointing Bill Garland) and Business Manager at Freshwater Creek (appointing Emily Galang).
It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with delegates and help navigate recruitment challenges, plus see some clients and candidates in real life at the beautiful Chrysalis Steiner School in Thora Valley.
Finding candidates
L-R, Michelle Varcoe with Ruth Gallagher and Bill Garland from Port Macquarie Steiner School.
Finding the right people who have the skills, experience, qualifications, attributes and values is important.
For our clients, including Steiner, there are other important elements, including a genuine interest in the organisation and an authentic alignment to their values is crucial, along with the ability to build credibility with the community.
Another complexity and key challenge can be remote locations. Steiner schools are often in rural and remote locations surrounded by nature, which is beautiful, but can limit the pool of potential candidates. So, attracting new people to relocate to areas such as Bellingen, Alice Springs, Blue Mountains, Port Macquarie, Fresh Water Creek is both an opportunity and risk, and important to get right.
The Challenge
During this interactive session, we discussed the importance of process, challenges and solutions, building and expanding a candidate pool including proactive search practices, project plans, tips and tricks, solving challenges and mitigating risks.
Apple, many factors and challenges facing Steiner (and all organisations) for staff recruitment & retention.
thank you!
Thank you for the warm welcome and for sharing your recruitment challenges. Surrounded by trees and mountains, it was a lovely environment to learn and connect.
The Welcome to Country was so engaging, authentic and inspiring in the most beautiful and peaceful setting.