All Inclusive

"To Retain New Hires, Spend More Time Onboarding Them" and "To Retain Employees, Focus on Inclusion – Not Just Diversity" by Ron Carucci, Karen Brown
Harvard Business Review, December 3, 2018

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School leaders, especially in independent schools, understand the importance of teacher retention and greater employee inclusivity so as to keep qualified faculty and staff and enrich their communities. Yet, when facing the fear of teacher burnout and the demand for more inclusion, how can school leaders retain new and promising hires? How can they create a culture where employees do not struggle with "identity cover?" In two separate articles for the Harvard Business Review, Carucci and Brown offer proven strategies to support both the onboarding of new hires and the process of making employees with diverse backgrounds feel included. Carucci breaks down the onboarding process in three separate dimensions (organizational, technical, and social), with each one featuring actionable steps that leaders and colleagues can take to support a new hire's transition. Brown's data-supported recommendations call on leaders to be authentic and empathetic, putting forth the resources and energy, such as segmented employee surveys and focus groups, to make employees from underrepresented groups feel valued, heard, and understood. Put together, Carucci and Brown's findings are transferable and promising for organizations such as independent schools that wish to enhance their onboarding process, retain strong employees, and seek feedback on their diversity or inclusivity initiatives.