Staff transitions aren’t easy – but communicating to your community and stakeholders can make it a bit better. Here are our tips on how.
Routine Communications
Pulse Check data shows us that routine communications is preferred. Do you have a newsletter or email routine for your staff or stakeholders? A few of our partners shared their favorite resources:
Newsletters: This resource is thanks to a few of our Possip partner schools. It gives you a newsletter template you can use for your regular newsletter.
Remember, the platform/HOW you send home information matters less than the consistency. (Click here for a blog post from Possip on the process for creating newsletters)
Announcing Staff Transitions
Staff Transitions: This resource gives you some easy-to-use language you can cut and paste for a newsletter or flyer to share updates on staff transitions. (read below)
There are typically 3 types of transitions:
- Staff member is moving on; organization wanted them to stay
- Staff member is moving on; organization is happy or neutral about the change
- Staff member was asked to move on
While it is even more difficult when these changes happen in the middle of the year or a season, we also know that mid-stream transitions sometimes happen.
Often, leaders are challenged by not wanting to or being able to share much detail.
Below are a few possible sentences you can use to communicate. The scissors show you to cut + paste.
SCENARIO 1: Community loves the staff member
STAFF MEMBER has chosen a new opportunity. While we will miss STAFF MEMBER we are thankful to HIS/HER work with our community. We know that a strong economy and the high-quality talent we have here at ORG NAME means that our staff will have options.
We will be working hard to make sure your <INSERT IMPACT OF YOUR ORGANIZATION>. You know the type of hardworking, loving people at we have at ORG NAME. If you know of great folks, you can have them apply {insert application here}.
Note: If you have multiple transitions at once, you can change the language to keep it more general.
A few ORG NAME staff have chosen new opportunities. We know that a strong economy and the high-quality talent we have here at ORG NAME means that our teachers will have options.
We will be working hard to make sure <INSERT IMPACT OF YOUR ORGANIZATION> during this transition. You know the type of hardworking, loving people we have at ORG NAME. If you know of great folks, you can have them apply {insert application here}.
SCENARIO 2: The community is neutral or negative on staff member
STAFF MEMBER has chosen a new opportunity. We know the work of <INSERT ORG WORK> is important and we are hard at work finding great people for it.
You know the type of hardworking, loving people we have at ORG NAME. If you know of great folks, you can have them apply {insert application here}.
SCENARIO 3: Staff member was asked to move on
You may have noticed a few transitions in key positions.
While it is our hope that staff transitions have only a positive impact on our community we know it can be tough. We thank you for your patience.
Meanwhile, you know the type of hardworking, loving people we have at ORG NAME. If you know of great folks, you can have them apply {insert application here}.
