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Independent Schools’ Advantage in the Hiring Market

Compensation is just one piece of the employee retention puzzle at an independent school that offers many rich benefits.

Feb 4, 2025  |  By Jeffrey Shields, NBOA

Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE
NBOA President and CEO

This is the season when independent school business leaders begin issuing compensation letters for the coming school year to faculty and staff. Business officers, HR directors and controllers look at their budgets and determine the salary pool. This follows board deliberations and analysis of investments in strategic initiatives, one-time and recurring expenses, and potential inflation, all of which impact the coming year’s operational budget. The goal is to offer salaries that help our schools retain the high-quality faculty and staff that deliver the school’s mission every single day. 

Because compensation comprises the largest expense line in the budget year over year, compensation decisions are the most consequential financial decisions school leaders will make. That’s for good reason: We are in the ultimate people business. We deliver our mission through people to educate and develop our future, the people our students become.

One of NBOA’s proudest contributions to the independent school community is the recent Mission-Anchored Compensation Strategies research initiative. The first comprehensive study of independent school compensation led to not only extensive findings but also a suite of practical implementation tools. It has served as a catalyst for schools to reassess their compensation plans and for sharing many innovative practices already in motion among peer schools.

All of this was top of mind when I came across a LinkedIn post from entrepreneur John Castro. Castro recently posted “ 8 Reasons Talented People Stay at Companies,” which reads to me as a succinct compilation of areas of the school’s employee culture that can be advanced to retain the absolute best. SPOILER ALERT: Only one has to do with pay! “They” in the list below stands in for “your best employees.”

  1. They Feel Valued and Respected.
    Everyone in our schools should expect to feel welcome at work every day. This is a slam dunk for our schools, since school leaders are actively cultivating this kind of environment for our students and our families.
  2. They Are Given Careers Not Jobs.
    For many of our faculty and staff, working in education is more calling than career. School business leaders in particular could provide their finance, operations and HR knowledge to any organization, but they choose to share it in an independent school. I know for me it is a privilege to work in education, and specifically in the independent school community, and we should celebrate the collective opportunity to do so.
  3. They Admire a Positive Culture.
    While there are many challenges in our work, we can overcome them when we work collectively. When confronted with negativity, look for the opportunity to turn it around. And if you do have a few colleagues that seem to regularly dwell in negativity, avoid piling on, because it can spread fast.
  4. They Are Paid Competitively.
    Our faculty and staff are not volunteers — compensation matters. Prudent business officers know and share the totality of compensation that the school offers, including healthcare and retirement benefits, which matter as much as salary. Independent schools work hard to offer strong benefits packages, so it is wise to communicate the value of the benefits in dollars and cents.
  5. They Are Given Flexibility.
    While return-to-office mandates are in the news of late, we remain in an age of telework. We must come to terms with the level of flexibility that may be needed to attract top talent in business operations functions while supporting the educational missions of our schools.
  6. They Do Meaningful Work.
    There is nothing more meaningful than impacting young people, and those moments happen multiple times every day at our schools. Identify formal and informal ways to capture those moments and lift them up as small but vital reminders of what our work is all about.
  7. They Are Seen and Appreciated.
    As we continue our commitment to DEIB in our schools, faculty and staff must be a part of it. Creating learning communities where individuals are given the opportunity to show up as their most authentic selves is invaluable.
  8. They Value Job Stability and Security.
    School leadership and the board of trustees are key players in ensuring the school’s financial health is vital and its mission is supported in perpetuity.

So much of this list describes many of the independent schools that I know and have visited, and I wager these points resonate with you too.

At this time of year, when compensation is rightfully front and center, let’s also remember and reinforce the many other reasons that our schools and learning communities are places where we want to work, as do many peers and colleagues. Don’t bury the lead by focusing solely on the compensation letter — celebrate all that our schools are and all they provide to faculty and staff as valuable employees.

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Author

Jeff Shields

Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE

President and CEO

NBOA

Washington, DC

Jeff Shields, FASAE, CAE, has served as president and CEO of the NBOA since March 2010. NBOA is the premier national association serving the needs of business officers and business operations staff at independent schools. Shields, an active member of the American Society of Association Executives, has been recognized as an ASAE Fellow (FASAE) and earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) professional designation. His current board service includes serving as a director for AMHIC, a healthcare consortium for educational associations in Washington, DC, as well as a trustee for the Enrollment Management Association. Previous board service includes serving as a director for the American Society of Association Executives, as a director for One Schoolhouse, an innovative online school offering supplemental education to independent schools, and as a trustee for Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC. Shields holds a BA from Shippensburg University and an MA from The Ohio State University.

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