HR That Leads
What does HR currently look like in your school?
Is the department honoured with a nice office? Do they receive strong professional development? Do you have plenty of high calibre applicants for the vacant roles in that team? Is HR handled by those who are highly qualified, credentialed experts? If not and the Head of School or the Director or the Principal is handling a lot of the HR workload, you may be missing a cost saving opportunity.
Whether yours is a one person or 10 person team (yes, those exist), roles are usually as follows:
TITLE | Vibe | Years in the Field | Qualifications |
CHRO/CPO (Chief HR/People Officer) | Strategic visionary, culture architect, executive influencer | 15+ years | Bachelor’s/Master’s in HR/Org Psych, SHRM-SCP or CIPD Member/Fellow, intl labor law certs, executive coaching qualification |
HRD (Director) | Operational powerhouse, policy navigator, team builder | 10-15 years | Bachelor's/Master's,, SHRM/CIPD/PCDP Level 7, expat relocation certs, data analytics training, other HR programs |
HRM (Manager) | Hands-on executor, recruiter extraordinaire, compliance guru | 7-10 years | Bachelor's in Business/HR, HR certs (SHRM-CP entry?), recruitment platforms, intl payroll exp |
HRO (Officer) | Detail-oriented coordinator, employee advocate, process optimizer | 4-7 years | Bachelor's degree, visa/permit processing, HRIS proficiency |
HRA (Assistant) | Energetic supporter, admin wizard, first-touch talent scout | 1-4 years | Associate degree or Bachelor's, onboarding tools (Google Workspace), basic compliance |
In reality, in many schools, there is noone in HR with any professional qualifications in the discipline of Human Resources Management. No one is expecting the school HR manager to have a PhD in Organizational Behaviour, but wouldn’t it be great if heads of school ensured their HR managers had access to regular professional development?
The Fixes
Developing an HR function that leads rather than merely manages requires intentional investment, and continuous growth.
Recruit the best you can afford into your HR team
Celebrate the creativity, resilience and abilities that excellent HR practitioners possess
Highlight the disconnect: Acknowledge that teachers and HR often speak different languages - teachers talk lesson plans and chaos, HR talks policy and paperwork, and allow time where possible for connecting and shadowing. If your HR team hasn’t been in a classroom lately, maybe it’s time they sat in on a lesson or three!
Back your HR team when it comes to compliance. When leadership visibly backs necessary regulations while HR focuses on making compliance simple and collaborative, teachers feel protected rather than policed.
Support HR professionals with a high level of Professional Development Support. Send them to the one or two conferences that take place globally each year and sign them up to career coaching if at all possible.
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