From Teacher Shortage to Talent Strategy

Dr Adrian Camm, Principal and Managing Director

In the face of Australia’s persistent teacher shortage, talent management has emerged as a crucial strategic priority for schools. Talent management encompasses the identification, development, deployment, and retention of individuals who can contribute to the success of the school. 

The recent 2025 Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA) Staff Recruitment, Retention & Turnover report articulates that the median attrition rate for teaching or academic staff was 9.7% in the previous calendar year, with non-teaching or support staff turnover at 12.08%. Staff leave a place of employment for a job in another school, retirement, or a career change, alongside other reasons like culture misalignment, family, and health-related issues. Hard-to-staff areas continue to be in the disciplines of Mathematics, Physics, Design & Technology, Chemistry, IT, and Languages. The most pressing recruitment challenge is related to attracting teachers with the required specialist/discipline knowledge, and coming close second is the geographic location of the school. The report highlights strategies to retain and attract teachers such as ensuring new employees are given permanent status, leadership opportunities, and flexibility, with competitive salaries continuing to be a main driver. 

Using industry benchmarking is an important way to test the pulse of your school. Context is important as staff turnover in your school might be ideal and indeed very healthy in some situations. Depending on your context, a better measure of attrition might be regrettable attrition. Irrespective, an important leadership practice is to think about what your ideal level of turnover would be each year based on the profile and demographic of your existing staff. 

It is important to preface that the ongoing teacher shortage is not merely an internal staffing issue; it reflects broader systemic and political challenges deeply embedded in societal perceptions of the teaching profession. Persistent negative media narratives, coupled with political rhetoric around accountability and standardisation, have collectively contributed to a diminished public perception of teaching as a valued profession. This societal undervaluation, exacerbated by low wage growth, and increasingly demanding working conditions, has amplified retention issues and reduced the attractiveness of teaching as a career choice. Combined with a climate that seeks to de-professionalise teachers, devalue teacher professional judgment, strip teachers of autonomy, and mandate top-down approaches, this creates a perfect storm. Schools do not have to sit idle, however. 

Effective talent management, which involves proactive attraction, development, retention, and optimal utilisation of staff, requires leaders to adopt a systemic and holistic perspective. For schools to be competitive in the current landscape, they need to do more than just advertise vacancies and hope for the best – as James Cameron once said; hope is not a strategy. Drawing inspiration from successful corporate organisations and elite sports teams, talent management needs to integrate strategic planning with organisational dynamics, enabling schools to build robust, proactive, and effective staffing systems. 

In corporate environments, talent management strategically aligns employee development with overarching business objectives. Elite sports organisations similarly invest significantly in identifying, nurturing, and retaining high-potential athletes, viewing talent management as central to achieving sustained success. Schools can borrow these principles, viewing their talent management strategies through the lens of systems theory – recognising the interrelatedness and interdependence of all elements within their organisational architecture. Staffing decisions, professional development, and retention efforts do not exist in isolation. Instead, they are interconnected components within a broader ecosystem of school culture, workplace conditions, community engagement, and strategic goals. 

Operationalising this form of approach requires the mapping of your employee value proposition. There is some great work happening in this space at Westbourne. A talent management strategy has been mapped to our Strategic Map to 2030 and looks at workforce systems, structures, and processes, staff composition, and employee experience and satisfaction. This includes elements like leadership capability frameworks, management development programs, professional learning opportunities, fellowships, further study programs, individual career trajectory and pathway plans, high-potential and emerging leader pathways, talent acquisition, onboarding, data collection, and the real-time visualisation of workforce data that enables us to make better, faster and more informed decisions. 

Building an attractive employer brand involves clear and strategic communication, emphasising the unique strengths and opportunities within your school. Targeted recruitment efforts are essential. Attractive salaries need to be provided. Flexibility provisions afforded. Ancillary benefits articulated. Workload issues addressed. Automating and simplifying workflows create efficiencies and can increase effectiveness and boost productivity. Professional learning opportunities should be generous. Transparent growth and feedback systems that consistently recognise and reward excellence reinforce positive feedback loops, increasing motivation and enhancing school culture. Leaders who recognise potential within their current teams early and provide tailored mentorship and clear career progression paths will significantly strengthen their talent management system. Other retention initiatives, such as sabbaticals and secondments can improve staff longevity and commitment. 

By embedding a systems theory approach into talent management, schools transform challenges into strategic opportunities. Effective talent management means going beyond isolated actions to build an interconnected ecosystem where professional growth, recognition, and job satisfaction thrive. This holistic strategy fosters a workplace culture that attracts, nurtures, and retains outstanding educators, so that every staff member knows they are valued and supported to be the best they can be.