Apparently, an increasing number of schools is advertising for teachers anonymously. The name of the school, and perhaps even its specific location, is not mentioned in the advertisement, and the application email address is generic and secretive, for example "Teachers2022@free.email.account.com". This is not a good thing for the sector, the school and its team and any prospective applicants.
Schools have two recruitment needs: planned and unplanned. Planned recruitment refers to annual replacements, retirements, teachers who leave for relocation or other personal reasons, the introduction of new programs, growth and so on. Planned recruitment has known dates and deadlines and should be proactive, leisurely and ongoing.
Planned recruitment is normal and good (with one caveat) and should be a part of the school`s external image and marketing strategies. Anonymous advertising should have no place in planned recruitment.
The caveat with planned recruitment is where a school has a high churn rate. A certain number of teachers will leave every year, perhaps due to retirement, seeking promotion elsewhere, time for a change and so on. However, if too many leave every semester or every year then this can present the image of instability, poor conditions or a bad boss and this can over time harm a school`s image and marketing. The solution here is not anonymous recruiting since word will always get out and candidates who apply will then withdraw once they learn the school`s identity. The solution here is to address the cause(s) of the churn rate.
On the other hand, unplanned recruitment is none of this. Unplanned recruitment is always reactive and is a response to either a sudden departure or loss or to some kind of problem, and in terms of image and marketing has a potential to be negative. This is why anonymous recruiting may appear attractive.
A sudden need due to unexpected growth is a positive and should be celebrated. In this case, there is no need for anonymous advertising. Shine that light!
Sudden departures may not be a bad thing. For example, a sudden relocation, pregnancy or illness has nothing to do with the school, is easily understood and can generate emptahy. Such a need would be infrequent and so would not harm a school`s image. A recruitment advertisement in this situation need simply state the reasons for the unexpected vacancy within privacy rules.
A need as the result of to a staff member being fired is more problematic, especially where the school is recruiting without having told the individual concerned. The problem here is one of ethics, transparency and fairness. The school might want not to alert X that s/he is soon to be gone and if they can that to him/her, they can do that to you. If X has done something so heinous that s/he should be fired, s/he should already be gone so keeping that person is hard to square with the need for a replacement. Alternatively, X may not be popular with the boss, or may have spoken up in a meeting or may have parked in the wrong spot, and letting X know about an impending release will lead to the faculty knowing which may lead to wider unhappiness or even some kind of response.
In all these cases, the desire for anonymous recruitment simply masks a greater malaise. This is why it shoudl be avoided because the first question prompted should always be, "what are they are trying to hide?" followed quickly by "... from whom and why?". The school`s communities need to know, while appointees should not be hired for a post where they are walking into a situation while blindfolded.
If something bad has occurred, the school should own it and present it as "we have found it, we have addressed it and we are moving on". Bad things will always come out, sooner or later, and when they do, the school will not be in charge of what is said or how, where and when. By acknowledging whatever it is in the recruitment process, the school is still in control of its image and marketing strategies.
My advice to schools is not to recruit anonymously, and to teachers not to apply to a school which does so. Recruitment should be positive for all involved; anonymous recruiting keeps things in the dark and the dark is where the monsters live.
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