Mission-Anchored Compensation Strategies for Boarding Schools

Independent schools are in the ultimate people business, with up to 80% of operating budgets devoted to salaries and benefits for faculty and staff. In a boarding environment, appropriately compensating the employees who deliver the school’s mission 24/7 is critically important to the school’s health and stability and must be balanced with a financially sustainable system. The misalignment of a school’s compensation system with its mission, challenges and priorities may have a devastating effect on your school’s ability to attract and retain employees. It may also hinder your school’s ability to meet its strategic and financial goals, and to adapt in an unpredictable world.

In this workshop, NBOA subject-matter experts will review a variety of compensation models in schools and provide an overview of the challenges and rewards associated with specific systems. Case studies from independent boarding schools that have innovated their compensation model will illuminate possibilities. All information provided will be tailored to the unique needs of boarding schools, including guidance on the considerations each school should make when exploring, developing and implementing a new compensation system.

Learning Objective(s):

• Examine common compensation and benefits practices in schools and how they sometimes differ between boarding and day environments.
• Learn essential factors for consideration when developing a compensation system for schools.
• Learn about specific challenges and benefits associated with different compensation systems in a boarding school.
• Learn best practices for compensation system implementation.
• Identify a process for developing and implementing a new compensation system at a boarding school.