smartMatch: Is It Worth It?

We’re in for a tough time for recruiting. Many employers in all sectors are finding it hard to attract the right talent and this is acutely felt in the world of teaching.

The shortfall of new teachers against The Government’s own target to meet rising demand was missed by nearly 4,000 last year (DfE figures). On the other side, classroom pressures are seeing many leaving the profession. Up to 18% looking to quit teaching within the next two years (NEU).

Against this backdrop schools still need to ensure they are providing a great education to pupils and achieving targets. Recruiting teachers is an expensive process, with the choice of either using external media or going through recruitment agencies. TES, traditionally an advertising medium, has recently expanded its services to offer a more blended approach.

What is smartMatch?

Their smartMatch service was launched for particularly hard to fill subject areas – English, Science and Maths. TES has a team of staff who work with schools and potential candidates to match the vacancy to registered users of TES’ website. Over 300,000 of which have expressed an interest in being approached by this service. The smartMatch team then forwards on the applications from those who wish to apply and the recruitment process proceeds as normal.

This service is part of the TES’ Excel Subscription and can be activated with any relevant role being advertised online. As with supply and consultancy services there is a fee for any successful hires via the smartMatch service. This is generally less than agency rates and there is no fee if you do not recruit from this service. They also offer entry to exhibitions and events attended by both schools and teachers working with the service.

TES advertises this as ‘a personalised and tailored service to help you recruit teachers that are the best possible fit for your school’.

For those with an Excel subscription it’s certainly worth using it to see what kind of response you get. Ultimately it is another avenue to recruit in a tough market and can increase your pool of candidates.