Success Story: CISC

Automation of educational processes: the case of CISC network private schools

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  The CISC is a network of private licensed full-time schools with in-depth study of the English language. Today in Ukraine there are three CISC schools: two in Kyiv and one in Lviv. One of the features of the CISC is a practical approach and the integration of subjects with each other. For example, studying a certain topic, students can explore it from a mathematical point of view, as well as from a physical or literary point of view. Each lesson in the CISC is a kind of research in which all students take an active part.

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In addition to knowledge, the CISC develops the skills of a modern person: in the classroom, students work in teams, develop critical thinking, the ability to present their own ideas, be adaptive and make independent decisions. After all, the CISC wants everyone to have enough knowledge, experience, confidence and make decisions based on values to make their own choices and create their own future.

This approach requires the involvement of additional staff. If in an average school there are 9 students per teacher, in the CISC the number of adults per child is twice as large. If we take into account the high requirements for the professional and personal qualities of school employees, it becomes clear how carefully the recruiting process is controlled.

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  Recruiting automation in the most creative school of Ukraine

  In 2020, the CISC started using the recruiting module of the SMART HCM & LMS solution.

  The need to automate some of the HR processes became relevant when the CISC was opening 2 new schools. For an educational institution to start functioning, it is necessary to recruit at least 80 employees. Since the recruiting process in the CISC is very strict, the school organizes several stages of interviews, looks at how the candidate conducts lessons and interacts with children.

  Handling an avalanche of applications manually is time-consuming and unproductive, so part of the work was entrusted to the system.

  “We have been working with SMART business for quite a long time already – more than 3 years. The company made a digital portal and diary for the school, therefore, based on the successful experience of collaboration, it was decided to start using SMART HCM & LMS. And frankly, this solution really improves the lives of recruiters”.

  Having received a vacancy request from an internal customer, recruiters update the requirements for a future employee according to the position profile, and, importantly, the vacancy is published in a couple of clicks in all sources: on the official website of the school and on Ukrainian job sites, such as rabota.ua and work.ua, which are used most frequently, although there are also integrations with hh.ua and dou.ua.

  Also, there is no need to go over dozens of websites to collect incoming CVs. All candidate responses are collected in SMART HCM & LMS, broken down by vacancies. If there is no direct integration between the job search platform (for example, thematic groups on Facebook) and the system, or if the candidate emails a CV directly to HR, the application still gets into the system via Microsoft Outlook.

  The solution includes a display of all the stages that candidates go through. The first step is CV screening, then a phone call. If the experience of a teacher or mentor meets the CISC requirements, an offline or online meeting is scheduled: SMART HCM & LMS provides for the capability of making an appointment in Microsoft Teams.

  If the first interview is successful, a meeting with the school management team and a test lesson with the children are held. All candidate selection stages are tracked. It is possible to analyze the time it took to find a new employee, which apparently is an important metric of the recruiting process.

  Depending on the vacancy, the recruiter can transfer the candidate immediately to the next stage or return to the previous one.

  “At the heart of the SMART HCM & LMS product, there is the employee. It was for employees that the solution was created. We help recruiters to look for talents, newcomers to pass onboarding in a convenient way, and current employees to constantly learn and expand their competencies..

  Also, right now the school is testing an employee training module. Teachers, tutors and mentors of the CISC not only teach, but also constantly learn themselves. These are adaptation programs for newcomers, where we give new employees the opportunity to quickly familiarize themselves with the specifics of the educational and formation processes of the CISC, these are advanced training programs, the development of professional competencies, as well as personal qualities. In addition, the CISC is developing an ‘education for educators’ initiative through the Insight Education Center, engaging external and internal speakers and holding open events. Therefore, I think that a modern LMS will come in handy”.

  * LMS – Learning management system.

  “We see the demand for high-quality education in Ukraine, therefore, the plans of the CISC include the expansion of the network of schools and further automation of business processes. Integration with the 1C ERP system is now being implemented, so that the HR department automatically receives information about the new employee.

  I understand why the recruitment process is so important for the CISC network. Teachers are key for a school, as they are responsible for the quality of education. Therefore, I am very glad that the SMART HCM & LMS solution helps the CISC to gather as many qualified talented employees  within the walls of the school as possible”.

  Online diary – common schedule for children, parents and teachers

  The CISC actively uses an electronic diary built on the basis of Microsoft SharePoint technologies. It ensures the prompt execution of everyday tasks by all participants in the educational process.

  The teacher has easy and controlled access to school registers, views the current schedule and can filter classes based on cohort, form, group. The diary is a single database of educational materials: there is no need to send educational files to each student separately, you just need to add a link.

  Parents see homework entered by the teacher, have access to grades and comments made by teachers, mentors and tutors.

  Students use schedule of classes and studio lessons, see homework information and record sheets without teacher comments intended for parents.

  One portal for all participants in the educational process

  “Various messengers and tools were used at different times for internal communications in the CISC, but as the team grows, we feel an urgent need to combine all channels into one space”.

  In May 2021, we are launching a portal built on Microsoft SharePoint, which will provide information support to all participants in the educational process: children, parents, teachers, tutors and mentors, school management teams and employees of the central office. Everyone will have their own rights, access to news, messages. As for general information, it will be easy to publish it to everyone at the same time. Certain categories of visitors will have access to more detailed information, for example, payment information will be displayed in the parents’ cabinets, and the school staff will see messages about birthdays and new colleagues in time, will have access to approved internal documents, etc.

  “In this project, the peculiarity was that it was necessary to consider the interests of all participants in the learning process: to take care of convenient access to the schedule for children, of quick and effective communication with parents, of differentiated access to information for school staff, and most importantly, of configuring an automated process for finding new teachers and their adaptation to the unique culture of the school. After all, they are the main carriers of knowledge and values.

  Microsoft 365 technologies are also an integral part of communication in the educational and administrative process, in particular, the full-fledged use of the Teams product. We are very pleased to be a partner of the CISC in all technological endeavors, because the school’s openness to technology and innovation gives children a wonderful example of development in a changeable modern world”.
  

   

  To learn more about the solutions and services of SMART business,
  call +38 (044) 585-35-50 or submit your request here.

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