I often hear a bit of a surprised tone in the voice of the educators we work with when we tell them the hours we’re in the office. ‘But what do you do all day?’ ‘Surely it’s quiet once all the bookings are filled?’ A fair assumption I suppose. So I thought I’d enlighten you as to what is going on while you’re out working hard in schools. What does life really look like on the other side of the desk?
6:20am – It’s a busy morning in the middle of Term 3. A few of the early shift are already here. We check the messages left by schools overnight, get logged in and start trying to sneak in early and call a few educators who’ve been requested.
6:30am – The phones are on and it’s all systems go. Taking calls and fillings bookings. There’s certainly no ease into our mornings. In a busy morning, we can place up to 30-40 Educators into schools and take as many calls. It’s fast and adrenaline pumping – no better way to get into the day!
8:00am – Thinks are slowing down now. There will still be a few late calls but a couple of people duck out for a coffee. It’s time for breakfast & check through & respond to emails.
9:00am – Some team members head out to visit schools, one has an interview. That leaves two of us to man the incoming calls. Now is a good time to look at bookings for the rest of the week or term and try and text a few educators with dates.
9:45am – I have an interview at 10. Time to remind myself of the teachers CV. The interview will take about an hour including writing up comprehensive notes on their preferences and skills and going through all our compliance checks.
11am – 7 voicemails & 12 emails while I’ve been in an interview!!! There’s always a lot to follow up on in term 3. I call back some teachers, recheck the bookings for the rest of the week (there’s at least another 10 of them to look at too) and call a couple of schools. It’s really important to keep in touch with our schools about changes at their end, feedback on our staff and on our service so we can address any issues quickly.
11:45am – Another interview. My least favourite time for an interview, starting to get hungry??
1pm – Interview complete, notes written up and time for lunch. A couple of us head out to the local cafes on Church Street.
1:45pm – Time to check bookings again. Lots of teachers get back to us over their lunch break so straight afterwards is a good time to reassess where we’re at. I play some more phone tag with some of the schools I rang earlier and lock in a couple of visits for later in the week. I manage to get in touch with a school about the teacher I registered this morning who will be perfect for them. After a chat I send across his CV. Fingers crossed they have a booking for him this week!
2:30pm – Once a week we have a team meeting with the teaching division. Share some good news and success stories from around the office, update on current tasks and new compliance procedures.
3pm – By the time we come out of the meeting the atmosphere is ramping back up. Phones are going and it’s bookings, bookings, bookings as teachers call back and schools update their requests.
3:30pm – YES! A request for my new teacher. He doesn’t pick up. Grrr! I send a text and keep my fingers crossed. This is a really busy time on the phone as teachers finish work and want to chat. The priority is clearing all the bookings for tomorrow so as not to leave too much for the person on the late shift who will be doing the bookings for the team through until 7.
4pm – Finish time (technically)! In reality, I’m still on the phone to a school and that teacher still hasn’t returned my call. I get off the phone and write any notes for handover to the late shift.
4:10pm – My extension rings, should I pick up?? Yes! The teacher has called back and he’s very excited about his first day’s work tomorrow.
