Every HR makes an invaluable impact at The Grammar School at Leeds
The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) is a leading co-educational independent school for pupils aged 3 to 18. Named the North Independent School of the Year 2024, the school is committed to inspiring confident, versatile young people to rise to every challenge. To support this mission, GSAL uses Every HR by IRIS to streamline and enhance their people management processes.
Empowering HR transformation
Rachel Cooper, the Director of HR at GSAL, joined the school from a corporate background in 2020, stepping into a role with no formal HR system in place. At the time, absence records were tracked via spreadsheets, key HR processes like return-to-work interviews and end-of-year reviews lacked structure and consistency and there was no formal eLearning process in place for mandatory training. “I knew I had a challenge on my hands, but I was excited about getting started!” Rachel shares.
It quickly became clear that the school needed a sector-specific HR platform to manage its operations more effectively.
In the procurement process Every HR stood out as the right choice thanks to its education-focused functionality, strong security, and value for investment. “We needed a system that was made for the education sector – it can be quite complex, and it was important that the software could handle that. Employee self-serve was essential, as colleagues previously had no visibility or control over their own HR information. Numerous attempted phishing scams made it clear we needed a secure, centralised system where colleagues could safely manage their personal details,” says Rachel.
Building transparency and trust across the school
Transitioning from no system to one that offered complete visibility was a significant shift for colleagues, but it quickly delivered benefits. Rachel tells us, “Colleagues were a bit nervous at first, but giving them that transparency was key. With Every HR, we could finally put a proper HR strategy in place. Our starting points were employee self-service, absence management, performance management, and eLearning.”
The ability to track absences and identify trends has proven invaluable, allowing line managers to intervene early and provide support where needed. “It’s really important that you can track your absences and spot unusual patterns. Giving line managers that visibility in the form of raw data has made such a difference, and any pockets where absence seems unusual or high means we can intervene and offer support and action in a timely way.”
Introducing smarter learning and compliance tracking
Learning and development has also become more structured and trackable with Every HR. Training and policy confirmations, as well as compliance tasks are now monitored through the system, something that’s particularly vital when it comes to safeguarding policies. “When we release new policies in September, we can easily ensure that colleagues have read and acknowledged them now.
For critical areas like safeguarding, it’s essential that these policies are read and understood. Managing this through Every has made the process efficient – it’s no longer time-consuming for employees to complete or for manual records to be held,” explains Rachel.
“With Every HR, we could finally put a proper HR strategy in place. Our starting points were employee self-service, absence management, performance management, and eLearning.”
Data-led decisions that make a difference
The introduction of Every HR transformed how the school’s leadership teams access and use data. “Our line managers and senior leaders are all very happy with the data and insight at their fingertips. Reporting used to be time-consuming and difficult – now we can run and share reports instantly, which helps us make better, informed HR decisions.”
Efficiency has become even more critical in light of recent financial pressures, such as increased VAT on school fees. “With budgets tighter than ever, it’s vital we get the most out of the software we use and ensure our team works as efficiently as possible.”
“Reporting used to be time-consuming and difficult – now we can run and share reports instantly, which helps us make better, informed HR decisions.”
Supporting the full employee journey
Alongside Every HR, GSAL also uses IRIS Recruitment and has recently adopted the onboarding module to give new starters a smoother experience. “We’re very lucky in that we have a good reputation in the market and we’ve been listed as a Sunday Times School of the Year several times, so recruitment isn’t too much of a challenge for us, but it’s important that we have good software in place to help us make the recruitment and onboarding process as efficient as possible,” shares Rachel.
Bringing Every HR in is the best thing we’ve done since I started. It’s helped us grow, shape our people management, and significantly improve HR processes and the employee experience.
A game-changing decision for HR
Looking back on her journey since joining the school, Rachel considers the introduction of Every HR a pivotal moment in GSAL’s evolution. Rachel tells us, “Bringing Every HR in is the best thing we’ve done since I started. It’s helped us grow, shape our people management, and significantly improve HR processes and the employee experience. The return on investment is huge and it’s vital to have access to that data. I would highly recommend it to other schools.”