It is normal for any employee anywhere to look to advance their career, and British Council employees are certainly no different. Most companies or organisations have reasonably clear career paths, and most employees can expect to make progress if they are committed and play their cards right.
So how is the British Council different? Well, the most important factor is that almost all managerial positions are based on what is called the competency based interview, which is basically a series of questions designed to test your development in specific skills areas. That's fine as far as it goes. However, importantly, no consideration is taken of you holistically. For example, your years of service, your achievements, your contributions, etc, none of these will count. It's simply how you handle the set of questions you get on the day that matters. It's also possible to coach oneself up for these questions, as they tend be highly formulaic, as is so typical within the BC. So what happens is that the most suitable candidates don't necessarily get the position. It's more likely to be someone who is clever at handling that type of interview.
Incredibly, within the British Council, there is no management training. Basically, managers pick up the job as they go along. It also means that teachers trying to move up the scale are often caught in a Catch 22 situation. For example, a candidate might be asked, "Describe a time when you ...." relative to a management role. However, if you've never been in such a role, how are you going to answer that question? Most people either make something up or try to bluff their way through. It also opens the door for teachers applying from outside the BC who have managed at other schools, because they can easily leapfrog you. The reason this is of concern is because, as per usual, the British Council shows no loyalty to its own. When I was with the BC, I saw so many managers come in from other schools, often bringing in a completely different corporate culture and associated values.
So what's the solution? Well, one obvious one would be simply to start giving proper management training courses, specifically tailored to the needs and values of the British Council. That way, any teacher interested in progressing could do a course, such that when he or she then applies for a management role, he or she will be in a strong position and fully clued up. It would also make it much easier for existing BC personnel to progress ahead of external candidates. The other obvious improvement would be to expand the interview, so that any candidate is assessed holistically.
One would think that someone somewhere in the British Council's Human Resources department in London would be coming up with ideas like this and more. Sadly, however, this is not so. The big shots in HR seem only to be concerned with recruiting big names for the upper echelons of the BC. They seem completely unconcerned about the situation at ground level in teaching centres. And in many ways, this is the whole problem with the BC, in that the rot starts from the top. It's that complete lack of interest and indifference toward the lot of the average teacher that personifies the British Council.
Let's hope the HR leaders in London can start doing something to justify their high salaries.
So how is the British Council different? Well, the most important factor is that almost all managerial positions are based on what is called the competency based interview, which is basically a series of questions designed to test your development in specific skills areas. That's fine as far as it goes. However, importantly, no consideration is taken of you holistically. For example, your years of service, your achievements, your contributions, etc, none of these will count. It's simply how you handle the set of questions you get on the day that matters. It's also possible to coach oneself up for these questions, as they tend be highly formulaic, as is so typical within the BC. So what happens is that the most suitable candidates don't necessarily get the position. It's more likely to be someone who is clever at handling that type of interview.
Incredibly, within the British Council, there is no management training. Basically, managers pick up the job as they go along. It also means that teachers trying to move up the scale are often caught in a Catch 22 situation. For example, a candidate might be asked, "Describe a time when you ...." relative to a management role. However, if you've never been in such a role, how are you going to answer that question? Most people either make something up or try to bluff their way through. It also opens the door for teachers applying from outside the BC who have managed at other schools, because they can easily leapfrog you. The reason this is of concern is because, as per usual, the British Council shows no loyalty to its own. When I was with the BC, I saw so many managers come in from other schools, often bringing in a completely different corporate culture and associated values.
So what's the solution? Well, one obvious one would be simply to start giving proper management training courses, specifically tailored to the needs and values of the British Council. That way, any teacher interested in progressing could do a course, such that when he or she then applies for a management role, he or she will be in a strong position and fully clued up. It would also make it much easier for existing BC personnel to progress ahead of external candidates. The other obvious improvement would be to expand the interview, so that any candidate is assessed holistically.
One would think that someone somewhere in the British Council's Human Resources department in London would be coming up with ideas like this and more. Sadly, however, this is not so. The big shots in HR seem only to be concerned with recruiting big names for the upper echelons of the BC. They seem completely unconcerned about the situation at ground level in teaching centres. And in many ways, this is the whole problem with the BC, in that the rot starts from the top. It's that complete lack of interest and indifference toward the lot of the average teacher that personifies the British Council.
Let's hope the HR leaders in London can start doing something to justify their high salaries.
