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Tom Oestreich, MSDWT HR Director is featured this month in the “Focus on a Member” section of the American Association of School Personnel Administrators “HR Focus” publication. Below are excerpts from his interview:
How did you get into the field of HR?
As a teacher, I was always interested in the hiring process as I saw early on that hiring great teachers and staff was a critical factor to student and school success.
I was fortunate to work closely with my HR Director during that time and he offered me different professional development opportunities such as traveling to the different colleges and universities to assist him with interviewing candidates. When I became a building administrator, this experience was invaluable as I began to interview and hire candidates for our school building.
Do you have any advice you would offer to people who are new to HR?
Make connections with other HR Directors around you and develop or join school personnel director groups in your area. In Indiana, we meet every six weeks and invite all the school district HR Directors in the state. Our group has grown in size and we have HR Directors that join us from as far as 2 or 3 hours away. This is my most valuable meeting as I am able to learn so much from the other directors and realize they are all going through many of the issues that I face in my district.
What is the best part of your job? What do you enjoy about it the most?
The best part of my job is anytime that I am in the schools working with principals, teachers and watching all the great student learning that takes place in our district every day. I enjoy working with our current district leaders to assist principals and teachers in their buildings. I strive to support and serve our principals and teachers to the best of my ability.
What is the biggest challenge facing you and/or other HR Directors in your state?
The rising cost of healthcare and the Affordable Care Act are challenges that we face on a daily basis. We work closely with our district insurance stakeholders in providing them information and updates to where we stand with claims with our health plan through our district insurance committee. Additionally, we have had to make many changes in our district related to the Affordable Care Act. These changes have affected some of our individual employees and that is always difficult as we strive to serve our employees in the best manner possible.
Are there any specific resources, professional development events, websites, etc. you have found very useful for your job?
Certainly, AASPA has been my primary resource in my role as well as making connections with those HR directors in my area. I have attended the AASPA annual conference as well as the boot camp and have found everything offered by AASPA to be extremely valuable. Finally, the Indiana Association of School Business Officials (ISABO) provides training and professional development for school personnel administrators and staff that has also been very valuable.
