A multiple honoree in PR News’ 2010 Nonprofit PR Awards, the National Education Association has developed a full range of communications tactics as it advocates on behalf of education professionals and fulfills its mission of developing “great public schools for every student.” An emphasis on professional development at NEA has helped it succeed in the areas of e-mail communications, lobbying and social media.
It all starts with recruitment. NEA makes a special effort to recruit a workforce inspired by the ideals it believes in, says Leona Hiraoka, director, NEA Interactive Media. “We look for talented, highly motivated individuals who want to join our cause—people who want to create great public schools because they believe, as our members do, that great public schools are a basic right for every student,” she says.
NEA’s in-house Leadership Institute provides opportunities that enhance its ability to be a higher performing learning organization and to support the continued growth and development of its employees. The Institute provides training in four “tracks” or areas: career, management, executive, and health and wellness. Last year, it offered 60 on-site courses (during regular working hours) that attracted over 700 participants.
The NEA offers a generous leave package to its employees. In additions, during July and August, NEA employees work a longer four-day work week and take off every Friday. NEA closes down and provides paid leave from Dec. 24 through Jan. 1. Employees also get paid leave to spend at a child’s school or a school-related function (five days per year), paid medical leave (two weeks per year) and employer-paid short and long-term disability benefits.
To help employees balance work and family life, NEA provides back-up care for children and other family members 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Staff may use this program when a regular caregiver is ill or on vacation, a spouse or loved one is recovering from medical treatment, a child or adult family member is ill, when school is closed or while traveling for work.