Art and Science of Staffing...
This program was packed - I guess a lot of administrators are losing sleep at night!
Look at the speakers' scenario listed below and their ideas for change.
What do you think of their goals and tips for success? Is the picture this bleak? Do you have ideas for change that you'd like to share?
Art and Science of Staffing, Structure and Organizational Design in an Age of Permanent Change
Speakers:
Paula Singer, Principal Consultant, The Singer Group, Inc.
Gail Griffith, Deputy Director, Carroll County (MD) Public Library
“Changing demographics. Changing customer expectations. Half the staff is retiring in five years. You’re answering fewer reference questions. You wake up in the middle of the night and say, “What would happen if….?”
Goals:
1. Implement a strategic plan
2. Use qualitative and quantitative data
3. Staff for results
Tips for success:
1. Finite about of money to run the library, cannot do everything for everybody – look at strategic plan
2. Ask the right questions when analyzing data – don’t ask, “how many children came into the library last year,” but ask, “what’s the percentage of children in the population who came into the library, and how can we reach the others?”
3. Involve staff in change management processes – ask them what they would change.
Implementation:
1. Communicate the case for change. Create of sense of urgency.
2. Assess what the Library must do differently and better to carry out the strategic plan successfully.
3. Be clear and articulate the results you are looking for.
4. Outline how you expect to get those results.
5. Reward people for making changes and producing results.
6. Communicate, communicate, communicate!
5 comments:
Art and Science of Staffing....
Is the picture this bleak?
At LCPL demographics are similar to the rest of the country with these unique "niches" 0r "opportunities for meeting a need".
--The population of Lake County is 25% African American with a population of nearly 100,000.
--Our Blue Collar population is greater than most Designated Market Areas (DMA).
--Our Population is older than the average DMA.
--We have a low number of self-employed individuals as compared to the country as a whole.
--Our DMA has 34% less individuals with 4+college education than the country as a whole.
--We have 13% percent more single, 18-34, No Children individuals than the country as a whole.
Overall demographics are changing in the U.S. as the Baby Boomers Age, Immigration increases, Life expectancy increases, and educational attainment improves.
Here at LCPL we seem to have a similar "library mix" as other libraries.
--I do think 50% of the staff could retire in the next 5-7 years.
--Reference questions are going down.
--The Internet has had a profound effect on society.
a.It has revolutionized shopping.
b. It has revolutionized travel purchases
c.Improved access to federal information
d.Has become an encyclopedia
e.Has become the "Town Meeting" through blogging etc.
Ideas for Change:
I would like to start at the State level and implement a Statewide Strategic Information Plan. I would concentrate on economies of scale for marketing, resources (e.g. paper goods, supplies, computers, books, video downloads, music downloads), distribution (e.g. trucks for delivery of supplies and books, we need an outstanding ILL transportation delivery system), training, and staffing. I would like to implement a statewide digitized reference collection and standard catalog interface and database, which the educational system would use beginning in grade school through college. One that businesses and home dwellers could access and utilize as well. I would begin making plans for downloading audio books, music, and movies on a statewide level. I would have a call center where people can get directory information from a database such as reference USA. I would use the talents of the reference staff to do programs, outreach, adult education, book reviews and discussions, book ordering and weed lists. I would do these things on a statewide level as well. Have subject specialist order science books, and medical books, and fiction, etc. I have to go to the desk--so more later
Has anyone else heard the scuttle at Lowell Public Library that the new Director has only some secretarial classes under her belt? She is not a college graduate and she has not taken any library science classes. Evidently, the certification people at the Indiana State Library said that this was perfectly fine. Lowell has a population of around 8,000. Indiana law says the director needs a minimal amount of library education. ISL lets this happen? Does the Masters Degree not mean anything???? The board approved this move. I feel sorry for the Masters-degreed people who work there. Has staffing the libraries gotten this desperate?
ISL is looking at Indiana's certification program and has appointed a Task Force to restructure it. I am a member of this task force and will be attending a second meeting on July 30th in Indianapolis.
Currently the state law reads:
IC 36-12-11-6 Certification Requirements
Sec. 6. All library directors, library department or branch heads, and professional assistants, except those who are employed at school libraries or libraries of educational institutions, must hold a certificate under section 7 of this chapter.
Traditionally the state has only enforced the director certification and has ignored the rest of the law.
At our next meeting we will be looking at how other states' certification programs work.
The "goals" listed do not really sound like goals to me. They sound more like strategies for achieving whatever goals have been established. If we decide to change the way we assign staff to provide reference service, what are we trying to accomplish? To make assistance more readily available at the point of need? To provide more of the kind of instructional services that would encourage users to make better use of our resources? Once we establish our goals, we can use data to develop, implement, and evaluate a strategic plan.
I am very much in favor of getting staff input. Mrs. Derner used to schedule a "brainstoriming" session at a staff meeting once a year. We should do that again. Often the best ideas come from the people who directly provide services on a day-to-day basis.
Regarding: Transforming Your Services: With the exception of making appointments with patrons, we seem to do everything she recommends. Where do we find the time to make appointments?
Regarding Mary G.'s question: How do we find out what people want? Just go to Barnes and Noble and observe.
Regarding Debbie's comment concerning the new director at Lowell: Every librarian in the state should have something to say about this.
Post a Comment