Continuous Staff Development on a Shoestring

1
Continuous Staff Development on a Shoestring

• Improving Job Performance and Job Satisfaction
  Through Skills Upgrade

2
Training Vs. Skills Upgrade

• Solve training issues first.
• Once training issues are solved, begin skills
  upgrade.
• Your goal should be every employee leaves this
  job with more skills than they had when they
  came.
• The Girls Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a
  Bitch)- Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio

3
Why Skills Upgrade Improves Staff Satisfaction

• Employees want to know and understand more.
• When promotion criteria include certain skills
  and employees have been given the opportunity to
  learn these skills, promotion decisions are
  viewed as fair.
• When some skills upgrades are offered, employees
  clamor for more.

4
How Can I Offer Skills Upgrade on a Shoestring?

• Staff skills inventory.
• Skills sharing and coaching
• Job shadowing
• Shared government services
• Committee work

5
Learning Opportunities

• The supervisor respects the skills of employees
  and encourages reciprocal learning opportunities.

6
What Does Your Staff Need and Want

• Ask them.
• Annual staff interviews.
• Survey Monkey

7
Staff Satisfaction Survey

• I know what is expected of me at work.
• I have the equipment and materials I need.
• I have the opportunity to do what I do best each
  day.
• Someone at work cares about me as a person.
• In the last seven days, I have received praise
  for doing good work.
• Someone at work encourages my development.
• The mission of the organization makes me feel my
  job is important.
• My fellow employees are committed to doing
  quality work.
• At work my opinion seems to count.
• In the last six months, someone has talked to me
  about my progress.
• In the last year, I have had the opportunity at
  work to learn and grow.

8
Annual Staff Interviews, 2006

• Is there anything you need to help you do your
  work in 2006 that you dont have?
  Prompt-equipment, supplies, training.
• Is there anything your department needs to do
  your work in 2006 that you dont have?
• Is there anything the library staff as a whole
  needs to do its work in 2006 that it doesnt
  have?
• What goals should Willingboro Public Library have
  for 2006 in staff relations?
• What goals should Willingboro Public Library have
  for 2006 in customer service?
• Do you have any concerns about library policy,
  procedures, or services that you would like to
  communicate with the administration?

9
2007

• If you could change one rule at Willingboro
  Public Library for staff and one rule for the
  public, what would they be?
• What is one thing management could do to increase
  your job satisfaction?
• What is one thing management could do to improve
  communication with staff?

10
2008

• What skill or ability do you have that the
  library could make better use of?
• What skill would you like to learn or upgrade in
  2008?
• If we are able to implement job shadowing in
  2008, which staff member would you like to work
  with?
• What is one library service we already offer that
  needs to be improved?
• What is the biggest challenge Willingboro Public
  Library faces in 2008?

11
Skills Staff Believed We Could Make Better Use Of

• Decorating
• Presentations
• Computer troubleshooting
• MS Office applications
• People skills
• Customer service
• Project management

• Training
• Accounting
• Organization
• Art
• Writing
• Yoga
• Local history
• Displays
• Mentoring

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Skills Staff Wanted to Learn or Upgrade

• Powerpoint
• Publisher
• Word
• Excel
• Time management
• Readers advisory
• Web 2.0 Scanning
• Cataloging
• Email
• Keyboarding
• Materials processing
• Customer service
• Internet

• CAMPS
• Reading comprehension
• HTML

13
2009

• What skill would you like to learn or upgrade in
  2009?
• What skill would you like to teach a co-worker or
  group of co-workers in 2009?
• Who would you like to job shadow in 2009, both
  inside and outside the library? What should be
  changed from job shadowing in 2008?
• What is one persistent library problem that needs
  to be solved?
• Do you have any suggestions for saving the
  library money in 2009?

14
Skills Staff Wanted to Teach

• Basic excel
• Keyboarding
• Photoshop
• Intermediate excel
• Chair yoga
• Word
• Report writing
• Text messaging
• Principles of design
• Online price comparison

• Sketching
• Counting money
• Book repair
• Copy machine troubleshooting
• Verbal communication

15
2010

• What motivates you?
• How do you like to be praised and rewarded?
• How do you like to be supervised?
• What library or staff issues do you think the
  administrations should pay more attention to in
  2010?
• What have you experienced at WPL that has
  surprised or confused you?
• What do you like to read? Would you be interested
  in doing a book display in 2010?
• What would you like the authority to do that you
  dont have now?
• Where do you see yourself going in your career at
  WPL? What do you need to succeed?

16
Developing a Skills Inventory

• World languages inventory.
• Computer applications.
• Job related skills- principles of design,
  publicizing programs with mass text messaging,
  counting money, chair yoga.
• Resumes and job applications.

17
Skills Sharing and Coaching

• Coaching- Use this especially for skills best
  taught one on one for skills employees are
  embarrassed to admit they havent mastered to
  judge an employees presentation skills.
• Skills sharing- Non-librarians will often need
  help with presentation skills, but not always.

18
Job Shadowing

• What do they do in Technical Services?
• Match up requests.
• Allow them freedom to schedule.
• Write a brief report.
• Shadowing with another library.
• Shadowing with other government agencies.

19
Shared Government Services

• Joint staff development day with other public
  libraries.
• Skills inventory and sharing with other
  government agencies.
• Workshop swap with other librarians.

20
Committee Work

• All members are equal
• All ideas are equal in brainstorming
• All votes are equal in prioritizing
• Leadership shown in committee work is a
  promotional criterion

21
Who Am I?

• Christine M. Hill, Assistant Director
• Willingboro Public Library
• 220 Willingboro Parkway
• Willingboro NJ 08046
• 609-877-6668
• cmhill_at_willingboro.org
• Talk to me about continuous staff development at
  your library via Square2.