Week Four

1
Week Four

• Staffing

2
Staffing

• Overview
• Job Characteristics
• Organizational Structure
• Job descriptions
• HR Issues
• Performance Evaluations
• Legal Considerations

3
Types of Library Staff

• Professional librarians
• masters degree in library or information science
• tend to be specialists
• Support staff
• wide range of skills and responsibilities
• handle the routine work of most library
  departments
• varying education and experience levels
• Part-time employees
• often are students
• do mostly repetitive tasks

4
Changing Nature of Library Work

• Shift from traditional, functional specialist
  positions to multi-skilling positions
• Increasing requirements for behavior skills
• ability to communicate internally and externally
• work effectively with others
• flexibility
• creativity
• innovative

5
Diversity

• Broad term encompassing not only race, ethnicity,
  and gender but also characteristics such as age
  and physical ability
• Diversity brings a variety of points of views and
  approaches to problems and opportunity that
  strengthens organizations
• Managers must promote and commit to diversity as
  a principle and value that is part of the
  organizational culture

6
Training and Staff Development

• Every library needs a planned, staff training and
  development program
• Training
• primarily focuses on teaching staff to perform
  their current jobs and helping them to acquire
  the knowledge and skills they need to be
  effective performers
• also needed to keep employees current

7
Training and Staff Development

• Staff Development
• staff development focuses on building staff
  knowledge and skills so that they will be
  prepared to take on new responsibilities
• includes additional activities such as varied
  work experiences and formal education
• professional conference programs and workshops
• it is critical that managers promote transfer of
  the knowledge and skills to the actual work
  situation

8
Staffing

• Personnel costs are half of the financial
  resources allocated to the library
• In times of economic downturns, what gets cut?
  How do we prioritize?
• Some academic libraries are being asked to cut
  5-10 of budget (this could mean 3 million
  dollars).

9
ARL Budget Roundup 2009

• Staffing
• Emory- 10 vacant positions wont be filled
  (African-American studies, economics, LGBT,
  etc.), other searches on hold
• University of Washington-
• 8 cut 20 vacant positions, closing/consolidating
  of three branches and two service points
• 12 cut 34.5 vacancies, 24 service hours cut in
  undergrad library, branches to close at 5pm
  everyday.
• Umass Dartmouth loses Vice Chancellor of Library
  Services position- dutires relocated to
  Adminsitration Fiscal Affairs
• Staff Development
• Reductions in travel and staff development-
  training, conference attendance, etc.

10
Organizational Structure

• In Academic Libraries

11
Organizational Structure

• Organizations
• are groups of individuals joined together to
  accomplish some objective
• have their own characteristics
• have rules and norms which have evolved over time
• interact with other organizations
• change internally to keep up with external
  pressures

12
To Organize Structure

• Group tasks into individual jobs
• Group jobs into functions and divisions
• Allocate authority in the organization among
  jobs, functions and divisions
• Coordinate or integrate jobs, functions and
  divisions

13
Grouping Tasks into Jobs Job Design

• Job design is the process by which managers
  decide how to divide into specific jobs the tasks
  that have to be performed
• J.R. Hackman and G.R. Oldman developed a job
  characteristics model that explains how to design
  jobs that are interesting and motivating

14
Job Characteristics Model

• High motivation on the job is related to three
  psychological states
• Meaningfulness of the work work has meaning to
  you, is something you relate to, not just a set
  of tasks/movements
• Responsibility you have the opportunity for
  success or failure, because you have sufficient
  freedom of action. Includes ability to make
  changes/ incorporate learning on the job
• Knowledge of Outcomes 1) you get feedback so you
  know how successful youve been can learn from
  your mistakes, 2) you can connect emotionally to
  the customer of your product

15
Job Characteristics Model

• Each of the three states derives from job
  characteristics
• Meaningfulness
• Skill variety uses an appropriate variety of
  skills (too many is overwhelming, too few is
  boring)
• Task identity the extent to which a job requires
  a worker to perform all the tasks required to
  complete the job
• Task significance the degree to which a worker
  feels the job is meaningful

16
Job Characteristics Model

• Responsibility
• Comes from autonomy- the degree to which the job
  gives the employee the freedom and discretion
  needed to schedule different tasks and decide how
  to carry them out
• Feedback
• The extent to which actually doing the job
  provides a worker with clear and direct
  information about how well the job has been
  performed

17
Job Characteristics Model
18
Job Characteristics Model

• Once we know what contributes to high motivation
  in a job, we can design jobs around key
  components
• Varying work to enable skill variety
• Assigning work to groups to increase the
  wholeness of the product produced and give a
  group to enhance significance
• Delegate tasks to their lowest possible level to
  create autonomy and hence responsibility
• Connect people to the outcomes of their work and
  the customers that receive them so as to provide
  feedback for learning
• Taken from http//www.arrod.co.uk/archive/concept_
  job_characteristics.php

19
Job Characteristics Model
20
Organizational Structure

• Job groupings

21
Grouping Jobs into Functions and Divisions

• There are at least six structures used in
  libraries
• functional structure
• subject structure
• divisional structure
• form structure
• matrix structure
• hybrid structure

22
Jobs in Functions and Divisions

• Functional structure
• a function is a group of people, working
  together, who posses similar skills or uses the
  same knowledge, tools or techniques
• most common structure found in libraries
• Subject structure
• used by libraries to organize based upon the
  classification of knowledge
• humanities, social sciences, etc.
• then, functional by including functional
  responsibilities within the subject structure,
  such as acquisitions and reference

23
Jobs in Functions and Divisions

• Divisional structure
• an organizational structure composed of separate
  units within which are the functions that work
  together to produce a specific output for a
  specific customer
• we often see geographic divisional structures --
  campus branch libraries

24
Jobs in Functions and Divisions

• Form of resources structure
• sometimes referred to as a divisional/product
  structure (the form is the output)
• use of materials format to organize, such as map,
  microform, audio-visual, serials, electronic
  services, and government documents
• often, the form of resources structure handles
  all functions related to the format
  acquisitions, cataloging, shelving, etc.
• example Government Documents Departments.

25
Jobs in Functions and Divisions

• Matrix structure
• workers are grouped by first by function, then
  into product teams. Members of different
  functions work together to develop a specific
  product.
• each person reports to two bosses the function
  boss and the product boss
• to keep matrix structure flexible, product teams
  are empowered and members are responsible for
  making important decisions.
• not seen often in libraries because of its
  complexity and problems with unity of command
  (two bosses)

26
Jobs in Functions and Divisions

• Hybrid structure
• usually based in a large organization that has
  many divisions and simultaneously uses many
  different structures (for example, function and
  product, etc.)
• essentially used to break large organizations
  into smaller, more manageable units

27
Integrating Staff

• Mechanisms are used to increase communications
  and coordination among functions and divisions
• Direct contact
• Liaison roles
• useful for transmitting information across an
  organization

28
Integrating Staff

• Task forces
• a committee from various functions or divisions
  who meet to solve a specific problem
• temporary once the problem is solved, the task
  force dissolves
• Committees
• members are usually appointed
• have a specific charge and are results-oriented
• may be temporary or permanent standing
• example Public Relations Committee Staff
  Development Committee

29
Integrating Staff

• Cross-functional teams
• to address recurring problems, use permanent
  cross-functional teams
• Quality circles
• groups of employees that meet regularly and
  voluntarily to recommend solutions to quality and
  productivity problems
• Self-managing teams
• internal groups that manage themselves
• members are those who do the work
• process-oriented
• managers are responsible for developing the
  talents and skills of team members, motivating
  them, and fostering effective working
  relationships

30
Organizational Structures in Libraries

• The current thinking is
• flexible and adaptable to change
• few levels of formal hierarchy
• loose boundaries among functions and units
• work unit is teams
• focus on end user services

31
Organizational Structures in Libraries

• Results
• job descriptions are becoming broader
• combining units internally
• some flattening of the hierarchy
• empowerment of team-based staff to make decisions
  for which they have the appropriate information,
  knowledge, skills and abilities
• use of interdepartmental committees to cross
  functional departments

32
Organizational Structures in Libraries

• Results (continued)
• liaisons to the faculty (selection research
  instructional, etc.)
• new user services (virtual reference)
• elimination of user services (such as reference
  librarians doing database searching on behalf of
  the user)
• new partnerships with other organizational units
  (usually IT- which others?)

33
Job Descriptions

• Job analysis is the HRM process of identifying
  the tasks, duties and responsibilities that make
  up a job -- the job description
• Job descriptions specifies the duties associated
  with the job

34
Job Descriptions

• Usually contain the following elements
• Job identification
• job title and department
• Job summary
• description of the major responsibilities and why
  the job exists
• Job activities and procedures
• description of tasks to be performed
• clear delineation of the duties and
  responsibilities of the job

35
Job Descriptions

• Relationship of job to the organization
• lines of authority
• number of employees to be supervised
• internal and external relationships required of
  the job
• Job requirements
• identifies the minimal qualifications required
• education experience special skills knowledge
  or abilities necessary
• could also identify preferred qualifications
  including additional educations and specific
  experiences

36
Human Resources Management

• In Academic Libraries

37
Legal Environment of HRM

• There are a number of local, state, and federal
  laws and regulations concerning labor
• Local laws are usually centered around minimum
  wage although there is a federal minimum wage,
  Boston has set its own minimum wage level

38
Legal Environment of HRM

• Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
• mandates that non-managerial workers (non-exempt
  employees) receive overtime pay at the rate of
  1.5 times their regularly hourly rate for any
  hours worked beyond the standard 40 hour week
• exempt employees are classified as managers who
  make important decisions affecting the
  organization, supervise two or more subordinates,
  or can hire and fire employees are exempt from
  the 40 hour workweek and overtime pay.
• most professional librarians are classified as
  exempt employees

39
Legal Environment of HRM

• Equal Pay Act - 1963
• requires men and women to be paid equally if they
  are performing equal work
• Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO)
• Civil Rights Act, Title VII 1964
• equal right of all citizens to the opportunity to
  obtain employment regardless of their gender,
  age, race, country of origin, religion, or
  disabilities.
• covers a wide range of employment decisions,
  including hiring, firing, pay, promotion, and
  working conditions.

40
Legal Environment of HRM

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act - 1967
• prohibits discrimination against workers over the
  age of 40 and restricts mandatory retirement
• Equal Opportunity Employment Act - 1972
• amends Title VII to cover all private employers
  of 15 or more people, all private and public
  educational institutions, state and local
  governments, employment agencies, labor unions,
  and apprenticeship and training programs.

41
Legal Environment of HRM

• Pregnancy Discrimination Act - 1978
• prohibits discrimination against women in
  employment decisions on the basis of pregnancy,
  childbirth, and related medical decisions
• Americans with Disabilities Act - 1990
• prohibits discrimination against with disabled
  individuals in employment decisions and requires
  employers to make accommodations for disabled
  workers to enable them to perform their jobs

42
Legal Environment of HRM

• Civil Rights Act - 1991
• prohibits discrimination (as does Title VII) and
  allows for the awarding of punitive and
  compensatory damages, in addition to back pay, in
  cases of intentional discrimination
• Family and Medical Leave Act - 1993
• requires employees to prove up to 12 weeks of
  unpaid leave for medical and family reasons
  including paternity and illness of a family member

43
Legal Environment of HRM

• Sexual Harassment
• form of sexual discrimination protected by Title
  VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when a
  supervisor or someone in authority demands a
  sexual favor in exchange for some type of
  employee benefit
• hostile work environment of sexual harassment
  occurs when an employee is forced to work in an
  environment where behaviors considered offensive
  to an employee, such as sexual teasing or jokes,
  occur. The plaintiff must only demonstrate that
  the environment created by the offensive conduct
  was hostile and abusive.

44
Legal Environment of HRM

• Library managers responsible for HR must keep
  current with ever-changing laws, case law, and
  regulations.

45
Performance Appraisal and Feedback

• Performance appraisal is the evaluation of the
  employees job performance and contributions to
  the organization

46
Performance Appraisal and Feedback

• Who appraises performance
• immediate supervisors are the most common
  appraisers of performance
• also, self-evaluation, peer-evaluation,
  subordinates and clients
• Establishing standards of performance
• standards of performance must be established
  against which an employees work is evaluated
• articulate expectations do not assume that
  everyones definition of being on time is the
  same
• employees should have a say in the standards to
  be used since they are closest to the work

47
Performance Appraisal and Feedback

• Methods of performance appraisals
• there is no standard for performance appraisal
• most are form-based, and the form is developed by
  the institutional level HR department
• Instruments used
• narrative essay
• ranking systems
• simply ranks attributes from 1- 5 or high to low
• graphic rating uses a short phrase to describe
  the level of performance - meets, exceeds
  expectations etc.
• behavior anchored rating scales
• assesses job behavior, such as knowledge,
  attitude, judgment, etc.
• difficult to administered because each job is
  different

48
What is effectiveness

• in context of teams?

49
Leading Groups in Organizations, by J. Richard
Hackman and Richard E. Walton

• In Designing Effective Work Groups, edited by
  Paul S. Goodman and Associates, 1986, pp. 72-120

50
Effectiveness task-performing groups in
organizations

• Results the degree to which the groups
  productive output (service) meets the standards
  of quantity, quality, and timeliness of the
  people who receive, review, and/or use that
  output
• Collegiality the degree to which the process of
  carrying out the work enhances the capability of
  members to work together interdependently in the
  future
• Individual Development the degree to which the
  group experience contributes to the growth and
  personal well-being of team members

51
Team Effectiveness
Outputs (results)
Personal criteria
Social criteria
52

• The relative weights one would assign to the
  three criterion dimensions vary across
  circumstances. If a temporary team were formed to
  perform a single task of extraordinary
  importance the second and third dimensions would
  be of little relevance in judging the teams
  effectiveness. On the other hand, teams sometimes
  are formed primarily to help members gain
  experience, learn some things, and become
  competent as a performing unit. The task of such
  a group may be more an excuse for the team than
  the reason for it, and assessments of the teams
  effectiveness would depend far more on the second
  and third dimensions than on the first.

53
Leading Teams Setting the Stage for Great
Performance

• J. Richard Hackman (Harvard Business School
  Press, 2002)

54
Five conditions foster team effectiveness

• Real team (not name only) a team task(s). Clear
  boundaries, clearly specified authority to manage
  their own work processes, and membership
  stability over some reasonable period of time
• Compelling direction for its work (someone in
  authority sets the direction for the teams work)
• Enabling team structure (facilitates , and does
  not impede, teamwork)

55

1. A supportive organizational context (operates
   within such a context) work motivation,
   necessary skills, careful attention to team
   formation and execution, etc. Some essential
   ingredients include training and technical
   assistance, a reward system, reinforcement, an
   information system that provides the data and
   projections that members need to plan their
   performance strategy
2. Expert team coaching (there is ample expert
   coaching) Coaching involves direct interaction
   with a team that is intended to help members use
   their collective resources well in accomplishing
   work

56
Many organizations might have accomplished

• Points 1-3
• Not 4-5
• All five are critical

57
Supportive organizational context
Enabling structure Compelling direction Real team
Team Effectiveness
Expert team coaching
58
Team Effectiveness A team will perform well if

• It is a real work team, well bounded and
  reasonably stable over time. It has a compelling
  direction that energizes, orients, and engages
  the talents of team members. Its structural
  featurestask design, core norms of conduct, and
  compositionpromote rather than impede competent
  teamwork. It has an organizational context that
  actively supports and reinforces excellence
  through systems, policies, and managerial
  practices that are specifically tuned to the
  teams needs. And ample, expert coaching is
  available to the team at the times members most
  need it and are ready to receive it. (p. 237)

59
Some elements then of team effectiveness

• Meeting expectations (mission, goals,
  objectives, tasks/ activities, schedules
• Teams become a growing organism

• Individual team members learn and contribute.
  They also assume leadership roles

60
To add .

• Leadership exists throughout the organization
  different team members rise to the occasion
• Director creates an environment for effective
  teams

• A.J. Anderson adds need to factor in leadership
  styles