This session explores workforce issues through the lens of an organization created in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will facilitate open discussion about issues such as the shift in needed skills, changed business models, and staff fatigue. The goal is to learn from each other by sharing what’s happening across institutions, identifying short- and long-term concerns, and considering barriers and ways to move forward. PRESENTERS: Rita Deedrick, Volunteer, MuseumExpert.org Wendy Meluch, Principle, Wendy Meluch Consulting Jill Stein, Founder and Principle Researcher, Reimagine Research Group

1. Museum People
Exploring Museum Workforce Issues in 2022
Western Museums Association Annual Meeting
October 9, 2022
Presented by MuseumExpert.org

2. Your Hosts
• Rita Deedrick (she/her), MuseumExpert.org Volunteer
• Principal, Deedrick Consulting
• Jill Stein (she/her)
• Founder & Principal Researcher, Reimagine Research Group
• Wendy Meluch (she/her)
• Principal, Wendy Meluch Consulting

3. Community Guidelines
• Share the air
• Stay engaged and listen to understand
• We come from a place of curiosity and not judgment
• We can’t be our most articulate selves all the time
• Honesty is encouraged, as well as grace and empathy
• We take care of each other by taking care of ourselves
• Have fun!
• Are there others?

4. MuseumExpert.org
We exist to create a
community that supports
museum professionals in
designing fulfilling careers

5. What we’ve heard
• Many lay-offs, fewer recalls
• “The Great Resignation”
• Burnout
• Fragile business models
• Shift in needed skills
• Diversity, inclusion & equity remains elusive
• We are a passionate people!

6. Today’s work
• Format – World Café
What are the questions around today’s
museum workforce that matter most in
service to our work?

7. Questions… issues… topics
• Internal tug of war
• Creative thinkers vs highly organized individuals; also new ways vs. old ways, jobs have
morphed
• Generational dynamics, different workstyles
• Compensation, other sources of funding; transparency; helping leadership
thinking broadly around what this looks like beyond money
• Overworked and underpaid; internships;
• How to enter the field (financial barriers)
• The value of a master’s degree or lack of value (advanced degrees?)
• How to push your organization to change (e.g. decolonization), convince your
board of changes

8. Discoveries & Insights -
Internal Tug-of-War
• There have always been tensions between “groups” (or perceived
groups) and the pandemic has brought them to the fore
• Some examples: creatives & rigid org types; lifers & short term
staffers; old guard & new staff; remote & on-site; leadership & staff
• Contributing to this surge in tension is the exhaustion from the having
to navigate unfamiliar landscapes
• Remedies must include supporting change management and
rebuilding trust among staff through transparency – “What’s the
why?” - and see staff as a community to be served

9. Discoveries & Insights –
Compensation
• Many museum workers are underpaid, and pay inequities exist within
organizations. It’s harder than ever to compete with outside employers
when employees need income for basics. Why stay?
• Consider compensation more than money…
• INVITE restructuring jobs in partnership with staff members; “job crafting”
encourages curiosity & exploration
• ASK “What skills do you want to build?” & “How can we help you grow?”
• ALLOW side gigs and paid time for volunteer opportunities
• RETHINK work schedules; hybrid WFH; credentials (that aren’t grad school);
offering unlimited PTO
• ASK “How are you (really)?” & “What can I do to support you”

10. Discoveries & Insights –
Organizational Change & Boards
• Creating organizational change is difficult, especially at the board level;
most change is happening among the staff.
• There’s a limited relationship between board and staff; lack of being
collaboratively strategic
• Many boards are entrenched with socio-economic & racial homogeneity
vs. diversifying boards by age, race, background, geography. What skills
are needed for change? What is the system to include diverse voices?
• Get out of survival mode while also stressing urgency (movement) over
resistance to change; lack of strategic priorities leads to stagnation

11. MuseumExpert.org
Walter Staveloz, walter.staveloz@museumexpert.org
Rita Deedrick, ritadeedrick@gmail.com