Computers in Libraries 2010 presentation by Mary Carmen Chimato and Colleen S. Harris

1. Staff Development:
Soft Skills, Firm Results
Colleen S. Harris
Mary Carmen Chimato
Access & Delivery Services
NCSU Libraries
Raleigh, NC

2. Who are we?
Why are you listening to
us?

3. ADS at NCSU Libraries:
• 33 full time staff
• 24/5 during the academic year
• 362 days a year
• circulation, course reserves, ILL,
document delivery, stacks
maintenance, media/microforms, &
offsite collections
• 14,000 visits per day 2008/09
• textbook collection and technology
device lending

4. A Radical Idea: Talk to your people!!!!!!
Organizational Clarity: identifying and agreeing to the
fundamental concepts that drive it.
***Providing all employees, at all levels with a common
vocabulary and a set of assumptions about what is
important and what is not.***
Reinforce this clarity through Human Systems: hiring, performance
management, rewards & recognition, employee dismissal.

5. The First Annual ADS Staff Retreat
August 5, 2009
What values are fundamental to our department?
Why does the library exist and what difference does it make in our world?
How/Where does ADS fit?
What are our goals for the next year/5 years/10 years?
Who has to do what in order for us to meet them?

6. Access & Delivery Services Department, NCSU Libraries

7. What We Learned After Being Locked in a Room Together
• More Feedback at EVERY LEVEL!
• DELEGATE!
• Allow Risk Taking
• Training & Development
• Generate HIGHER Expectations
• Acknowledge Achievement
All of our Levels of Immeasurability are different,
but very similar!!!!

8. WHAT DOES EXCELLENT
CUSTOMER SERVICE LOOK LIKE?
AND…CAN YOU MEASURE IT?
o Error rate in response to John Pommerich, library
technician & NCSU Provost’s
patron communication Award for Excellence nominee,
o Satisfaction surveys hands student an iPad
o Compliments vs
Complaints (and the
trouble with this)
o Service desk demeanor
o Claims returned rate
o Note: What’s in the annual
evaluation? Is it useful?
o Base measures on actual
work & department needs

9. CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
LEARNING
A MANAGER’S JOB IS TO LOCATE RESOURCES!
o RETREATS
o CLASSES
o UNI, IT, 3RD PARTY
o PEER-TO-PEER
TRAINING
o SOFTWARE
o CROSS-DEPARTMENT
o INVITED SPEAKERS

10. DO YOUR STAFF OWN THEIR WORK?
OWNERSHIP OF PROJECTS
EMPOWERING STAFF Tina Adams, LJ 2009 Parapro of the Year
& Tripp Reade, media Resources Librarian

11. Challenges

12. Learning & Empowerment Issues

13. Basic Responsibility as a Leader:
Development of productive, creative, inspired, determined,
focused, energized, and well disciplined individuals.

14. Three Types of Personnel Problems
 Performance
 Attendance
 Behavior/Conduct

15. Punishment FAIL!
 Uncertainty
 Inconsistent
 Long-term disaster

16. Solving Performance Problems
Two causes: lack of knowledge or lack of execution.
Deficiencies in knowledge are cured by training.
Deficiencies in execution are approached differently:
1. Clarify expectations: can they explain what is expected?
2. Remove obstacles: resources to do the work are available.
3. Provide feedback: regular, accurate and timely.
4. Arrange appropriate consequences.

17. Performance Improvement Discussions
 Know your organization’s process
 Serious and planned discussion
 Specific goals
 Structured

18. Actual versus Desired Performance
Which type of problem is it?
If there are multiple problems, limit the discussion to the highest
priority issue.
Be specific about the issue
Effectively describe what you want versus what you are actually
getting from the person’s performance.
What is the desired performance? (What do I want?)
What is the actual performance? (What do I get?)

19. Why the Problem Must be Solved
What is the goal of this meeting?
To get the employee to agree to change.
Avoids the rollercoaster of employee performance.
Gaining Agreement:
Offer the good business reasons for why there needs to be
change.
List the problem’s effects.

20. Determining Consequences
Generate a consequence list
Tool to help the manager feel more confident while having the
discussion.
Disciplinary action, but what else?
Logical consequences of actions:
Having an office or cube moved
Change in supervision
Change in workflow

21. Determining the Course of Action
The first 3 steps inform course of action.
Disciplinary action versus performance discussion

22. Conducting a Performance Discussion
Who, What, Where, When, How Long & Why?
Opening statement: put the employee at ease by getting
straight the to the point.
“ There’ s something that’ s concerning me and I need to talk to you
about it.”
“ I’ m dealing with a situation that is troubling me and I need your
help to resolve it.”
Go into a specific/detailed discussion of issue.

23. Conducting a Performance Discussion
Hand the ball to the employee:
“ Tell me about it.”
“ What can you tell me about this?”
“ Is there something I should know?”
Practice active listening
Gain agreement:
Review statement of actual versus desired performance.
Ask employee to agree.
Use logical consequences
Personal responsibility and locus of control
End on a positive expectation of change
Follow-up in writing (email or formal memo)

24. Solving Attitude Problems
Three ways to make a
fundamental change in
a person’s attitude:
 psychotherapy
 religious conversion
 brain surgery

25. Thank You!