Core Library Leaders and Managers Interest Group

So what have been some of the challenges you've faced? And how did you resolve them?  Or did you not resolve them and welcome advice from the LLMIG hive mind?

------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of the Paul Meek Library
University of Tennessee at Martin
He/Him/His
------------------------------

I often find that many HR challenges are caused by an imbalance in expectations between an individual employee and their supervisor.  This is often the fault of a poor position description, insufficient onboarding, and poor communication.  While there are some cases where an employee is lazy or lacks enthusiasm, it can often be the case that an employee may not understand the full breadth of what we expect them to do (on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis), how efficiently they must use their time to complete tasks, and how we are likely to evaluate progress. Some of this is about explaining the job correctly during the recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding phases, but there is so much more involved in training and coaching a new employee during the first 3-6 months. 

------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of the Paul Meek Library
University of Tennessee at Martin
He/Him/His
------------------------------

This month's theme is an informal, lightly moderated, synchronous zoom discussion session around the topic of HR-related issues and will be held on Thursday, April 27th at 9am PST/10am MTN/11am CST/12pm EST.  Participants can stop in for a minute, or stay for the entire session.  Participants don't need to be a member of ALA or ALA Core to participate, but individuals will need to register here.

We also encourage everyone to comment and add to the existing discussions here in our Connect site. To get us started, here are some readings on various sub-topics:

Recruitment

• GVSU inclusive hiring practices: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/library_presentations/80/ 

• Diversity recruitment: https://aprilhathcock.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/a-cure-for-the-common-whiteness-diversity-recruitment/ 

• Seeking a diverse candidate pool: https://angelapashia.com/seeking-a-diverse-candidate-pool/ 

Retention

• Establishing a culture of care: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2573888093 

• Conducting a salary equity study: https://provost.uoregon.edu/faculty-salary-equity-study

• Creating a compensation strategy: https://hr.uiowa.edu/pay/compensation-classification/professional-scientific-compensation 

What are your most pressing HR challenges? We look forward to seeing you later this month!
Erik and Cinthya

------------------------------
Cinthya Ippoliti
Auraria Library Director
University of Colorado Denver; Metropolitan State University of Denver; Community College of Denver
she/her/hers
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Apr 07, 2023 01:56 PM
From: Erik Nordberg
Subject: Greatest HR challenges - and how you addressed them?

I often find that many HR challenges are caused by an imbalance in expectations between an individual employee and their supervisor.  This is often the fault of a poor position description, insufficient onboarding, and poor communication.  While there are some cases where an employee is lazy or lacks enthusiasm, it can often be the case that an employee may not understand the full breadth of what we expect them to do (on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis), how efficiently they must use their time to complete tasks, and how we are likely to evaluate progress. Some of this is about explaining the job correctly during the recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding phases, but there is so much more involved in training and coaching a new employee during the first 3-6 months. 

------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of the Paul Meek Library
University of Tennessee at Martin
He/Him/His
------------------------------