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Staff training needs in tough times
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Staff training needs in tough times
1:55 PM EST 12/5/08
How to increase staff capacity and learning to have the tools to meet the growing demands?

This was a hot topic in the first town hall and we barely scratched the surface. Knowing that staff training budgets are often the first to be cut, how do we deal with the increased needs for staff training in light of shrinking budgets?
RE: Staff training needs in tough times
4:59 PM EST 12/8/08 as a reply to Jennifer Peterson.
Here are some of the suggestions/issues that came up during the discussion at the fist town hall:
  • what type of training is needed? can you be more specific? (ie getting more training doesn't give you more hours in the day)
  • LSTA guidelines are being strictly interpreted & that is severly impacting training fund availability
  • Does every staff member have to know how to do each task?
  • Yes, we're stretched very thin to cover everything so there is more need than ever to know how to work each desk
  • technology training --customer service --to name two
  • conference attendance gets cut
  • Also, as staff is cut, it is more difficult for rest of staff to go to training at some point we stop trying to get ahead and just start trying to keep afloat
  • The online training like this has helped us with travel costs.
  • As a district center, we offer training to the libraries in our district. We go to their library and offer training on-site to them.
  • Many library directors who really don't want online training to replace face to face training even though it is more cost effective.
  • Computer time is limited for some staff and many people don't like an online learning environment.
  • Part of the problem is staff aren't online-training-ready
  • no fed funds in our state available for staff training (only direct patron trng)
  • how do we get them online-ready?
  • Business and community leaders can come to the library and help with staff training
  • Online training is tough...I like to think of getting folks ready for the online format as another benefit of taking a training-it's like an extra bonus of learning

And here's the screenshot from the townhall: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/3093096297_c6dccee262.jpg
Your thoughts?
RE: Staff training needs in tough times
10:05 AM EST 12/9/08 as a reply to Jennifer Peterson.
this topic recently came up in our WJ advisory committee meeting (we met last week) and they prioritized these staff training needs in their libraries, especially during tough times:

  • public service (different from customer service, but similar)
  • x-training for library staff moving from one role to another
  • orientation to the library field and/or organization
  • business skills
  • leadership


I was particularly interested in the public service training. The need articulated here was around a "return to public service" as differentiated from "quality customer service". What does it mean to be a public servant? How can we bring that into our work? What's the difference between public service and customer service? It reminded me of the difference between return on investment and social return on investment (we need to be able to articulate both). I'd be curious to hear if anyone has participated in this type of training. Do you agree that this is a need, especially in tough times?
Public service
10:40 AM EST 12/12/08 as a reply to Chrystie Hill.
I suppose a working differentiation might be made ... with "public service" being "service to the greater good of the public as a whole" and "customer service" being "service to the individual standing in front of you."

The latter is important, even critical, for getting individuals to support the library based on the commonplace myopic view of what is important to them.

The former is important for establishing the "public good" which the library represents ... this is more than our ROI to the community as a whole. It is an explanation of our vision of the role of the public library in a "just society."
RE: Public service
1:27 PM EST 12/12/08 as a reply to Bob Watson.
I agree and I think it's useful to distinguish them. I admit that I had collapsed them in my mind, even been thinking that we could replace "public service" training with "customer service" training - before this conversation took place.

Still interested to hear if anyone knows of library orientation or other training that covers "public service" in this way.

Always learning...
RE: Public service
6:13 PM EST 12/19/08 as a reply to Chrystie Hill.
For an in-service, it's a presentation on "why a library?" (I give it as part of my "state of the library" speech). The nuts-and-bolts training usually has a customer service component.