Engaging Employees in the Library

Julie EvenerDirector of Library ServicesUniversity of St. Augustine for Health Sciencesjevener@usa.edu

What does engagement look like?

Employees…

� Are excited about their work (positive attitude)

� Find meaning in their work

� Put their whole selves into their work

� Consider their work to be more than a paycheck

� Do more than the minimum required

According to Evener (2015) and Kahn (1990).

Employee engagement in the U.S.

Engaged Not Engaged Actively Disengaged

According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace Report 2013

What about libraries?

Why is employee engagement important?

�Less turnover

�Better customer service

�More innovation

According to Devi (2009); Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes (2002); Fleming, Coffman, & Harter (2005)

Research –based tactics for engagement

�Flexible working policies

�Autonomy of time

�Autonomy of task

�Flow

Flexible working policiesAutonomy of time and task

Dan Pink –The Puzzle of MotivationTed Talk – 2009 -http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation

The Candle Problem

Solution

Carrots and sticks

Autonomy

� “Acting with choice”

� Requires a shift in thinking for managers

� Resist the temptation to control

� Trust your employees

Autonomy of time - ROWE

But we can’t do that……can we?

How can you be open to autonomy of time in your library?

Autonomy of task

Surely we can do that…

How can you apply autonomy of task in your library?

Flow

Conditions for flow

� Clear goals

� Immediate feedback

� Balance between challenges and skills (i.e., the task is not too easy or too difficult)

� Focused concentration on the task at hand

� Minimal distraction

� No worry of failure

� Lack of self-consciousness

� Sense of time disappears

We can do this, too

How can you create conditions for flow in your library?

What tactics have you used to increase employee engagement?

References

� Amabile, T. (1996). Creativity in context: Update to the social psychology of creativity. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

� Anitha, J. (2014). Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 63(3), 308-323. doi:10.1108/IJPPM-01-2013-0008

� Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.

� ———, & LeFevre, J. (1989). Optimal experience in work and leisure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(5), 815–822. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.56.5.815

� Deci, E. L. (1972). Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic reinforcement, and inequity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 22(1), 113–120. doi:10.1037/h0032355

� Devi, V. R. (2009). Employee engagement is a two-way street. Human Resource Management International Digest, 17(2), 3–4. doi:10.1108/09670730910940186

� Evener, J. (2015). Innovation in the library: How to engage employees, cultivate creativity, and create buy-in for new ideas. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 22(3-4), 296-311. doi:10.1080/10691316.2015.1060142

� Fleming, J. H., Coffman, C., & Harter, J. K. (2005). Manage your human sigma. Harvard Business Review, 83(7/8), 106–14.

References

� Gallup. (2013). State of the American workplace: Employee engagement insights for U.S. business leaders. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/services/178514/state-american-workplace.aspx

� Gichohi, P. M. (2014). The role of employee engagement in revitalizing creativity and innovation at the workplace: A survey of selected libraries in Meru County – Kenya. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1171/

� Harlow, H. F., Harlow, M. K., & Meyer, D. R. (1950). Learning motivated by a manipulation drive. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 40(2), 228–234. doi:10.1037/h0056906

� Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L. & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268–79. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.87.2.268

� Harwell, K. (2013). Burnout and job engagement among business librarians. Library Leadership & Management, 27(1/2). Retrieved from https://journals.tdl.org/llm/index.php/llm/index

� Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692–724. doi:10.2307/256287

� Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York: Riverhead Books.

� Ressler, C., & Thompson, J. (2008). Why work sucks and how to fix it. New York: Portfolio.

� Taylor, F. W. (1914). The principles of scientific management. New York: Harper.

Questions?