Redirecting the Librarian’s Mindset: Emerging Framework

for Managing Human Resources in Libraries

“Emerging Landscape, Mindscape and Netscape of the Philippine Books, Information Science and Technology for Quality Service”,

DACUN, August 13-15, 2008

The Situation in Libraries

• Ongoing rapid change due to technology and the information society leads to:– New roles for librarians and library staff– New knowledge and skills required of

librarians and library staff – New services – New processes and policies

What is Human Resource Management?

• “The design of formal systems in an organization to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talent to accomplish the organizational goals” (Society for Human Resource Management, 2002a, p.2)

• It includes a variety of activities such as– Job analysis and staffing needs– Recruitment and training– Performance evaluation– Building teams– Other

Human Resource Management in Libraries (1)

• Traditional activities focus on HRD (May be done by the parent organization or the library)– Recruitment and selection– Compensation and Benefits– Training and development– Health and safety– Employee and labor relations– Student employment– Volunteer management

Human Resource Management in Libraries (2)

• Emerging activities focus on OD– Job analysis

– Redesigning jobs and work

– Building teams

– Managing change

Organizational Development

• Objective: To strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the organization and the well being of its members through planned interventions in managing change.

• Strategies:– Interpersonal—Focus is on work relationships and

touch on communication– Technological—Focus is on processes and includes

activities such as job design and workflow to achieve coordination

– Structural—Examines how the organizational structure helps or hinders the organization in achieving its goals.

Job analysis

• Involves systematic collection of information about the job and identifies three major components of jobs– Tasks—The distinct work activity– Duties—The larger work segment composed

of several tasks– Responsibilities—The obligation to perform

certain tasks and duties

Benefits of Job analysis

• Provides the information to develop:– job specifications—The knowledge, skills and

abilities required in the job.– job descriptions—Identifies the what, why,

where and how a job is done.

Work Redesign

• Examines work done within a department or within the organization at all levels to create a more positive work environment to attract and retain the most suitable employee.

• Provides as opportunity to stop and conduct time and motion studies to determine how time and effort are currently being utilized in the organization

Benefits of Work Redesign

• Increased productivity

• Improved morale

• Decreased absenteeism

• Improved safety

• Reduction of waste

• Increased customer satisfaction

• Other

Team Building

• Requires adequate training in interpersonal skills, effective communication, active listening, problem solving and conflict resolution

• Capitalizes on individual knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies to solve problems in creative and innovative ways

Teams vs. Committees

• Areas where they differ– Responsibility– Authority– Management– Objectives– Process– Information

Change Management

• Change management initiatives in libraries are linked closely with HR and organizational development to ensure that the skills, knowledge, abilities ad performance of the workforce meet current and future organizational and individual needs. (SHRM 2002b p1)

HRD and OD

• Organizations are enhancing their HRD function to include organizational development because of– Globalization– Increase competition and changes in the tools

of business particularly IT which require reeducation and flexibility

– HRD includes meeting current and future needs

Ways in which HR can help manage change

• Create a common organization wide vision and value system

• Develop a competency based personnel framework• Provide leadership assessment and development• Move people in the organization for best advantage• Guarantee workplace diversity to ensure success in a

global world• Handle the question of change• Reengineer corporate HR functions to a more

consultative model by having HR serve as a consultant to management on hiring, training, managing, paying, retraining and developing the workforce.

Ways in which OD can help Manage Change

• Enhance people’s satisfaction with the quality of their work life

• Improve the ability of the organization to revitalize and develop itself over time

• Improve organizational processes and outputs.

• Help in thinking ahead—Succession planning

Succession Planning

• Thinking Ahead--Choosing a successor

• Gradual transfer of responsibility

• Transfer of responsibility to the successor.

• Set a target date as your last day and start shifting responsibilities ahead of time

• Set standards that take into consideration the needs of your successor

Emerging Framework in HRM

• Has expanded beyond administrative and operations roles such as handling personnel benefits and payroll into the area of organization development.

Human Resource

Management

Human Resource

Development

Organization Development

Accomplishment of

Organizational Goals

• Pat Hawthorne Redesigning Library Human Resources: Integrating Human Resources Management and Organizational Management Library Trends vol 53, no. 1 Summer 2004 172-186