communication in the workplace: challenges and strategies in diverse library settings

A panel sponsored by the Reference and Instruction

Services Interest Group

COMO, October 8, 2015

Athens, GA

Communication in

the Workplace

Challenges & Strategies in Diverse

Library Settings

Elissa Checov – Librarian at Gwinnett Technical College, a two year, career-based technical school with over fifty program options which will expand to two campuses in 2016.

Pat Herndon – Director of GLASS, Georgia's talking book and braille library with an administrative office, regional and subregional libraries, and three regional outreach programs.

Pat Ziebart – Reference and Instruction Librarian at Georgia Perimeter College, a two year associate degree school on five campus plus a robust online program.

Huh? What did you say?

Four Pillars of Industrial Relations

To aid me in my approach to managing

people

Internal and external customers

I. Everyone is the center of his or her own

universe

II. Every fire begins with a spark.

II. (continued)

Stamp out the sparks and a fire won’t occur.

III. As long as communication lines are open

there are no problems that can’t be solved

III. (continued)

A key to communication is the second line - the

person who represents labor to management

and management to labor.

IV. Talk.

Be aware of the sparks and what triggers

good behavior.

Our Communication Problem. We needed

to…

Enhance our presence

Reach distance education students

Present learning materials online

LibGuides, etc. An amazing toolbox!

Internal – Library Team

LibGuides Centralized content

Workflow management

Permissions – Private / Public / Password Protection

Customizing

Creativity

Addictive!

Library Staff Sharing

Student Assistants Training

Instructional

Everybody has same information and is clear about direction

Internal – Library Team

LibAnswers

Rolodex - efficiencies

Research assistance

LibSurveys

Vacation requests

Assessing – post instruction

LibAnalytics

Tracking / Counting

Internal Examples

Library Staff

Student Assistants

Commons

Collection Development

Program Review

Campus Connections

Presentations

Program Reviews

Accreditation - SACS & College and Specific Programs

QEP

Research Services for Executive Leadership

Partner with Distance Education Department

Guides

Queue

Publicizing (e.g., MoveIt!)

Partner with Dean of Academic Affairs

Partner with Training Coordinator

Campus Connecting Examples

Online Learning

Faculty FAQs

QEP

Faculty Training

In a nutshell

Technology tools that serve the fundamentals

Hear

Be Heard

Work together

Our Communication Problem.

GLASS needed to…

• Aggregate statistics for activity in our libraries

• Document problems and resolutions

• Track customer feedback

Problem: Lots of people doing the same thing…

but reporting not streamlined

We all can appreciate free!

The BASIC plan is completely free. You can create and send a survey in any language in a matter of minutes and view survey results instantly in your account. The BASIC plan offers:

• 10 questions (including descriptive text or images) per survey

• 100 responses per survey

• 3 collectors per survey

• 1 analyze rule (Filter, Compare, or Show) per survey at a time

Advantages:

• Simple to design a form

• Drops answers into a collector that you can download and manipulate in spreadsheet software

• Provides its own reporting tools

Advantages:

• Integrated in our website

• Important in our setting for accessibility

• Sends alerts when comments are sent

• Keeps our communication channel with

our online customers open 24/7

Herding cats is hard…..but with the right

tools it can be done!

GPC Solutions

Doodle Polls

Google Drive

So many librarians, so little time

Situation: many part-time librarians who seldom

crossed paths with full-time staff.

Need: a means to communicate important

information about

Assignments

New Resources

Opportunities

Technology

Clarkston Reference

Dunwoody Reference

Sharing the wealth

Librarians on five campuses doing

professional development.

• Reports from conferences

• Notices of opportunities

• Sharing tips and ideas

Blogs for professional sharing

Questions or Comments?