Job Competencies

I walked into the library expecting a very different day and was surprised that I had an all-day workshop about Job Competencies in the library.  Needless to say, I ended up in an all day meeting, but not all was lost.  I learned a lot about a specific library’s model for technical competencies in which all staff members are required to pass a competency test each year and if you don’t pass, you are let go.  It sounds harsh, but as the director, this woman said that we have a job to do and if you can’t do the job, then the employee really shouldn’t be there.  And overall, in the past five years, only two people haven’t passed the test and were ready to leave the library anyway.
It’s a similar concept to “Getting the right people on the bus” from the management book Good to Great by Jim Collins.  Basically, your organization needs to run productively and smoothly and that only happens when the right people are in the right seats.
We also had a break out session specifically for youth services and if you aren’t aware, ALSC has just updated the core competencies for youth librarians with a focus on technology and diversity.
I like the idea of providing staff time to learn new technology to help them do their job even better.  And since we’ve been working on our self-evaluations, I believe that this could be an amazing goal for many of our staff members to have over the coming year.  It definitely gives me a lot to think about!