#1 - Library staff who are friendly and knowledgeable

Developing Success FactorsFor Illinois public libraries

Researching Communities to Prepare for the Future

Created by: Mary Wilkins Jordan, mary.wilkinsjordan@simmons.edu

Agenda

1. Introduction 1. Introduction

2. Three Ideas2. Three Ideas

3. Case Studies 3. Case Studies

4. Conclusion4. Conclusion

Introduction

In Developing Success Factors, we look at the attributes that people across Illinois said were most important to them for their library.

Friendly & knowledgeable staff may seem basic, but was the #1 response in the Researching Communities to Prepare for the Future study.

Discussing these attributes within your library helps hone your own skills and keep yourself at peak efficiency.

Goals for this session

Ideally your library provides opportunities for regular training in the skills

needed for your job.

If that is not possible, you can still build skills on

your own.

Ideally your library provides opportunities for regular training in the skills

needed for your job.

If that is not possible, you can still build skills on

your own.

Conflict occurs in every work environment.

We will look at some basic skills you can use

to help defer or diffuse conflicts with other staff

and patrons.

Conflict occurs in every work environment.

We will look at some basic skills you can use

to help defer or diffuse conflicts with other staff

and patrons.

Positive, friendly staff not only a better work environment for

everyone, but also make the library a

welcoming place for all patrons.

Here are a few ideas to help present this

attitude!

Positive, friendly staff not only a better work environment for

everyone, but also make the library a

welcoming place for all patrons.

Here are a few ideas to help present this

attitude!

Conveying positive attitude

Conveying positive attitude

Conflictresolution skills

Conflictresolution skills

Building personaljob skills

Building personaljob skills

Goal 1: What conveys friendliness?

Patrons notice positive attitude:

Body language

Prompt responses

Active listening

Ever-present smile!

Body language speaks volumes!

You do not really need the ever-present smile, body language conveys your attitude – hopefully a positive, helpful one!

How to improve your message through body language?– Make eye contact– Lean toward the person– Mirror their movements– Do not cross arms and legs: looks closed and

negative, which slows communication– Do not wring hands, bite lips: looks nervous

Sigh…Gina (a small story – sadly, entirely true)

I was giving a series of presentations about good communication skills and how important they are for good customer service. As I talked about using nonverbal communication to let people know you are listening I happened to look over at Gina.

She was a…difficult…person, and very resistant to any kinds of training – or customer service. She was sitting on a chair that she had pulled away from the group, with her arms crossed tightly across herself, her legs twisted around each other, and her mouth tightly compressed. Even her eyes were scrunched up!

I REALLY wanted to point to her and announce, “See what Gina is doing? Just do the opposite and you will be fine!” But, that would have been so unprofessional, as well as unproductive. Remember Gina when you are communicating – and pay attention to the messages you are sending out!

Active Listening

Everyone thinks they listen, but it is difficult to pay attention to hear what people say.– Concentrate on them, not on what you are going to

say next– Do not interrupt– Repeat back the information, to check your

understanding– Watch their body language for additional clues

People know when you are paying attention, causing a positive interaction!

Listening Exercise

Try this exercise to strengthen your listening skills.

– Find a partner, then speak for one minute straight, any topic at all. The other person should be encouraging - but not say a word.

– Switch and encourage your partner without saying anything.

– Talk about your experiences. You can share your experience with a group, and everyone practice active listening skills.

– Many people find it surprisingly difficult and it can make you think about the importance of give and take in good communication!

A small story to clarify…

A man drives up to a gas station, and the attendant notices penguins in the back seat.

He asks, “Why do you have penguins in your back seat?” The man replies, “I don’t know; they were there this morning when I got in the car.” The attendant asks, “Why not just take them to the zoo?” “Great idea!” the man exclaims.

The next morning the same car returns to the gas station, with the penguins still in the back seat. The attendant says, “I thought you were going to take them to the zoo.” The driver replies, “I did, and they had such a good time that today I am taking them to the beach!”

What I say is not necessarily what you hear…

So, what makes good communication?

• AccurateBe sure what you say is true, not just true-as-you-know-it, or the best

gossip from the water cooler.

• TimelyIf I tell you today that there is a huge project due at the end of the week –

that is not timely communication!

• CompleteTelling half the story can be worse than telling the whole thing. “The Big

Boss is coming to the office” is half the story; the other half is “and firing everyone in the building.” See the importance of the missing material?

• Relevant If you post beautifully expressive information in your library blog, lyrical

enough to bring tears to the eyes, but you are discussing a your last vacation instead of the wonderful world of library work, you would not be communicating relevant information to the staff or the public.

Prompt responses

Patrons hate being ignored!

• If the line at the circulation desk is long, announce in a pleasant tone that everyone will be helped. Thank the patrons for their patience.

• Answer the phone in no more than three rings if at all possible; do not leave people alone sitting on hold for more than three minutes.

• Answer email requests for help in a timely way; the world is increasingly digital, and these are real patron questions.

Goal 2: Conflict resolution skills

Inter-staffconflict

Inter-staffconflict

Kids left

alone

Patrons paying fines Internet

signups

ILL materials

Areas of ConflictAreas of Conflict

Do these sound familiar?

No one likes conflict

• Dealing with the public, whether other staff or patrons, means there will inevitably be conflict.

• Pretending conflicts do not happen does not help you; handling a situation well gives you confidence!

• Developing a few basic strategies helps reduce the amount of conflict experienced in daily life.

Start by taking a moment…

Assess the situation, is this something that could potentially develop into conflict.– Is someone actually dangerous? If so, get help.

– Is someone just upset or rude? Then, let’s follow some basic steps to defuse the situation.

• Take a moment to collect yourself, take a breath, and remember that it is not personal.

• Removing yourself from the situation may help you to remain calm and move forward with the situation.

Next, focus on the situation…

• Use those active listening skills.Sometimes just letting people talk while you listen will let them drain

off their negativity, and you can both move onward.

• Acknowledge the situationSaying things like “I understand this is difficult,” or “I see that you

have more work to do” may sound silly here, but in a real conversation it can help an angry person to calm down.

• Apologizing can also help a situation– It is not a sign of defeat, but an expression of your interest.– Saying “I’m sorry there are so many people on the computers

right now; can you sign up for a later time?” may help them feel that you are working together, and again diffuse conflicts.

Where do we go from here?

• Figure out the resolution – together if possible – and make that happen.You may not be able to resolve the problem to the

person’s satisfaction, but at least making an effort helps them understand you are trying to help – and that calms most people.

• This may take five minutes or it may take an hour. It is time well spent!Either way, if you follow all these steps you should be

able to reduce the amount of conflicts experienced in the library!

Goal 3: Building job skills

Your

Work

Responsibilities

Marketing/display

Problem solving/handling theunexpected

Interpersonalskills

Computers/printers Books/

magazines/audios

So many things gointo making your job successful!

There is so much to learn!

The library world has been changing and speeding up the last few years. Change is not new to libraries, but the pace of change is likely to keep increasing.

– It is important that you keep up the needs of your community through training.

– Going through these short training programs is one training opportunity, others include WebJunction Illinois, your Library System, conferences, and library inservice days among other opportunities.

How do you build skills?

Discuss your job description with your supervisor– What changes are there in your regular tasks?

– What skills are needed for your work position?

– Discuss your job description with your supervisor.

Hone those skills needed for success

– Your evaluations should follow your job description and expectations.

– Without a good description, you can not have a good evaluation, and you can not have a real sense of your own performance.

What do you want to do?

Yes, there may not be a lot of flexibility in some jobs in the library. – But you can have an idea of things you would like to

do in the library or things you would like to contribute.– Look around! See what other libraries are doing,

check out local or online businesses, evaluate your own talents.

– Suggest ideas to your supervisor, offer to take on different tasks or programs – try new things!

To have a good career takes more than luck; it takes good planning.

Finding a great job for yourself(it may be right where you are!)

You can always learn and develop the skills you need to be competitive and happy in your workplace.

• Develop a plan for the job you want!• Write a good resume/CV; write a good cover letter• Sharpen your interview skills• Get involved with your profession– Attend professional training and continuing education events– Attend meetings and conferences– Network with your colleagues – Publish your ideas (journals, blogs, etc.)– Read listservs and blogs; make intelligent postings– Read the literature

Karoshi

Karoshi is the Japanese concept of literally working yourself to death.– Karoshi: Death from overwork by Takashi Haratani, posted at

http://www.ilocis.org/en/samplilo.html

This is not such a strange concept; how many of us know someone (or have been the someone!): – who comes to work sick, – does not go out for lunch or breaks, – never gets enough sleep, – eats only what is in the vending machines, – never gets outside for fresh air and exercise,– then wonders why s/he is always sick/tired/depressed.

It is great to want to be good at your job, but remember to keep a good work/life balance as much as possible!

Next up: Case Studies

A couple of case studies are presented next. These are common issues in the library world, but should inspire some discussion.

You can answer these individually, but there may be more value in sharing your ideas with a larger group – your department or with the library as a whole.

Even if a situation is presented that is not currently a problem in your library, it is helpful to think through a solution – maybe something different that you are trying now, or something which may help you in the future.

Case Study #1

You observe the following scene: A patron approaches a co-worker, asking for assistance. You can not quite make out the conversation, but see your co-worker clerk is looking at the floor, fidgeting, and frowning.

When the patron persists, the clerk shakes her head “no” several times and turns her back on the patron. You hear “That’s not my job,” and “I’m not allowed to do that,” but nothing else. The patron turns away, clearly angry now, and heads your direction.

What could have been done to make the first encounter smoother?

What body language would be more appropriate?

What can you suggest as a different approach to answering?

What do you do now, to both answer the question and to calm down the patron?

Case Study #2

You are working one day when a sudden rush of people come in, including a small group of home-schooled kids with one parent. Everyone else is busy, and the parent asks if you can help them. They are putting together a science project creating a terrarium of plants and will need to look in several different areas of the library’s collection for material – but they do not know where to start.

• What is your first response?

• What steps could you take to help them out?

• Even if you do not know exactly what they need, Where would you suggest they start? What might be the best areas to search?

Conclusion

Most of us take it for granted that we project an image of friendliness and knowledge in our jobs.

– Pay attention to the way you are speaking and presenting yourself to your patrons

– Look at other staff and see what kinds of tips you can pick up from them (positive or negative!)

– Pay attention to customer service interactions in other locations; what can you learn?

Training Opportunities

WebJunction Illinois has a variety of training courses within the Illinois Course Catalog (il.webjunction.org/catalog). The on-line courses are self-paced for individual use or to foster group discussion. Try these WebJunction Illinois courses:

• Dealing with Angry Patrons• Communicating with Power and Confidence• Identifying your Customers’ Expectations• Customer’s Voice

Further Resources

Patron Behavior in Libraries A Handbook of Positive Approaches to Negative Situations, edited by Beth McNeil and Denise J. Johnson.

Defusing the Angry Patron, by Rhea Joyce Rubin.

Dealing with Difficult People in the Library, by Mark R. Willis.

Customer Service Excellence A Concise Guide for Librarians, by Darlene E. Weingand.

Evaluating Library Staff A Performance Appraisal System, by Patricia Belcastro.

Customer Service for Dummies, by Karen Leland and Keith Bailey.

Stress and Burnout in Library Service, by Janette S. Caputo.