Conflicts at work: Scheduling

In workplaces that don't follow a "traditional" 9-5 schedule and/or workplaces that schedule employees to perform specific tasks during their shifts (such as covering the circulation desk at a certain time), conflicts can arise over scheduling. Some shifts - usually nights, weekends, and the time around holidays - are considered less desirable than others, and employees can become resentful of management if they feel that their schedules contain more of the undesirable shifts. Meanwhile, management can become resentful of employees whose availability seems to change every week, who seem to be ducking out of undesirable shifts, or who trade shifts back and forth without telling anyone else of the changes.

Even small, seemingly one-time conflicts over scheduling can add up to a constant stream of resentment in a workplace with a large number of employees. When I was primarily responsible for scheduling, I had a three-part strategy for avoiding conflicts over the schedule and diffusing any resentment that might arise.

First, I required documentation. I kept a central calendar of all scheduling requests and a binder containing general availabilities. Requests for time off needed to be given to me in writing, and I responded in writing as quickly as possible. If employees switched shifts, they needed to inform me in writing so that I could change the schedule. The documentation helped to ensure that employees and management communicated clearly with each other regarding the schedule and that there would not be "he said, she said" arguments if a time-off request was not granted or if an employee traded shifts and then failed to show up at the new time.

Second, I made it clear that I was ready to listen to any complaints about scheduling. I tried to create equitable schedules and to remember everyone's availabilities, but I knew that occasionally I overlooked something or made a mistake. I encouraged employees to let me know immediately if a schedule had problems in it. If I overheard grumbling or saw someone make a face while looking at a newly-posted schedule, I asked them to tell me what was wrong.

Third, when they told me what was wrong, I actually listened. Naturally, my instinctive response was usually to be defensive - how dare they be so difficult and complain about such small things? didn't they know how hard it was to create a weekly schedule that took into account the shifting needs of a large business as well as the shifting needs and preferences of forty-odd employees? - but I also knew that to them, any scheduling error or inequity appeared to be a great injustice that showed how little they were valued. If I had forgotten a documented scheduling conflict, I apologized and adjusted the schedule immediately. If the problem was a perceived inequity, I might work with them and with other managerial staff to adjust future schedules. At the very least, I would try to explain why the schedule was the way it was without sounding like I was discounting or devaluing their concerns.

Planning for Severe Winter Weather (Internal use only)

Because its mission is to serve the public, Large City Library keeps to its regular hours whenever possible during winter weather. However, on days when winter storms have made roads treacherous, the library may need to close for the safety of its patrons and staff.

The library director is responsible for the decision to close the library for the day or to close early. She will take into account current road conditions, current weather conditions, and National Weather Service forecasts as well as snow-emergency declarations made by the Large City Police Department. When the library director is unavailable, the assistant director has the authority to close the library when conditions warrant it.

Procedures to follow on "snow days"
If the library will not open as scheduled, the following steps must be taken as soon as possible:

-Notify the city manager.

-Call the first person on the library phone tree. All staff will be notified of library closings through the phone tree. Each staff member should keep an up-to-date copy of the phone tree at home.

-Contact designated media outlets to inform them of the closing: radio station WLCR (phone number 555-555-1234) and TV news station LCTV (phone number 555-555-4321).

-Change the message on the library's main phone line. The new message should include the date, the reason the library is closed, and a reminder that fines on overdue materials will not accrue while the library is closed.

-Post a highly-visible message about the closing on the main page of the library's website. The message should include the date, the reason the library is closed, and a reminder that fines on overdue materials will not accrue while the library is closed.

-Reprogram the library's thermostat to stay at 58 degrees for the duration of the closure. The thermostat can be reprogrammed over the phone by calling 555-555-9999; the code is 9999.

Procedures to follow on days when the library is closing early
If the library is closing earlier than normal, the following steps must be taken IN ADDITION TO the "snow day" procedures listed above.

-Notify all patrons in the library of the closing. Staff should offer patrons the use of the library's telephone if they need to arrange for transportation.

-Check the outside stairs and walkways to make sure they are safe to walk on. Salt and snow shovels can be found in the janitorial closet on the first floor. Do not risk your own health! If you do not think you can use a snow shovel safely, don't try - just put salt down.

-Double check to make sure that unaccompanied minors and other patrons with special needs have a way to get home. While we don't want to delay staff members from getting home safely, neither do we want to abandon patrons outside in the middle of a snowstorm. Use your best judgment. If necessary, call the police rather than leave a minor alone.

-For liability reasons, staff should not offer rides to patrons.

-In addition to the normal closing procedures, staff should reprogram the thermostat to go into "night" mode early and check to confirm that the heating tapes for the roof are plugged in and working. If the heating tapes are plugged in but do not seem to be working, notify the library director.

If the library loses power during a winter storm
-Notify Large City Electric (555-555-9876) immediately.

-Use the flashlights stored at the various circulation and reference desks to locate patrons and usher them safely into the main reference room.

-Notify the library director. She will inform the city manager.

-Follow the early-closing procedures listed above.

-If outside temperatures are extremely low, and if the power remains off for more than a few hours, there is a risk that the water pipes could freeze. The library director may need to contact the city manager again to arrange for the Department of Public Works to set up a propane heater in the basement.

Opening the library after a storm
-Change the message on the library's main phone line back to the regular announcement of library hours, etc.

-The first staff member to arrive at the library should perform a visual inspection of the parking lot, sidewalk, and steps. All these areas should be clear of snow, and any icy patches should have salt on them. Notify the library director immediately if they have not been cleared. If only small areas look unsafe, salt and snow shovels can be found in the janitorial closet on the first floor. Do not risk your own health! If you do not think you can use a snow shovel safely, don't try - stick to putting salt down.

-Check over library entrances - particularly the side entrance - for icicles. If there are icicles that you believe you can remove safely - for instance, by reaching up with a broom - then do so. Do not climb up on anything to reach icicles. Do not stand directly under the icicles while clearing them. If you cannot safely remove the icicles, block off the affected entrance with caution tape from the janitorial closet.

-Work with the custodial staff to inspect the inside of the library. Make sure that the furnace is working and that the thermostat has been turned up. If temperatures have been very low, briefly run the faucets and flush the toilets to make sure water has not frozen in the pipes.

-Remind staff members at circulation that fines did not accrue while the library was closed. Patrons may need to be reassured of this fact. Fines should be manually removed or reduced by the appropriate amount when checking in books.

Frozen pipes
-If water is still tricking through the pipes, work with the custodial staff to apply heating tapes from the janitorial closet to the affected pipes. Block off any affected toilets with caution tape.

-If no water is coming through the pipes, notify the library director immediately while the custodial staff applies heating tapes. The library cannot open if it does not have running water. Staff will have to follow the "snow day" procedures listed above while the library director contacts the city manager and the Department of Public Works.

Ice dams
The library has not had trouble with ice dams forming on the roof since it began to use heating tapes in problem areas. Still, ice dams can form after heavy or repeated snowfalls. The danger is especially high if the electricity goes out for an extended period or if the heating tapes have failed for some other reason.

-A designated staff member should check the heating tapes and perform visual inspections of the roof immediately after a heavy snowfalls and at three-day intervals thereafter for as long as the roof is heavily covered. The binoculars for these inspections are kept in the supply closet on the second floor.

-The library director should be notified at the first sign that ice dams have formed. She will have to work with the city manager and Department of Public Works to clear the affected areas of the roof.

Wet spots on the ceiling or walls
Ice dams can cause melting snow from the roof to leak into the library. If wet areas appear on the ceiling or walls, staff will take the following steps:

-Alert other staff members and the library director. Depending on the size of the wet areas, all staff members (apart from a skeleton staff at the circulation desks) may be needed to help with recovery.

-Move patrons away from the affected areas.

-Move whatever you can out from underneath wet spots on the ceiling. Cover what can't be moved with plastic sheeting from the supply closet. If possible, place a bucket or trash can to catch any leaking water.

-Set up "wet floor" signs by the affected areas.

-If the wet areas are on a wall with bookshelves against it, remove all books shelved underneath the wet area and for three feet on either side. Check books for dampness as you remove them. Place dry books on book carts; separate out any damp or wet books.

-Set damp books on radiators to dry.

-For insurance purposes, take pictures of any wet spots and any water-damaged property. There are digital cameras in the offices of the library director, the children's librarian, and the youth services librarian.

-After everything has dried, reassess water-damaged books and other library property. Make a list of any items that are no longer usable, including the value of each item. Remove these items from the catalog.

-The library director will notify the city manager of the problem and work with him/her to arrange for repairs and to file any insurance claims.

Termination Checklist

Before termination:

-Review the grounds for termination. Make sure sufficient documentation exists of previous disciplinary meetings and at least three written warnings. If the termination is for a single, serious offense (drugs, weapons, etc.), make sure the incident is fully documented, including witness's accounts where possible.

-Prepare a plan for covering the employee's scheduled shifts and assigned duties (including any special programs he/she may be in charge of).

-Call Large City's Department of Human Resources. The next few steps will be carried out in conjunction with human resources - and with a lawyer, if necessary.

-Go over all documentation with a human resources representative.

-Review the employee's contract and benefits information, keeping in mind the possibility of a discrimination lawsuit.

-Prepare benefits status letter and final paycheck.

The meeting with the employee (held with a human resources representative present):

-Communicate the purpose of the meeting, the reason for termination, and the effective date of the termination.

-Review benefits status letter with the employee - including, where applicable, severance pay, vacation pay, unused sick time, payment of final expense report(s), health insurance, etc.

-Give the employee his or her final paycheck.

-Verify that the employee's emergency contact and address info are up-to-date; give the employee a change-of-address form to use if he or she moves.

-Collect the employee's library keys, identification card, and any other library property.

-Obtain employee's passwords for work e-mail and voice mail.

After termination:

-Allow employee time to collect personal items, under supervision if necessary, before he or she leaves/is escorted from the building.

-Inform other staff that the employee has left the library; consider private meetings with those who worked closely with the employee.

-Carry out plans to cover ex-employee's duties (shifting responsibilities to other employees, asking people to work additional shifts or longer hours, etc.)

-Change the login password for staff computers. Deactivate ex-employee's personal login for back-office computers, if applicable.

-Change the alarm code.

-Arrange for forwarding of ex-employee's e-mail and voice mail for two to four weeks, followed by termination of the e-mail and voice mail accounts.

-Update staffing and contact information on the library's website, if applicable.

-Forward a job description to the human resources department so that they can post the position.

This is not a real job ad.

(Note: Some phrases in the list of qualifications were borrowed from real libraries' job advertisements.)

POSITION: Coordinator of Community Planning, Large City Library (Full-Time)

AVAILABLE: February 15, 2009

DESCRIPTION:
The responsibilities of the Coordinator of Community Planning are twofold. First, the Coordinator reaches out to community leaders, local organizations, and the residents of Large City to inform them about what the library has to offer them and to learn about their needs. Second, the Coordinator works closely with the young adult, children's, and community-planning librarians to develop and promote informative, entertaining, and culturally enriching programs, events, and services that will meet those needs.

In short, the Coordinator brings the city into the library and the library out to the city.

QUALIFICATIONS:
The successful candidate will possess:
-Excellent oral and written communication skills;
-Demonstrated ability to work with a wide range of constituencies; and
-Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively to set priorities and accomplish goals.

Knowledge of Spanish and/or Khmer, previous library experience, and previous experience working with youth are preferred, but not required.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:
Salary is commensurate with experience and education. Benefits include an excellent health care package and enrollment in the municipal pension program.

ABOUT THE LIBRARY:
Large City Library is a vibrant and storied institution situated in the heart of Large City. Each year, approximately 30,000 people visit the library or participate in at least one of its programs. Large City is a thriving, ethnically-diverse community located less than forty miles from Even Larger City. It is home to several nationally-known cultural festivals, two museums, and a minor-league baseball team.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION:
Review of applications will begin on February 2, 2009. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but preference will be given to applications received by that date.

TO APPLY:
Fill out the application available on the Human Resources site for Large City at http://pretendwebaddress.html. For additional information, please call or email Catherine B. at (704)555-5555 or archivecats@gmail.com. Large City is an Equal Opportunity Employer and maintains a smoke- and drug-free workplace.

Thoughts on Interviewing

My first thought is that this is not the ideal post to show to a potential employer. :)

Ruth, Xiaomei, and I had a practice interview session on Thursday evening. Because there were three of us, each person got to experience the process as an interviewee, an interviewer, and an observer. The chance to be an observer was really helpful, as both interviewers and interviewees were nervous. Just as in a real interview situation, we didn’t know each other that well and wanted to make a good impression!

It soon became clear that each of us had prepared for the session differently. Ruth, who was actually in the process of applying for a job, had made copies of her resume for us to look at. Xiaomei had printed off a list of common interview questions and thought about the job she was hypothetically interviewing for. I spent most of my preparation time reading through lists of questions and writing down the ones I felt were the best for employers and job applicants to ask. I do think that I learned a lot about Ruth from listening to her answers to my questions. On the other hand, because I did not spend very much time reviewing what my answers to these questions were, I sort of panicked when Xiaomei said, “Tell me about yourself.” As Ruth pointed out during our discussion, I probably could have led off with something better than a list of my degrees. You can tell I’m coming from an academic background. :)

Each of us noticed different things during our time as observers. (We brought them up at the time, so I am not going behind anyone’s back here!) Ruth noticed the emphasis Xiaomei and I placed on educational background. I noticed the other two saying that the job would be good for them, rather than that they would bring a lot to the job. Xiaomei pointed out that she and I hardly smiled at all, whereas Ruth spent the whole time smiling. All of these observations were useful feedback; but they also made me think that 1. there are hundreds of little aspects to a job interview that you need to keep remembering; and 2. while different employers are going to pay close attention to different aspects of your presentation, you don’t know which aspects they will choose to emphasize, so you still have to be great at all of them. Really, job interviews are pieces of performance art.

I noticed that I started to answer questions (for example, “What would you do if a parent came in to complain that their child had checked out an offensive book?”) before I knew quite where I was going with the answer. My initial responses aren’t wrong, per se, but they’re not as good as the answer I finally arrive at. This again would suggest that I could benefit from more preparation time. It might also suggest that I should pause longer before I start to answer. But sometimes it’s as though I worked my way to the Best Answer by going through the So-So Answers, and I’d rather end on a high note than take a long time thinking and still not answer well.

As far as the smiling goes - I think I sometimes handle stressful public situations by acting much, much calmer than I am - not only calmer than I am in the interview situation, but calmer than I am under normal circumstances. My voice gets quieter, my intonation is flatter/less variable - I sound kind of like a therapist. This assumed calm is not incompatible with smiling. It does make it hard to sound enthusiastic and energetic, though. I will have to think about this issue some more.

Final observation: At one point while I was being the interviewer, I realized that I wasn’t really listening to what my interviewee was saying, not because she was boring, but because I was deciding how the interview was going and thinking about what I was going to ask her next. If real employers “blank out” like that a lot - and why wouldn’t they? they’re interviewing more people, for a much longer time, than I was! - then it is even more important to emphasize your strengths at the very beginning of the interview, keep your answers relatively short, and find a way (perhaps in the questions you ask?) to re-emphasize your strengths at the end.

The only-partly-fictional Large City Library

The Large City Library is a 150-year-old institution whose mission is to serve as a gateway to knowledge for city residents and visitors.

The Library is open six days a week for a total of 57 hours. Its collection includes over 200,000 books as well as CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, microfilm, online databases, and periodicals. Annual circulation has recently hovered around 250,000, almost a third of which was children’s materials. The LCL offers cultural and educational programming for children, teens, families, and adults. It also provides classes in computer and internet use, adult literacy, and English as a second language.

The LCL is located in a historic building that recently underwent substantial renovations and is now fully handicapped-accessible. It has a small parking lot. It can be reached using the city’s bus system and is within walking distance of the city’s main high school and the downtown retail district.

The Library’s director oversees nine librarians and thirty to forty staff members. The staff includes hourly employees as well as volunteers whose numbers and hours fluctuate based on the academic calendar.

The director reports to a nine-member Board of Trustees. She must also work with the City Council, the body responsible for determining the LCL’s annual budget; an active Friends of the Library group; and (to a lesser extent) the directors of eight neighboring library systems with whom the LCL has reciprocal borrowing agreements.

Large City is an economically and ethnically diverse city of more than 100,000 residents. As of the 2000 census, sixty percent of its population was European American, fifteen percent African American, fifteen percent Asian American, five percent of more than one race, and five percent of other races. Almost twenty percent of city residents of any race reported themselves to be Hispanic or Latino. Both the Hispanic and Asian American populations have increased significantly in recent decades, the latter because of immigration from Southeast Asia.

Large City is home to a state university campus (10,000 students, many of them commuters). While many residents work in manufacturing or in wholesale/retail trades, a substantial portion of the city’s labor force is employed in the fields of education, health, and social services. In recent years the city has also seen substantial growth in its tourism industry. The average income is relatively high, but so is the average cost of housing. Both of those numbers vary significantly across neighborhoods.

With the recent economic downturn, the LCL, like many other public libraries, has seen rises in all of its usage statistics, including number of in-person visits, number of items circulated, and attendance at library programs. At the same time, it is danger of seeing its budget reduced significantly in the coming fiscal year.

First post

This blog was created for INLS 585 - Management for Information Professionals.