Please – take a Please – take a cookie!cookie!

In One Ear, Out the In One Ear, Out the OtherOther

Getting the Most Out of Your Transitional Getting the Most Out of Your Transitional WorkersWorkers

Crystal Boyce, Student SupervisorCirculation Dept., Swem Library

College of William & Mary

Who are our student Who are our student employees?employees?

◦ Interlibrary Loan◦ Circulation◦ Administration◦ Tech Services◦ Serials, cataloging,

acquisitions, preservation

Student employees at Swem:◦ IT◦ Media◦ Reference◦ Special

Collections◦ Development

But who are your transitional employees?

Discussion & Discussion & ConversationConversation

When we go around the room, please say:◦ Choose your library type (academic, public,

special, school):◦ What your transitional employees (TEs) do: If you have a….

Chocolate Chip Cookie: best part about supervising TEs Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: most common problem when

supervising TEs Peanut Butter Cookie: thing you would like to see change White Chocolate Macadamia Cookie: your choice of the

above

Common TE ProblemsCommon TE Problems

The TE who complains The TE who procrastinates The TE who resists change The TE who is dishonest The TE who violates library rules The unmotivated TE The TE with low morale The disloyal TE The TE with absenteeism problems The TE with personal problems The TE with personality problems

Common TE Problems: What this really means

The TE who will no call/no show The TE who doesn’t have good work etiquette The TE who is constantly late for work The TE who calls out of work often The TE who isn’t focused on work The TE who disappears or avoids work in general The TE who hangs out with friends while working

Motivating TEsMotivating TEs 1st: ask yourself – What are we really

trying to get done (big picture)? 2nd: ask yourself – How can my TEs

help us do this? 3rd: promise yourself – You will be as

great a manager as you can be, despite whatever is happening ‘above’ you

4th: Focus on achieving extraordinary results rather than just getting things done

How do we start?How do we start? Know what

motivates yourself Know what

motivates your TEs Connect your TE’s

interests with your interests

Mazlo’s hierarchy of needs

Trust & RelationshipsTrust & Relationships The mutual

assurance that if I go the extra mile for you, when it’s your turn, you are going to go the extra mile for me

Build relationships◦ Informality

◦ Open-door policies

◦ First names

Make everything a WIN-WIN

Give away all the credit, take all the blame!

Trust in ActionTrust in Action Do◦ Encourage reasonable risk◦ Foster autonomy◦ Analyze mistakes◦ Ask for creative solutions◦ Praise winning ways

Don’t◦ Criticize in public◦ Use a “do as you’re told” approach◦ Sabotage or ambush your TEs

Putting it into ActionPutting it into Action Coping with stress Encourage creativity Recognize your employees Empower your employees

Coping with StressCoping with Stress Help TEs break larger projects into

smaller pieces and to develop timelines

Show TEs what they are accomplishing and WHY it matters

Encourage CreativityEncourage Creativity Encourage others to express opinions Don’t dismiss ideas without discussion Argue all sides of an issue Challenge the status quo Be thankful for small ideas – they may

be the start of something big

Recognize Your EmployeesRecognize Your Employees

Identify behavior which consistently exceeds requirements

Say thank-you regularly Reinforce the kinds of behavior you

want repeated Recognize individuals publicly Celebrate successes as a team

Reward SMART-lyReward SMART-ly Specific – tie a reward to a specific action Meaningful – match the reward to the

person receiving it – what would they want? Attainable – reward small achievements Relevant – related to the rewardable

behavior Timely – reward quickly after the

rewardable behavior

Empower Your EmployeesEmpower Your Employees

Foster ownership Let TEs see how their work fits into

the grand scheme of things Give them the freedom (aka, trust) to

do their jobs Offer mentorship when appropriate

What ideas do you have?What ideas do you have?

ResourcesResources The Swem Student Handbook (https://

swem.wm.edu/forms/student-employee-handbook-acknowledgement)

Complete Guide for Supervisors of Student Employees in Today’s Academic Libraries by David A. Baldwin and Daniel C. Barkley. 2007

The X-Factor: Getting extraordinary results from ordinary people by Ross Reck. 2001

Motivating Employees for Dummies by Max Messmer. 2001 Effective Management of Student Employment by David A.

Baldwin, France C. Wilkinson, and Daniel C. Barkley. 2000 Managing Student Assistants: A how-to-do-it manual for

librarians by Kimberly Burke Sweetman. 2007 “Managing Student Employees” by Alberta Davis, Emily

Okada, Rebecca Stinnett, and Bara Swinson. Indiana Libraries, vol. 24, no. 1