Return to Work Safety Videos and Quiz

In preparation for returning to the library we are asking all staff to view a series of videos that will help keep you and everyone else safe while at work.  

View the videos below, and then complete the quiz and send it to your supervisor to show that you completed this requirement.  If you have any questions, please speak with your manager or supervisor.

Wearing a cloth mask properly  (1 min 42 sec)  

Hand washing ( 1 min 26 sec) 

Glove removal (1 min 12 sec)

Preventing Coronavirus at work  (2 min 28 sec) 

Clean your workspace (1 min 16 sec)

Quiz:  to access the quiz, click on the link below.  Once you are in Google Drive, Select File, then Download, and Microsoft Word. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uyOv9tEKyil5Hcd6GcoI2yfyKz87D6WBZ6mubJiapXI/edit?usp=sharing

Learning 2018 - Conference Review

In November I attended the Learning 2018 conference in Orlando.  This was the 28th year of this conference, which brings learning and development professionals together from around the world.  This year there were 1873 attendees from 27 different countries were represented, who are responsible for learning and development for over 30 million employees worldwide.

The theme of the conference this year was "Learning Changes."  Learners are changing, technology is changing, as are expectations and the economy.  The other main theme of the conference this year was the need for diversity, what it really means, and that cultivating diversity isn't just culturally positive, but can bring about economic improvements as well.  Other themes running through the conference included leadership development and designing effective onboarding for new staff. 

One idea that regularly was mentioned was the idea of fear and how it prevents us from achievement.  Keynote speaker Leslie Odom Jr. said that he recognized that all the things he wants in life are "on the other side of my fear," and session leader Deepak Sethi suggested that the way to overcome fear is to do more of the thing that you fear.  I even experienced a tiny bit of fear myself when trying to drive a bulldozer in the construction simulation machine, where the danger isn't real but is noticable and can affect performance.

I also learned some interesting but random things, like the fact that there are conferences for people who design and run haunted houses, that walking in a small group in a natural setting is the best stress reliever, and that  Plants vs. Zombies is a good learning game because you have to plan ahead and adapt.  I also learned that when NASCAR pit crews change tires they leave the lug nuts on the ground and they are routinely hit by these and other debris as the car returns to the track, and that in Fortune 1000 companies there are more CEOs named David than there are women, and only 3 are African-American.

Lisa R. Kenyon
Staff Development and Training

How do your direct reports see you as a manager?

If you are a managers, would your employees agree with these?

My manager:

• knows how to do my job and what is required on a day-to-day basis.
• is present, engaged, and accessible.
• helps me to see how my job and duties support the library's mission.
• supports my growth and development as an employee.
• helps me understand which parts of my job are the most important.
• understands the challenges of my job.
• offers opportunities for me to expand my duties and try new things.
• provides positive and negative feedback on an ongoing basis to help improve my job performance.

 If not, what do you need to do to fix this problem?

Questions Employees Should Ask Their Managers About Their Development

Think about where you would like to be, professionally, in the next few years.  Do you have the skills/abilities needed?  You should begin to increase your skills now, so that when new opportunities come along you will be ready.  An importat step in this process is having regular conversations with your manager.  Part of her/his responsibility as managers is to to assist staff members with their professional development.  Here are ideas and phrases to get the conversation started:

In the future, I would like to move into (department.position).  What are the skills I would need to make this change?

I'd like to strengthen my skills in(area/subject), how can I get more training in these areas?

I think I could learn from (person). Is there a way I could shadow/work with her/him for a time?

I'd like to gain more experience with (topic/technique/skill).  What types of trainings are available?

I really enjoy (task) and would like to exapand my responsibilities to include (new task). What skills do I need to take on this new task?

In my current position, I don't have a chance to use my (your ability). Are there other tasks in the department/branch/office that I could do that would let me show my abilities?

I found these classes/webinars in (area).  Can I participate in these trainings to strengthen my abilities in (skill)?  

You need to be involved in your own development, and see opportunities to improve your skills.  You can also contact SD&T with questions about opportunities and classes.

Are you good at your job?

"Often, people are good at things they don't really care for."

Sir Ken Robinson

Questions Managers Should Ask Employees About Their Development

Managers, it is important to have regular conversations with your employees about their development.  All staff, not just librarians and LAs, should be working on their skills and abilities.   Here are some questions you can use to start these discussions:

What are one or two areas where your abilities/skills could be stronger?  How can we improve your performance in these areas?

What new skills would you like to learn?  Why did you select these skills?  What types of trainings are available for this skill?

What are your strongest skills/abilities?  How have you gotten to this point?  Could you share your abilities and teach other staff to be stronger in this area?

What new challenges/duties would you like to add to your job?  Why are you interested in these?

Are there positions at the library that you find attractive?  Can you connect your job to that job directly?  If not, what do you need to learn, and what type of experience do you need to add to your resume?

Where would you like to be, professionally, in the next few years?  What skills do you need to acquire or improve to meet this goal?

It is important that you and the employee are both invested in his/her development.  Help your employees strengthen their skills and increase their productivity.

What is unconcious bias?

The term unconcious bias refers to a bias of which we are unaware and over which we have no control.  It is unintended, subtle, and completely unconcious, and also made by everyone all of the time.

When we educate ourselves about different types biases it is easy to see them in other people, but we don't often see them in ourselves.  Our brains see things the way it wants to see them, and we really can't do much about that.  Your brain is more active when you speak with someone it sees as being "like you" in some way, equating that person as being "better" than others.  The more people "like you" that are around you, the more comfortable you will feel.  Again, this is your brain making its own decisions, regardless of the choices we might make consciously.

There are several qualifiers our brain uses when it makes these distinctions, but if we want to try and neutralize our unconcious biases (which is extremely difficult) we can use these qualifiers to identify our biases:

• Similarity - a person like me is better than person not like me  You can use this by focusing on the similarities between you and other people when you interact with them.  Find shared traits/goals/characteristics and focus on them.  Physical similarities are the easiest and quickest to see, but job, education, political viewpoint, and other factors can be points of similarity.  Even something small like a shared favorite television show can make this connection.

• Expedience - easy and quick, it feels right to me  We look for evidence to support our impressions and get an answer quickly, but we need to unlearn this because the quick answer is often the wrong answer..  For example, if you tell people that  a bat and a ball together cost $1.10, and that the bat is $1 more than the ball, and then you ask them how much the ball costs they will say 10 cents.  However, the correct answer is that the bat is 1.05 and the ball is 5 cents.  Our brains do the quick division for the answer, but our brains are wrong because they go for the quick answer.

• Experience - my perceptions are accurate so it must be true  This assumes that our perceptions are always accurate, but perceptions are highly subjective and therefore suspect.  An example of this is customer service.  If you have bad service the first time you go into a store then you will expect bad service the next time you go into the same store.  Even if you receive good service the second time, you will be more critical and less satisfied because of your previous experience.  You may also receive bad service because your attitude will be bad and you may be rude or annoying.

• Distance - closer is better, familiar is better  This is one that people have difficulty recognizing, but it can easily be seen in meetings, particularly if some of the participants are attending remotely (either calling in on the phone or by video).  The people in the people focus on each other, even if the person speaking is not in the room.  Those in the room are taken more seriously and given more time to speak then those on the phone or video.  Those attending remotely are often cutoff or not included at the same level, and may be less comfortable speaking up or raising questions of the group.

• Safety - bad is stronger than good   This can certainly be seen by watching any news program.  The stories included are usually tragic or negative in some way because these stories are seen as more "serious."  In the workplace, this creates atmospheres where threats are stronger motivators than rewards.

How can we work against our unconcious biases in the workplace?  The first step is to acknowledge that we have these biases.  It is almost impossible to rid ourselves of them, because our brains do a lot of thinking on their own, but we can create habits and procedures to minimalize the effects of these biases.  This can take some effort, because people like it when others conform/perform to our stereotypes and beliefs, and when this is not true our brains have to work harder.

First, we can try to create new "in-groups" that are more diverse and using our similarities to create a positive bias.  Anyone with whom you feel similar can become a part of your new group.  By making a deliberate effort to expand our "group," our brain finds it easier to make the connections with different types of people.

If possible, create policies and procedures that support this in your workplace.  When forming teams, it is important to remember that diverse teams are smarter and more effective. Limit the size of the teams so that everyone can be heard -- 5 to 7 people allows more inclusion than 30.  When hiring, it is important to remember that organizations diversity generates more profits.  In meetings, the leader of the group can limit the amount of time each person speaks or can ensure that those not in the room, or those who haven't spoken yet get a chance to participate in the discussion.  We can't take the biases out of the people, but we can take them out of the processes.

Once we learn to recognize our own biases, we can create procedures, policies, and practices to mitigate their effects.

Do you have "engaged" employees?

Engaged Employees:

take initiative -- advocate for the organization -- interacts with other staff -- motivates others -- concentrates on their tasks -- produces a high quality of work -- loves what they do -- collaborates

Disengaged Employees:

does bare minimum of work -- wouldn't recommend the company to others -- avoids other staff -- complains a lot -- loses focus easily (or doesn't have it in the first place) -- is fine with "good enough" level of work -- always looking for another job -- avoids team participation

70% of U.S. employees are disengaged - are your staff members among them?