SPEC Kit 344: Talent Management · 13
scheduling (23 of 46 responses, or 50%), the benefits
package (22 of 46 responses, or 48%), relationship with
colleagues (21 of 46 responses, or 46%), relationship
with their supervisor (14 of 46 responses, or 30%), sab-
batical or research leave (14 of 45 responses, or 31%),
tenure or permanent status track (13 of 46 responses,
or 28%), and faculty status (10 of 46 responses, or 22%).
The workplace issues that employees are least satisfied
with (determined by a larger number of responses
with either a 1 or 2) include: communication within
the organization (28 of 46 responses, or 61%), salary
(22 of 45 responses, or 49%), amount of work (19 of
45 responses, or 42%), opportunities for promotion
within the organization (19 of 46 responses, or 41%),
trust within the organization (17 of 46 responses,
or 37%), selection process for promotion within the
organization (12 of 44 responses, or 27%), and em-
ployee morale/engagement (11 of 46 responses, or
24%). Employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction with
organizational climate/culture was equal.
Job Classification Management
Job analysis is crucial in developing employees and
their careers, maximizing their talent, designing learn-
ing, improving processes, assessing the value of po-
sitions, and managing job titles and classifications
(Franklin 2005). This section of the survey assessed
the responding libraries’ approaches to job descrip-
tion management and job analysis. It also examined
the types of positions that have seen the most change
in job duties within their organizations, whether the
responding libraries have seen significant changes in
their job classification structures, and whether there
have been some changes in paraprofessional duties.
The majority of the 51 responding libraries re-
ported that they review their employees’ job descrip-
tions on a regular basis, specifically when there is a
vacancy (47 responses, or 92%), during organizational
restructuring (40 responses, or 78%), during perfor-
mance appraisal/evaluation (37 responses, or 73%),
and during performance planning (36 responses, or
71%). However, only 36% of the responding libraries
(18 of 50 responses) indicated that they had conducted
a systematic job analysis in the last five years to en-
sure alignment between the work being done and
the job titles.
The responding libraries reported the most signifi-
cant change in the job duties in functional specialist
roles (22 of 49 responses, or 45%), information tech-
nology positions (22 of 51 responses, or 43%), senior/
executive management positions (19 of 51 responses,
or 37%), and technical services positions (18 of 50 re-
sponses, or 36%). Responses from 49 libraries indicate
an approximately equal split regarding significant
changes to their classification structure or series titles
in the last five years, with 53% (26 responses) indi-
cating that they had not experienced a significant
change and 47% (23 responses) indicating they had.
In addition, 88% of the responding libraries (44 of 50
responses) agreed with the statement that library sup-
port staff (e.g., paraprofessionals, library assistants,
etc.) are taking on the responsibilities once considered
professional librarian responsibilities. The qualitative
comments overwhelmingly indicate that these duties
are in technical services areas (primarily in catalog-
ing) and reference services.
Compensation Management
The compensation strategy of an organization must
match the larger organizational strategy and the talent
management strategy. Smart and successful organiza-
tions manage their compensation strategy through
planning and regular assessment (Koss 2008). This
section of the survey investigated the compensation
management strategies used by the responding librar-
ies and any compensation management challenges
they are currently facing.
The results of the survey indicate that the majority
of the 51 responding libraries do not employ a system-
atic approach to analysis of employees’ compensation
relative to the market. Only 26% of the respondents (13
responses) conduct this compensation analysis every
one to four years and 8% (4 responses) analyze the
data at intervals of 5 or more years. Sixty-five percent
of the responding libraries (33 responses) take an ad
hoc approach to compensation management with
51% (26 responses) conducting the analysis only on an
as-needed basis and 14% (7 responses) reporting that
they had never conducted this type of assessment.
When it comes to managing employees’ compensa-
tion to address internal equity, more of the respond-
ing libraries adopt a systematic approach: 43% of them
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