RLI 286  14 RESEARCH LIBRARY ISSUES: A REPORT FROM ARL, CNI, AND SPARC 2015 The focus group facilitators synthesized the raw data into basic recommendations with help from the ClimateQUAL team to understand terminology and context. The team then shared the recommendations with managers and supervisors starting with the Administrative Advisory Group. The AAG (Administrative Advisory Group) is the group made up of assistant/associate deans, department heads, and functional coordinators. The AAG meets once a month, chaired by the dean of the University Libraries. This group was seen as needing to improve communication so that library staff could feel more in touch with decision making and actions impacting the whole of the organization. The feedback recognized the “fear culture” generated in part by larger issues within the campus and economy but challenged the leadership to inform and communicate better. Some summarized desires raised in the focus groups include: More transparency in decisions related to staffing and workflows, especially between departments More visibility of AAG with staff by interacting at a level to understand job functions better and to gain perspective on workplace needs Better recognition of individual efforts, especially when no ability to reward monetarily Support for staff development opportunities that benefit both the work place and personal enrichment Two-way communication channels that provide the ability to obtain answers or be informed in a timely way and without retribution Look at how exempt and non-exempt employees are treated differently and not given the same opportunities Address concerns about departments working in silos and creating a culture of being inflexible or unresponsive to the needs of other departments Strategic Actions for Improvement The AAG and the UNCG ClimateQUAL team began developing improvement strategies to address the concerns raised in the focus groups. Instituting a Staff Recognition Week One of the major actions taken by the administration was the development of a Staff Recognition Week in which a series of events would take place during a week identified as low impact in order to allow everyone to participate. A revamped Staff Development Committee was charged with soliciting organizational feedback as to staff members’ desires and development needs and with programming the event. The committee solicited staff input through an assessment survey given to the entire staff. Staff Recognition Week has now taken place twice with smaller single-event activities occurring in the intervening periods. Events and activities are classified or respond to specific needs as derived from the ClimateQUAL data-driven focus groups. Examples of these event types are: personal enrichment, job- related skills, health and fitness, teamwork, career enhancement, and communication techniques and
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