Spotlight

• Why You Should Take a Librarian (or Two) to Lunch

  By Caitlin P. Williams, Ph.D.

  Mentoring, whether formal or informal, engages newer workers, acclimates them to organizational culture and grooms them for greater levels of responsibility. The workplace is changing: flatter organizations, fewer advertised positions and a higher degree of uncertainty characterize the “new normal.” These new circumstances present challenges, many of which can be met by developing strong mentoring relationships in the workforce. Mentoring styles and strategies are evolving to better serve workers’ current professional development needs. 

  How Mentoring … Read the rest

ALA-APA News

• Fired law librarian’s suit against Southern Illinois survives, barely

  By Karen Sloan, Law.com: September 26, 2012
  

  A U.S. District court has ruled not to dismiss a fired law librarian’s lawsuit against Southern Illinois University. The law librarian, Donald Jason Raymond, was dismissed in 2009 for allegedly threatening to attack a co-worker with a crowbar. In his suit, Raymond argues that the co-worker fabricated the threat of violence to distract Southern Illinois University from her alleged mishandling of a sexual harassment charge against Raymond.

   … Read the rest

• Librarians File Grievance; Trustees to Meet Thursday With Staff

  The Conway Daily Sun (Conway, New Hampshire): September 26, 2012

  Four librarians, whose jobs were in jeopardy from a planned restructuring of the Conway Public Library, have filed a grievance against their immediate supervisor, director Tara Thomas, accusing her of “unprofessional, hostile and abusive treatment.”… Read the rest

HR Practice

• How Do You Measure Employee Turnover?

  Does your organization suffer from high employee turnover? Dakotta Alex’s article on recruiting website Recruiting Trends explores common reasons for turnover, how to develop turnover metrics and why not all turnover is bad.… Read the rest

• The Art of Giving Negative Feedback: A 7-Step Approach

  Editor’s note: This article is published with permission of Business Management Daily.com. View the original article.

  Giving feedback is an important management task but certainly not an easy one—especially when the feedback isn’t all sunshine.

  Negative feedback requires a manager to motivate, counsel and criticize in a way that alerts employees to where the problems lie and what must be done to solve them. Fortunately, it’s a skill that can be learned.

  Follow this seven-step method whenever giving … Read the rest

Recruitment

• What Do Top Young Managers Need from Your Organization?

  Does your organization have a high turnover of talented supervisors and managers? Does there seem to be a disconnect between what your organization provides and what new hires expect? A blog post from Ken Haycock and Associates Inc. suggests that mentoring, training and other professional and emotional support can go a long way towards lowering turnover and increasing the job satisfaction of young managers.

  Ken Haycock and Associates Inc. works with not-for-profit boards to develop models of authentic governance, from … Read the rest

• How to Hire and Promote the Right People on a Regular Basis

  Editor’s note: This article was originally published in WalkTheTalk‘s publication Three-Dimensional Interviewing. Permission granted from The WalkTheTalk Company to duplicate and distribute this resource.  

  To increase the likelihood of hiring and promoting the right people on a regular basis, you need to do more than merely review resumes and look at past experience. You need a structured process designed to ensure you get a complete picture of a candidate’s potential for success in the position.

  Unlike traditional interviewing … Read the rest

Statistics

• American Library Association releases new data to update Diversity Counts report

  According to 2010 U.S. Census data and new data for the American Library Association’s Diversity Counts report:
  

  • Latinos compose 16.3 percent of the population, but just 3.1 percent of credentialed librarians and 9 percent of library assistants;
  • African Americans compose 12.6 percent of the population, but just 5.1 percent of credentialed librarians and 9.3 percent of library assistants;
  • Asian and Pacific Islanders compose 5 percent of the population, but just 2.7 percent of credentialed librarians and  5.5 percent of

  … Read the rest

• DOL: Unemployment at Lowest Rate Since January 2009

  According to Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, our nation’s labor market added 114,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September, while the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent, its lowest level since January 2009. Additionally, 86,000 more Americans found jobs in July and August than had been previously reported. … Read the rest

• Survey: 1 in 3 U.S. Employees Fear Retribution, Do Not Speak Up

  A survey of 100,000 U.S. workers suggests that one in three employees, fearing retribution, does not provide employers with honest feedback.

  The study’s authors note that repressed employee frustration often manifests in highly unproductive ways, including “absenteeism, low team identification, and eventually reduced performance and turnover.”

  Several factors can contribute to a workplace dominated by fear of retribution, including supervisors who provide consistently negative or unconstructive feedback; leaders who regularly dismiss or ignore employee feedback; and supervisors who threaten employees … Read the rest

Work/Life

• Stress Busters

  By Beatrice Calvin

  Fall has officially begun. Though many people tend to think of spring as a season for new beginnings, I like to think of fall as a time to start new things—a time to refresh and renew. I feel re-energized when fall begins. The trees begin to change colors and I notice how magnificent creation is. School begins in the fall and opportunities for continuing your education and/or professional development often comes in the fall. The start of … Read the rest

HR Law

• Can You Fire an Employee After Seeing Results of a Pre-Employment Lie Detector Test?

  According to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA), most private employers are prohibited from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment. Employers generally may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee or job applicant for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the Act.

  In fact, employers may not use or … Read the rest

• Is Working from Home a Reasonable Accomodation?

  Does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require employers to let employees with medical conditions work from home? According to a recent ruling by a federal district court in Michigan, the answer is no: physical attendance can be an essential job function. A post by the Colorado Employment Law blog discusses this case and its ramifications.

   … Read the rest

LW Tip

• Mark Your Calendars and Prepare to Celebrate at the Networking Reception

  Experience a taste of Seattle’s nightlife at this premier social event during the ALA 2013 Midwinter Conference. Take advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new people at this networking fundraiser on Saturday, January 26, 2013, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Come and enjoy an evening filled with music, dancing, and more! Proceeds from the event support the ALA Allied Professional Association’s (ALA-APA) work in promoting “the mutual professional interests of librarians and other library … Read the rest