Personnel (L4L)
- Introduction
- Federal Resources
- Wisconsin Resources
- Sample Policies
- Sites about Human Resources Management
- Of Related Interest
Introduction
The most challenging part of managing any organization or business often proves to be managing the people. There's the paper work, driven by laws and requirements that are sometimes baffling and complex; the business of hiring, evaluating, training, promoting, and occasionally dismissing employees; the need for policies and handbooks, job descriptions, benefits ranging from maternity leave to retirement; and the interaction among people that often makes or breaks the overall success of the services you provide, and certainly affects the day-to-day feelings everyone has about work.
Below are some resources designed to provide the library director with knowledge, information, and suggestions that will facilitate and improve personnel management. Remember that when you're reading material written for the business community, you'll need to assess what's relevant for you in the public sector.
Federal Resources
Social
Security Online
The official web site of the Social Security Administration.
It's packed with useful information that's well-organized. It's possible
for any employee to request
a social security statement that will estimate future benefits and
summarize the individual's history of earnings.
The
United States Office of Personnel Management
This site is
directed primarily
at federal agencies and their employees, but the site is worth browsing
for insights that you can adapt and borrow. One excellent example is the Performance
Management section which provides a concise overview of the elements
in evaluating employees and then offers a wealth of resources on each
element.
Federal
Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination: Questions and Answers
Provides
valuable information on what the relevant laws are, what kinds of discrimination
are prohibited, and how charges are filed and resolved. One of the topics
discussed is the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
Occupational
Safety and Health Administration
This site
offers information on OSHA's regulations
and information for improving work place safety. Of particular interest
are their findings on ergonomics and ways to prevent repetitive motion
problems. Note that you can find the address and phone number for Wisconsin's
OSHA offices.
USA.gov
The U.S. Government's official web portal connects Americans to millions
of pages of information from and about the government. It's a good idea
to begin with About Us and
then browse the main sections or "gateways," i.e., for citizens, for businesses
and non-profits, for federal employees, and government-to-government. (Formerly known as First.gov.)
Wisconsin Resources
The
Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds
This site provides detailed
information about the Wisconsin Retirement System, as well as health,
income continuation, and life insurance programs and deferred compensations.
The section on retirement planning includes information on estimating
retirement benefits. In addition, the employers' section includes the
administration manual, bulletins, forms, and a contact list. Don't overlook
the FAQ section, which is divided
into sections on Deferred Compensation, Group Health Insurance, Group
Life Insurance, the Wisconsin Retirement System, and more.
The
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
(Formerly the Department
of Industry, Labor, and Human Relations.) Provides information on equal
rights, new hire reporting, unemployment insurance, worker's comp, and
other matters of concern to employers and employees in the state. One
can access the WT-4
form 
for withholding and new hire reporting from this site,
as well as other forms. Another important feature of the site is information
about fair
wage and hour/labor standards addressing such topics as breaks and
meals, hours of work and overtime, work permits, and posters every organization
is required to display for employees.
Sample Policies
Sample
Library Policies for the Small Public Library
These sample policies
include a fine personnel
policy that can serve, too, as an overview of the topics to be included
in any personnel policy. This is a basic, extremely useful document for
any small public library.
The
Fulton County (Indiana) Public Library
This site includes
an in-depth personnel policy on the web that is thoughtful and comprehensive,
valuable. While this is the policy of a larger library, much that is in it
would be worth looking at by any size library. Notice the inclusion of individual job descriptions (Appendix
B).
OWLS
Employee Handbook
A good example of a personnel handbook from a library system. Sections include: Welcome; Employment at Will Statement; Getting Started; Working at OWLS; Pay and Progress; Time Away From Work; Insurance; Other Benefits; Leaving OWLS; Documents and Resources.
Iola
(Kansas) Public Library Personnel Policy
Another example of a personnel handbook from Southeast Kansas Library System and Iola Public Library.
Sites about Human Resources Management
Human Resources
About.com's human
resources page is a good place to begin browsing the site's many different
pages of interest, e.g., policies/handbooks, compensation, benefits, performance
management, morale/motivation, selecting and retaining employees. The
pages include practical tips, clear information, and opinions that can
help the reader see the familiar from a different perspective.
Human Resources Management
Lots of collected articles about human resources management from the Free Management Library.
Sections include: Basic Overviews; Getting the Best Employees; Paying and Providing Benefits; Training Employees; Ensuring Safe Work Environments; and more.
Personnel
(Human Resources)
Brief discussions of important personnel issue, sample policies, and suggested
resources from Washington State's Municipal Research and Services Center. Some
items in this are available only in paper form and are specific to Washington,
but the site is worth browsing for the links, the public sector perspective,
and the general interest materials it contains.
Of Related Interest
Developing
an Employee Compensation Program
This article was written
by Rick Krumwiede and Greta Thompson of the Outagamie Waupaca Library System. It outlines a number of steps to follow in order to develop an effective employee compensation program.
Guide
to Writing Job Descriptions
From UCLA, a detailed
guide to a basic task. The home page is difficult to read, but the
rest of the pages are much easier on the eyes and contain a lot of
helpful information.
Writing
Sentences for Job Descriptions
Ten brief and useful
tips on style. Very practical!
Orientation for New Employees
The Ohio Library Council has provided a very useful site for introducing new people on your staff to what
libraries are all about. There are "activities for learning" on such
topics as public services, the catalog, call numbers, and confidentiality.
First you read, then you walk around the library looking for certain
things and/or take an online tour of a library, and afterward there's
a quiz to take. There's a page for the supervisor of the new person
to read, as well. Even the fact that the site has been developed for
Ohio libraries can be turned to advantage if you spend time talking
together about the similarities and differences.
Supporting public libraries in Outagamie and Waupaca counties