While librarians have become increasingly comfortable with assessing their effectiveness vis-à-vis external stakeholders, internal assessment efforts are less frequent. What happens when library employees apply their assessment tools and skills to explore their colleagues’ experiences?
This session will focus on one large public university library’s employee engagement committee’s experience conducting a multi-phase and -method exploration of employee engagement and satisfaction. Presenters will describe the process and share lessons learned throughout. Attendees will learn about:
- Building an effective project team
- Sequencing phases of the assessment project
- Best practices for developing effective survey instruments
- Developing and facilitating focus groups
- Analyzing data and sharing findings, including tips for effective data visualization
- Presenting findings effectively to different stakeholder groups
- Maintaining momentum and identifying appropriate next steps
- Using results to set priorities and improve employee engagement
- Tips, tricks, and lessons learned from this project
As the library employee engagement committee collaborated with a faculty member (one of the presenters) from the university’s iSchool to conduct the focus groups, the session will include strategies for reaching out to colleagues from outside the library for assistance with assessment projects. Recognizing that internal assessment differs significantly from working with external stakeholders, the presenters will also discuss strategies for responding to findings in real time, recalibrating efforts between individual phases of the project, and communicating with all stakeholders throughout the process.
The presenters will use a mix of active-learning techniques, including hands-on group work, brainstorming, and facilitating discussion of real-world scenarios and approaches. This session will be appropriate for employees of both small and large libraries with an interest/responsibility related to internal assessment, employee engagement, and organizational culture, as well as employees interested in acquiring skills in developing surveys, conducting focus groups, and unique approaches to employee engagement.
