Staff Day Success An Webinar

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Staff Day SuccessAn Webinar
Thursday, December 3, 2009 Noon to 1 p.m.
Pacific time

• Presenter Mary Ross
• mross_at_infopeople.org

Infopeople webinars are supported by the U.S.
Institute of Museum and Library Services under
the provisions of the Library Services and
Technology Act, administered in California by the
State Librarian.
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Staff Day SuccessTips for Planning, Delivering,
and Evaluating All-Staff Events
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Download and use the handout on the Infopeople
website for note-taking.
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What is Staff Day? A day that is

• Full of high expectations
• Produced on a shoestring budget
• Planned by those who are not professional event
  planners
• Valuable to AND celebrates the value of library
  employees

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Staff Day SuccessWe will explore

• A planning process that involves library
  leadership and employees representing all parts
  of the library
• The importance of over-communication and why
  branding is part of that communication
• Ideas for creative free or low-cost programs
• Day-of considerations
• Leaving a legacy through evaluation and event
  documentation

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Use the YES Checkmark to tell us where your
library is with staff day planning.

• Its imminent less than three months out
• Breathing room three to six months
• False sense of comfort six months to one year
• Really organized more than one year
• Still thinking about it

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Use the YES Checkmark to tell us how many will
attend your staff day.

• Under 50
• 51 to 100
• 101 to 250
• 251 to 500
• Over 500

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GOALS, desired OUTCOMES, and the process for
INVOLVING STAFF
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PLANNINGStage 1

• Determine goals and outcomes with library
  leadershipand stay aligned with them!
• Budget and venue are the other major drivers of
  the program.
• Involve staff at all levels and in all parts of
  the library.

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PLANNINGStage 2

• Impacts of closure and work shift changes should
  be thoroughly vetted.
• Think of staff day as a continuing education day
  (like a conference), not as a training day.

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Our committeemotivated, enthusiastic,
involvedeven the skeptics!
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In your planning, dont overlook
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Branding and communicationyou cannot
over-communicate!
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Branding and communication

• Set the theme based on goals and outcomes.
• Use theme and logo for consistent branding. Logo
  contest?
• Use multiple channels of communication.
• Prepare staff, answer their questions, encourage
  follow-up learning.

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Winning entry from the logo contest
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Staff Day intranet
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Program ideas are everywhere!
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Creative free and low-cost programs

• Do a call for proposals and presenters.
• Use Staff Day as a lab for staff presentation
  skills.
• Showcase staff talents.
• Look for people and resources
• in your community.

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Programsshare your ideas for topics, presenters,
and resources
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Programs for everyone!

• GamingIts Whats Happening Social Networking
  and Other Technology Trends Stress Management
  Customer Service Is All About You Generation S
  Library Services to Seniors Push for Promotion
  Live Energetically! The ABCs of Gen XYZ Mentoring
  at the Library So You Want to Get Your MLIS?
  Balancing Home and Work Privacy in the Age of
  Terror Danger Books! A Celebration of
  Intellectual Freedom Seattles Chinese-Speaking
  Community Graphic Novels from the Inside Out
  Overcoming Procrastination New Faces in the
  Library Intercultural Communication Skills
  Movin On Up East Africans in Seattle Anime and
  Manga Conversation with Award-Winning Authors Is
  Your E-mail an E-pile?

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Cosplay during program on anime and manga
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Movin On Up, a panel of managers who started
work as student employees
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Staff learn about gaming
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Its showtime! Day of considerations
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Day of event considerations

• Make it fun! Use door prizes, ice-breakers,
  recognition awards.
• Plan for all the logistics of on-site
  registration, equipment, food and beverages.
• Maintain control of time but allow time for
  socializing.
• End on a high note.

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On the day of the event,dont overlook
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Having fun together
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Door prizes, recognition awards and more
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Staff art show
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Wellness Fair
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Seeing colleagues from all parts of the library
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Evaluate and document the day.
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Evaluate and document

• Take photos, record programs, share handouts.
• Evaluations can be simple paper forms or online
  (SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang).
• De-brief with committee.
• Write a final report and make recommendations for
  the future.

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Day After Resources

• Every day we are creating
• our future together.

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As you leave a legacy to future Staff Day
planners,dont overlook
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Comments from the evaluations

• With regards to morale, this kind of investment
  in staff is fantastic. I think every person there
  left feeling appreciated and proud to work for
  the library.
• Future staff day committees need only remember
  what this one clearly understood, which is that
  this is primarily an opportunity to get renewed,
  recharged, revived, and inspired by our guest
  speakers and ourselves.

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Evaluation comments, continued

• I value that we, the staff, are truly valued, as
  was made evident by all the care and thought and
  work that went into planning Staff Day.
• The committee did a wonderful job of organizing
  the event, keeping staff informed along the way
  and helping us find our way on the big day. This
  is the best Staff Day I have attended and I have
  been working at SPL for more than 20 years.
  THANKS!

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Leaving a legacy

• As a committee, we believed that Staff Day could
  be worthwhile, and we had the space to chart our
  own courseMany of the programs were presented by
  staff and we implemented many of the staff
  suggestions for workshops Staff Day became an
  environment where the possibilities afforded by
  new technologies could inspire and energize

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Leaving a legacy

• we talked the talk, but we also walked the
  walk, of staff inclusion.
• It seems to me that we should pass on to our
  successors some nuts and bolts information, and
  the encouragementand the spaceto chart their
  own course.
• Dean Jensen, Technical and Cataloging Services
• Seattle Public Library

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More resources on Staff Day planning

• Handout for this webinar on Infopeople website
• Public Library Staff Days Tips and Tricks
  (published by Lyrasis)
• Jacksonville Public Library (FL) Staff
  Development Day Lessons Learned

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• Thank You!
• I hope you enjoy planning your
• staff day.
• Mary Ross
• mross_at_infopeople.org