Loudoun County Public Library

Loudoun County Public Library Developing Effective and Concise New Employee Orientation Materials Presenters:Creators: Leah Bromser-Kloeden Leah Bromser-Kloeden Branch Manager, Purcellville Library Jie Chen April Pavis John Huddy Teen Services Librarian, Rust Library Marcia Jackson April Pavis Tina Thomas

Loudoun County Public Library Why we created this: • Director Chang Liu came on board in Spring 2011 and her leadership style is inclusive and open to staff input. This is a positive change for the system, and veteran and new employees alike will benefit from her explaining her mission, goals, values, and methods. • Needs of the library changed in 2011 • A new library was being built, with an opening date of Winter 2012/2013, and over 30 new staff members were expected to join us • Library just came out of a hiring freeze • Director and Board of Trustees developed a Work Plan draft that included a comprehensive orientation for new and existing library employees “to formally address the relationship, roles and responsibilities among Library staff, Trustees, advisory boards/Friends, and LLF, including the relationship of the Branch Manager to the advisory board/Friends”

Loudoun County Public Library Benefits of a New Employee Orientation “A good orientation is the best way to promote organizational values and culture; it also reduces training time; why just throw a party when someone leaves? celebrate when someone arrives!” –Western University, Ontario, Canada Retention numbers are higher Very quickly, new employees feel like they are a part of something, not just a new person in a sea of unfamiliarity New hires reach “full productivity” earlier than non-oriented new employees. – Texas Instruments

Loudoun County Public Library Planning Process “What did we wish we knew when we first started working for LCPL?” • Created a Work Group of employees of all levels who were passionate about a New Employee Orientation • Asked staff on our online anonymous forum • Asked coworkers in casual conversation • Established a work group of volunteer employees • Researched other libraries and institutions

Loudoun County Public Library What to Include in the Orientation • Agenda • Introduction of attendees (as an ice-breaker) • Who governs us? (This is unique to the Commonwealth of VA, as well as within separate counties) • Budget process: where does our money come from? • Representatives from Adult Services/Reference, Teen Services, Youth Services, Circulation, and Outreach to give a brief overview of their duties. This will help cultivate the practice of inter-department support. • Senior Administration division managers: Programming, Grants, and Community Relations; Collection Management; Technology

Loudoun County Public Library Orientation Agenda 9:10 - 9:30 Welcome & Introductions – Beth Wiseman 9:30 – 11:00 Overview of LCPL – Chang Liu 11:00 – 11:15 Break 11:15 – 11:35 Overview, Technology Division – Lydia Patrick 11:35 – 11:55 Overview, Collection Management Services Division – Mary Lou Demeo 11:55 – 12:15 Overview, Administration Office Manager Human Resources – Kelley Nelson 12:15 – 1:00 Lunch 1:00 – 2:00 Overview, Public Services 2:00 – 2:20 Overview, Programming Division – Heather Hughes 2:20 – 2:30 Break 2:30 – 2:50 Overview, Branches – Leah Bromser-Kloeden 2:50 – 3:00 Closing Remarks – Chang Liu

Loudoun County Public Library Don’t Forget • Collection Management: ALA and legal topics such as confidentiality, privacy, code of ethics, and Freedom to Read. Because new employees are not all professional librarians, and paraprofessionals don’t always know these professional rules, especially if this is their first library job. • Leadership: Your director should speak at the orientation, if for nothing more than to share their professional ideology, and the library’s mission and vision statements.

Loudoun County Public Library Timing • This is a long process. It took us one year. • Evaluation and input from Senior Level staff and ensuing revisions. • Evaluation and input from Senior Level staff and ensuing revisions. • Personnel changes affected the momentum of the orientation’s implementation process. • New library opening was delayed, and the immediacy of putting the orientation together slowed. Then, boom! And we had to move quickly.

Loudoun County Public Library Implementation • The administrative office manager booked the meeting room, prepared the binders, acquired name tags, ordered snacks and lunch, and set up the room the morning of the orientation. • Outlook invitations were sent to all employees hired since the last orientation, which was thirteen months earlier. • Important to consider who will be facilitating the day. The public information specialist facilitated, but it could be a work group member, director, etc. • Upload all presenter slides the morning of the orientation so as to save time.

Loudoun County Public Library Binder • Why we created this • Important contents • Available to all staff to refer to as needed • Table of contents • One per facility instead of one per new employee (easier to update when documents are edited)

Loudoun County Public Library Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SZT6M5D • Emailed to attendees at the day’s end. • Survey responses collected anonymously • Responses shared with director and the work group so as to make appropriate revisions for future sessions

Loudoun County Public Library Pros: “Learning about the importance of patron confidentiality and freedom to read.” “understanding the priorities of [our director]” “Learning what exactly everyone else does and who to contact when we have specific HR type questions.” “It's great to have policies and procedures in one place [with the binder]” 88% agreed format for delivering the information was effective Cons: “The binder never made its way to me.” Timing of receiving the binder: too late after initial hiring “I would've liked a bit more information on programming. Who plans what kinds of programs, where funding comes from, who can propose program ideas, etc.” Not enough information on job-specific topics

Loudoun County Public Library Questions? Please contact us with any questions or ideas: Leah: Leah.Bromser.Kloeden@loudoun.gov April: April.Pavis@loudoun.gov

Loudoun County Public Library