Service Quality Improvement Council

Staffing Issues Group
Minutes, March 17, 1999

Present: Emily Horning, Maureen Heher, Diane Turner, Charles Greenberg, Danuta Nitecki and Sandy Peterson (Chair)

1. Introductions were made.

2. Danuta reviewed the purpose of the Service Quality Improvement Council and its subcommittees, one of which is the Staffing Issues Group. The Staffing Issues Group will address ways to support staff efforts in providing public service. Finding ways to best support front line staff and the problems they face is of special concern. She reviewed the charge for the Staffing Issues Group and suggested that we focus on a few areas for the next six months.

3. The group discussed many possibilities for where to start: basic competencies, performance standards, interpersonal skills, referral mechanisms, ownership of policies and practices, interview skills, recognition and incentives.

4. The Group struggled with trying to decide where to start. There was discussion of the training that occurred in each unit. While there seemed to be consensus that training in library resources was well defined in each unit; there seemed to be less emphasis on what the public service culture and environment should be. The consensus was that perhaps a "Code of Conduct" of those things that your supervisor/trainer forgot to tell you about public service was needed. Each member should bring ideas about what should be included in such a document for the next meeting.

Recorded by Sandy Peterson, sandra.k.peterson@yale.edu