With the pandemic changing how we live our lives such as remote work environments or new meeting platforms, engaging your employees is so important. Leaders that connect with their employees regularly with solid communication will keep up morale in their teams. Offering new opportunities to expand skillsets and keeping lines of communication open are vital to boost morale and engagement. Doing this regularly in your library will enable your team to thrive even in the most unpredictable and changing times.
Regular Communication
Having set library staff meetings is a must in our changing work environment especially with in person programming and physical circulation numbers down. During the pandemic lockdown normal routines and work schedules were altered. So, expressing a clear message of what’s going on in your organization helps dispel rumors when no information is present. Clear communication keeps all your stakeholders informed and on the same page. Even in unpredictable times, telling your staff what’s going on is important to keep the lines of communication open and questions and answers flowing. When information is not shared timely or not at all, people tend to create their own answers or share misinformation.
Employee Engagement
Besides regular meetings, having a planned day or even one afternoon to schedule in house training is very important to keep up the skills of your library staff and more importantly keep up morale. Having few if any customers come into the library for more than a year, hit staff hard. Many organizations are still rebounding. Some libraries describe Staff Training Day as the one time all the employees from their entire team can come together. It is an opportunity to network and learn something new to help their patrons and community. Think about having the staff plan the events of the day and act as trainers to help build professional development. Plan an entire day of learning for your librarians and staff to help increase engagement immediately with the team.
Be present
Just because you can work remotely doesn’t mean you should. Being present and seen by your library team is the most important factor to consider when increasing morale. Think about your team of library workers who must show up every day to help customers. Being present for your team and walking the floor shows you care about them and your library community.
Remember to check back every few weeks for other tips to help manage and engage your team! Kathy Husser’s travel blog also has great tips for your next getaway.
