TSD Program Review: FAQs
The Blue Ribbon Committee carefully reviewed the findings of the Program Review Committees, the debriefing sessions, and the focus groups. The Committee also analyzed the current physical work flows within the division. The Committee used an exercise to envision technical services in 2006. Considering the values of the organization, the goals of the process, the feedback on the current organization, and the vision of the future, the Committee developed the models being proposed.
In many ways, the proposed reorganization of the division is quite similar to the current organization. However, there are substantive changes to some of the existing work flows. In addition, a number of new structures address needed leadership and coordination functions. The new structure also specifies staffing for work flows more generally than typically occurs in the current organization. Rather than assigning individual staff to precisely specified tasks, staffing is assigned more broadly to groups of related tasks. This is to enable greater cross training of staff for job enrichment and to allow the needed responsiveness to short term and long term changes in workloads.
Recognizing that the new ILS will provide new opportunities for streamlining processing of many materials, the Committee believes that a separate fast cataloging unit will be able to better manage workflows and expedite processing.
The new structure offers greater responsibility for leadership to a wider range of staff. Staff will be working more closely to coordinate activities among production groups and
some production groups will have opportunities to experiment with rotating leadership. Core competencies will be developed and greater cross training will be required allowing staff to vary their work and respond more quickly and easily to changes in work flows and workloads.
The Committee did not assume that all production groups would be located entirely within a contiguous space. During implementation, the production groups will need to develop strategies for organizing and managing work flows in ways that maximize the use of available space.
The model will drive the space planning. The model provides information on the number of Production Groups and the number of staff who will be assigned to each area. The space planner will be asked to determine how we might keep key groups of people in proximity to one another to facilitate workflow.
Depository materials will be processed in the Special Processes Production Group. The processing of some non-depository materials is currently handled in other units. This will continue to be the case in the new organization. A coordinating team has been dedicated to Government Documents to help coordinate this decentralized processing and to address unique issue related to this collection. The leadership team would allow for input from the staff that maintains and provides public service for the collection as well.
The PIT report was not available to the BRC during the planning process. The report has been forwarded to Lori Goetsch and Carlen Ruschoff for consideration. The recommendations will be evaluated later in the summer.
The Committee expects that the reorganization will create positions that are different from those available now. There will be opportunities for staff to work in new positions at the same level and probably some opportunities for staff to apply for higher level positions than they currently occupy. The Committee is proposing that a group be formed to manage the process of reassigning staff. This group will develop position descriptions, create a process where existing staff can express interest in positions they want to occupy in the reorganized division, and manage the assignment process. This group will have some continuity of membership with the Blue Ribbon Committee but will include other TSD staff.
There are a number of new and upgraded positions on the organization charts. These positions will need to be justified to receive approval from LEC and the University. We may not be able to open all positions immediately, but that remains to be seen.
Several elements of the new organizational structure support a systems approach. The reorganization of some work units is intended to bring together portions of some work flows that are currently separated. The increase in flexibility of staff assignments and cross training should make it easier for staff to see how different activities are related. The leadership groups are intended to increase coordination of work that necessarily cuts across production groups. For instance, the serials group will be able to manage issues that involve multiple production groups.
Rather than assigning individual staff to rigidly specified tasks, staffing is assigned more broadly to groups of related tasks. This is to enable greater cross training of staff for job enrichment and to allow the needed responsiveness to short term and long term changes in workloads. Cross training encourages a "systems approach" by shifting the focus slightly from one specific aspect of a process to a basic understanding of an entire process.
The reorganization of TSD incorporates the principles of continuous learning and education set forth in the Libraries' Working Paper #3 on becoming a learning organization. To support the need for cross training and retraining, a Training Coordination Team will be established. This team will be responsible for identifying and monitoring divisional training needs and finding ways to address them. One of the first steps the BRC recommends in the area of training is to identify core competencies for all TSD staff and to create a training plan based on this core. A task force on core competencies will be formed and begin its work this summer.
Some teams will be responsible for overall planning and decision making. One example of a leadership team is the TSD Leadership Team, which will replace TSD Council. This group will be responsible for planning and coordinating between the Production Groups and the Coordinating Teams. Coordinating Teams will be responsible for coordinating
and activity that cuts across Production Groups and even divisions. Two examples of this type of group are Serials and Government Documents.
The leadership in the Production Groups monitors the overall work of the group and the resources that are needed. The Coordinating Teams will be looking at specific
work flows as they cross Production Groups and divisions. Coordinating Team leaders will report to their 'home' Production Group leader. They will also participate on the Director's Planning & Leadership Team. Major changes that may affect the work of the Production Groups will need to be brought to the Director's Planning & Leadership Team for discussion.
All members of the Coordinating Teams, as well as the Team Leaders, will report to a Production Group leader. The Production Group leader will be responsible for administering the PRD. Coordinating Team leaders will also be responsible for making monthly reports to the Director's Planning & Leadership Team.
In many cases decisions made by TSD impact the work of others in the Libraries. Team members from outside TSD can bring new skills, fresh perspectives, and needed collaboration to the work of the division. The inclusion of staff from outside of TSD provides yet another avenue for the development of "systems" thinking as helps to place the work of TSD within the "context" of the Libraries' overall function and mission.
It is anticipated that some standing committee or groups may remain in place, while the work of other groups may be incorporated into that of newly created leadership teams or production groups. The Preservation Committee, for instance, which sets priorities for preservation activities, may continue to be a necessary decision-making body in the new structure.
Feedback on the proposed reorganization models will be gathered during June. A final version of the plan will be developed in early July. Implementation will begin shortly
after that. The group to handle reassignments of staff will be formed and begin its work over the summer.
The new structure and the workflow that is developed should be improved upon continuously. The implementation of LIMS3 will provide an opportunity to review and rethink the changes that we have made. An overall snapshot review ought to take place a year after the changes have been implemented.
The Blue Ribbon Committee recognizes that in many cases, the members of production groups and other teams will need to manage many of the details of managing and organizing their work. To give all of the groups and teams as much flexibility as possible, the BRC has deliberately indicated only the range of work responsibilities assigned to groups of staff rather than specifying all work responsibilities for each position in the organization. This is intended to allow groups and teams to respond flexibly to the dynamic environment.
In many cases the production groups and leadership teams will be charged with managing the work flows assigned to them. In some cases the Blue Ribbon Committee has identified needed Process Improvement Task Forces to identify pressing issues emerging from the program review. These PITs will work with production groups and leadership teams in creating new work processes.
The proposals need to be reviewed and put into final form for the approval of LEC. Job descriptions for existing positions will need to be revised and updated. Descriptions for new positions or upgraded positions will need to be rewritten. An implementation plan must be drafted. The plan must include how we will staff the Production Groups and the Teams. It also must incorporate steps to rework our work flows.
Volunteers will be sought to assist with the implementation plan. We hope that some members of the BRC will step forward to continue the work of reorganization. However, we will understand if some members feel that it is time to return to their regular duties and other responsibilities full time. We are looking forward to bringing aboard other staff members who would like to participate in this phase of Program Review.
In some cases, elements of the reorganization are a direct reflection of changes that ExLibris will require. However, recognizing that not all of the changes required by ExLibris implementation are known today, the Committee worked hard to provide as much flexibility as possible to production groups and leadership teams to create new work flows and work assignments as implementation unfolds.
The Blue Ribbon Committee has already identified needed changes coming from the program review process. These are being implemented now. The Committee has also identified a number of Process Improvement Task Forces to recommend changes in work processes.
