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Needs Assessment Survey Results
:November 1998
Introduction The office of Staff Training and Development designed and conducted a survey of 290 current library staff (excluding students) to assess individual training and development needs. In this survey, the data were collected by means of a questionnaire. The staff was instructed to rank the importance of specific training and development topics. The survey consisted of seven sections: Orientation, Communications and Customer Services, Organizational Development, Technology Training, Diversity Training, Personnel Issues, and Library Issues. The results of this survey will be employed to help identify, prioritize, and design training and development programs that best suit staff needs and fit within organizational parameters. Purpose of the Survey The purpose of the survey was to gather information from the staff regarding their opinion of the importance of proposed staff training and development programs. A secondary purpose of the survey was to gather information from staff on their proficiency in select and identified areas. Staff who are currently proficient in identified areas, and who are willing, would be the logical first choice to become peer trainers. Data Collection The staff survey questionnaires were mailed in inter-departmental envelopes to 290 current staff members of the UM Libraries, College Park, during the week of June 15, 1998, with a two-week window for completion. Completed surveys (n= 155; 54% of total distributed) were returned individually and directly to Bette Ann Hubbard through campus mail. Questionnaire Development Various staff training surveys conducted by other ARL libraries were
used as a guide in developing the questionnaire. Additional information
gathered from staff department meetings, committee meetings, board meetings
and the Library Executive Council was incorporated into the instrument.
Within the questionnaire, possible training topics were organized under
seven broad categories: Orientation, Communication and Customer Services,
Organizational Development, Technology Training,
The staff was asked to evaluate each of the possible training topics in two ways: first, in terms of how important they thought the topic was to their individual needs; and second, how skilled they were currently on that particular topic. In the evaluation of importance of possible training topics, the staff was asked to use a four-point scale: "not important" = 1; "somewhat important" = 2; "very important" = 3; and , "most important" = 4. (N.B.: For the rating scale used in the Orientation category, "extremely important" = 4.) For the self-evaluation of proficiency in each of these identified topics, the staff was asked to use a scale of: "none"; "low"; or, "hi." The staff was not asked to rate proficiency level in possible Orientation topics. Several open-ended questions were included within sections to elicit additional comments from the staff. For example, in the "Orientation" section, the staff was asked to give their opinion about the inclusion of a mentoring program for new staff. At the end of each set of questions within each category, the staff comments pertaining to additional topics for inclusion were requested. General comments regarding training and development issues were requested at the end of the questionnaire. Background Characteristics of the Staff Several questions related to background characteristics of the staff and the most desirable time to attend training programs were included in the questionnaire. The staff were asked to identify: the department in which they worked; whether they were full-time, part-time, permanent, contract or temporary; length of employment in University of Maryland Libraries; their job position (s); and, most desirable time to attend training. Of the 155 staff who responded, 43 % were from Public Services Division (n=66), 19% were from Collection Management Division (n=29), 31% were from Technical Services Division (n=48), 9% were from Information Technology Division (n=14), and 11% were from Planning and Administrative Services (n=17). Thirty-six per cent of the staff who completed the survey identified themselves as Librarians (n=56), 37% as Library Technicians(n=58), 5% as Technical Support (n=7), 8% as Administrative Support (n=12), 22% as Supervisors (n=34), and 17% as Managers (n=27). Length of employment: Forty-two percent of the staff respondents (n=155) to the survey have worked in the University Libraries for more than ten years (n=64); 33% of the respondents have worked in the Libraries from 1-4 years (n=51); 17% of the respondents have worked from 5-10 years (n=27); and .05% of staff respondents have worked from 0-1 years (n=8) in the Libraries. Data Editing and Entry The data from the surveys were entered into an Excel spreadsheet. Data were entered by the office of Staff Training and Development with assistance from staff of Personnel and Budget. Data Analysis The data were analyzed by creating formulas within Excel. The objective was to describe the staff's ratings of the importance of each of the various training topics included in the survey. The data were analyzed as follows: 1) the staff's opinions about the importance of the various training topics included in the survey were first described by the percentages of the staff who rated each of the topics as "not important," "somewhat important," "very important," and "most important"; 2) second, by combining the percentages of "very important" and "most important"; 3) third, by the mean scores for each topic on the four-point importance scale; and, 4) fourth, by the ranking of the mean scores for each topic. Data on proficiencies were not included in this report. That information will be utilized by the Office of Staff Training and Development for the purpose of identifying potential trainers. Design Issues Two typographical errors in the survey should be noted. First, in the "Orientation" category on page 2, no rating scale was provided for the topic "Benefits." Several staff wrote in a rating scale and the results are provided. However, the topic of "Staff Training and Development," was listed above the "Benefits." Some respondents may have been unclear as to which topic they were rating. Second, in the "Technology Training" category, the rating scale for the topic of WordPerfect- Intermediate" had an incorrect rating scale of "2,3,4,4" rather than "1,2,3,4." As a result, the answers for this topic may be somewhat skewed. Data Analysis Results The results of the staff's ratings of possible training topics included in the questionnaire are presented in the following tables. The tables include the percentages of staff who rated each topic as "very important" or "most important" in the first column, the mean scale scores in the second column and the rank of the mean scores in the third column. Table 1 -- the ranking of each training topic within the Orientation category according to the mean scale score with the rank of 1 as the highest and the rank of 22 as the lowest. Table 2 -- the ranking of each training topic within the Communication and Customer Services category according to the mean scale score with the rank of 1 as the highest and the rank of 6 as the lowest. Table 3 -- the ranking of each training topic within the Organizational Development category according to the mean scale score with the rank of 1 as the highest and the rank of 13 as the lowest. Table 4 -- the ranking of each training topic within the Technology Training category according to the mean scale score with the rank of 1 as the highest and the rank of 34 as the lowest. Table 5 -- the ranking of each training topic within the Diversity category according to the mean scale score with the rank of 1 as the highest and rank of 3 as the lowest. Table 6 -- the ranking of each training topic within the Personnel Issues category according to the mean scale score with the rank of 1 as the highest and rank of 13 as the lowest. Table 7 -- the ranking of each training topic within the Library Issues category according to the mean scale score with the rank of 1 as the highest and rank of 13 as the lowest. Orientation (Table 1) The percentages of all staff who rated each orientation topic as "very
important" or "most important" are (in ranked order from high to low):
Benefits (95%); Introduction to Staff in Work Area (95%); Individual Job
Description (91%); Leave Policies (91%); Work Schedule (88%); Performance
Review and Development (88%); Parking Information (84%); Staff Training
and Development (80%); Security Issues (79%); Libraries' Mission and Strategic
Plan (74%); Telephone System Training (73%);
Results indicate that a majority of the staff considered Individual Job Description, Benefits and Introduction to Staff in Work Area as "very or most important" in an orientation program. Least important topics for inclusion were: Supplies and Equipment, University of Maryland Strategic Plan, Mail, and Library History. A Mentoring approach utilized in the Orientation Program was rated high: Yes (88%); No (12%). Across divisions and positions, staff highly recommended most of the topics listed as ones to include in a staff orientation program. Results of the Orientation section will be utilized in planning for the new staff Orientation Program and will be helpful in creating a checklist of areas where information to staff is critical. Communications/Customer Service (Table 2) The percentages of all staff who rated each topic as "very important" or "most important" are (in ranked order from high to low): Methods for Improving Communication (85%); Problem-Solving Techniques (87%); Conflict Resolution (84%); Negotiating Skills (70%); Reference Desk Skills (69%); and, Presentation Skills (66%). The responses to these topics indicated high interest in Methods for Improving Communication, Problem-Solving Techniques, and Conflict Resolution. The importance of training in those three topics was evident in the ranked responses from the staff in Technical Services, Planning and Administrative Services, and Information Technology. In the Public Services Division and Collection Management, Reference Desk Skills was ranked within their top three topics for training. Within the staff of the Public Services Division, Reference Desk Skills ranked number one, followed by Methods for Improving Communication, and Problem-Solving Techniques, and Conflict Resolution ranking number four. Collection Management staff ranked Conflict Resolution number one, Reference Desk Skills ranked number two, followed by Methods for Improving Communication, and Problem-Solving Techniques ranked number four. Within positions, Librarians-Curators also expressed high interest in Reference Desk Skills. Staff across all divisions and positions have expressed high interest in communications-based training. With the Libraries introduction of staff teams and its movement to a modified matrix organization, the inclusion of communication-based training in future training initiatives becomes a top priority. Organizational Development (Table 3) The percentages of staff who rated each topic as "very important" or "most important" are (in ranked order from high to low): Supervisory Skills (87%); Adapting to Change (81%); How to Train Others (80%); Leadership Skills (77%); Team-Building (76%); Consensus Building (68%); Facilitative Skills (69%); Peer Training (69%); Coaching/Mentoring Others (66%); Matrix Management (41%); Focus Groups (39%); Grants Administration (40%); Grants/Proposal Writing (39%). Staff across divisions and positions rated Supervisory Skills, Adapting to Change, Leadership Skills, How to Train Others, and Team-Building Skills as high interest topics for training. The topics which showed the lowest level of interest across divisions and positions were: Grants-Proposal Writing and Administration; and, Focus Group Research. Technology Training (Table 4) The percentages of staff who rated each topic as "very important" or
"most important" are (in ranked order from high to low): Basic Computer
Orientation (86%); Netscape (86%); Web Searching (84%); Netscape (as part
of Web-based Training 82%); Windows Operating System (77%); Umail (75%);
Simeon Email (71%); Microsoft Word, Beginners (68%); Microsoft Word, Intermediate
(68%); WordPerfect Intermediate (66%); Microsoft Word, Advanced (66%);
HTML (66%); Microsoft
Interest in very basic technology training was expressed across divisions and positions: Basic Computer Orientation, Netscape, Web Searching, and Windows 95 Operating System. Additional high interest topics were: E-mail training (either Umail or Simeon Email) and Microsoft Word (Beginners, Intermediate). Diversity (Table 5) The percentages of staff who rated each Diversity topic as "very important" or "most important" are (in ranked order from high to low): Fostering a Climate for Diversity (70%); University Policies (69%); and Cross-Cultural Communications (68%). It was not the purpose of this survey to introduce an array of diversity-oriented topics for training, but rather to gauge a "temperature" of staff interest in this area. Further exploration of this topic for training will be conducted by the Libraries' Diversity Committee. Personnel Issues (Table 6) The percentages of staff who rated each Personnel-related topic as "very important" or "most important" are (in ranked order from high to low): PRD Development for Staff (80%); Library Security (80%); PRD Development for Supervisors (76%); Time Management (83%); Managing Stress (80%); Recruiting and Interviewing Skills (72%); Ergonomics (67%); Sexual-Harassment Awareness (64%); Disaster Recovery -Library Materials (63%); CPR (59%); Training Across Units/Divisions (59%); Job Sharing (40%); and, Assistive Technology (36%). All staff, across all divisions and positions, viewed four topics as most important for training: PRD training (both staff and supervisors), Library Security, Time Management, and Managing Stress. An additional topic was rated high by Managers and Supervisors: Recruiting and Interviewing Skills. Library Issues (Table 7) The percentages of staff who rated each Library Issue as "very important"
or "most important" are (in ranked order from high to low): Reference Skills
(76%); Public Services Training (73%); Student Assistant Training (71%);
Reference Interview Evaluation Skills (63%); Preservation Policies (61%);
Digital Library Issues (58%); Subject Area Training (57%); Acquisition
Policies and Procedures (53%); Peer Evaluation Skills (50%); Visits to
Other Libraries (48%); Subject Area Advanced
With the exception of the staff in the Technical Services Division and the Librarians-Curators, all staff, across four divisions and positions, the top selections for training were: Reference Skills, Public Services Training, and Student Assistant Training. TSD selected Acquisition Policies and Procedures as one of their top choices and Librarians-Curators included Reference Interview Skills as high interest for training. Conclusions Based on All Staff Responses to Survey: 1. Staff respondents indicated a high level of interest and awareness of the need for all new staff to participate in a well-planned Library Orientation Program with assigned Mentors as guides. 2. Methods and techniques for improving communication and solving problems were considered to be very important topics for staff training. 3. Staff are most interested in learning skills to support supervisory positions, to embrace change management, and to acquire leadership acuity. Additionally, they are interested in learning skills to become productive members of a team or committee, how to facilitate, how to build consensus, and how to train others. 4. Equally, and extremely important to all staff are training efforts for basic computer skills. Staff are making choices for: basic computer orientation, Netscape, e-mail skills, web searching, windows, and beginner programs in word processing. 5. As the Libraries' team-based environment evolves, staff are asking for more help in how to set goals, objectives, and activities for accomplishing work and help in establishing ways to measure their work. Staff Supervisors are also asking for guidance in the PRD process. 6. Additional topics of high interest to staff: Library Security, Time Management, Managing Stress, Reference Skills, Public Services Training, and Student Assistant Training. |
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