Staffing for Results: A Guide to Working Smarter

How long does it take to . . . catalog a book?

This latest entry in the PLA Results series will help you to answer that question and others you have related to the output and performance of your staff. By analyzing, in a systematic way, how long work activities take and then assigning steps to each unit of work, you will have a quantifiable measure of the output of your staff. The only book of its kind, Staffing for Results equips you to not only gauge performance and output but also build on what you learn to maximize and even increase productivity. Using common public library tasks as the context, Staffing for Results walks you through the process of measuring work, identifying best practices, assigning costs to each activity, analyzing resource allocation, and communicating results. With more than 20 figures and workforms that you can customize for your setting, six easy-to-follow chapters provide step-by-step guidance on how to ensure that your library is optimizing its resources. By the end of the process, you?ll be able to answer questions such as:

• Who is doing the work?
• How long does it take?
• What steps are required?
• Can the work process be streamlined?
• Is this the best use of people available?
• Do we need more staff?
• Can support staff handle a job done by a library professional?
• How can the data be communicated to support needed changes?

Giving you tools from the experts of PLA to get the job done, this indispensable guide will help you to show and prove results.