Managing College Student EmployeesD’Arcy HutchingsAlaska Library Association Pre-ConferenceFebruary 27, 2014

Introductions• Me• You• Name, organization, location• Working with student employees: Past, present, or future?

In what capacity?

• Reflect:• Think about the student worker situation where you work.

What is going well? Where do you see room for improvement?

• What problems are you having/have you had/do you anticipate having?

• What are you hoping to get from this workshop?

About today’s session

• Engagement and participation• Respect• No employment law• Not a complete everything-you-need-to-know-

about-supervising training Ask questions freely• Share stories and advice freely• Consider me a resource for the future• Breaks around 2:15 and 4pm

Overview• Student workers are a unique and valuable part of the

library team

• Supervising student workers is, in many ways, different from supervising professionals and paraprofessionals

• You have the power to create a rock-solid student staff (it’s not just luck of the draw!)

• Steps you take early on have a huge impact on worker motivation, productivity, and longevity

• What you do later is important, too

• When you treat it like a “real” job, they will do the same

Libraries ♡ student workers• They’re cheap• They do what we don’t want to do (or don’t have time for)• They work when we don’t want to

• They play key roles in fulfilling library’s mission• Student workers make up over 25% of academic library

employees*

* In 2006, according to U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics

• Discuss:• What work is done by student workers in your library? • If they all disappeared tomorrow, what impact would that have?

The benefits go both ways…

•What do students get out of it?• Money to help them get through college• Opportunities to develop transferrable skills• Work experience• References for future jobs and internships• Many experience improved academic success

and overall college experience• May increase retention

Just like any other employee?• Discussion:• What makes student workers unique? What makes them

different that the librarians and full-time, regular staff?

• “Negatives”• High turnover• Ever-changing schedules• Limited availability• Not necessarily interested in libraries• May not have (much) prior work experience• They know the job is temporary and may not be interested in

investing• Work probably isn’t at the top of their priority list

But on the bright side…

• Little prior work experience provides a unique opportunity to mold them• Especially interested in professional

development• Provide excellent perspective into needs of

students• Able to look at our work with fresh eyes• Can become your biggest supporters• Can bring unique skill-sets• What else?

Activity: Analyzing Job Descriptions• Read through job descriptions and discuss:• What message does this description send to the student

about the importance of the position or the value of the employee in it?

• What message does this description send to the student about the kind of workplace this will be?

• What performance expectations does it communicate?• Does the job description entice excellent students to

apply?• Do you think students will understand the job and duties

enough from this description to determine whether they would be a good fit for the job and vice versa?

Job Descriptions• Student’s first impression of the job and workplace• Guiding document throughout employment• Seek out additional training or information, especially for

developing appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities (these form the foundation for your application scoring, interview questions, and even your training plan)

• Include:• Brief overview of what the department/workplace does and/or

how this position fits • Clear and concise duties and responsibilities• Required and preferred skills and knowledge• Work schedule requirements (if any)

But more importantly…

•Make sure the job description• Exists• Conveys the importance of the position• Gives a clear impression of the kind of

workplace this will be and what will be expected of them• Is free of jargon• Will attract the best possible applicants

Activity: Improving Job Descriptions• Using your own job description:• What message is this sending about the importance of the

position and the kind of workplace this will be? What message do you want to send? Brainstorm changes you can make.

• Does the job description entice excellent students to apply? What can you change/add to better sell the job?

• Do you think students will understand the job and duties enough from this description to determine whether they would be a good fit for the job and vice versa? How can you make it better?

• Don’t have access to your own job description? Use the weaker of the two JDs you worked with earlier. Pretend that job is in your library.

• Take notes. We will refer back to these later.

Break?

Hiring• Overall, treat it like a “real” job.• When you do, the student is more likely to do the same

• Require a resume and a cover letter (but also provide or link to guidance on how to create these)

• Ask for schedule of all commitments• Review application documents carefully and consistently• Compare applicants to each other, not a gold standard• Use a rubric or grading scale to apply to each document• Rubric should be tied directly to required/preferred knowledge,

skills, and abilities

Interviewing• Seek out training or additional information on developing effective

interview questions and conducting interviews• Conduct a formal job interview with your finalists• Opportunity to communicate importance of the job and your

expectations (mostly implicit)• Draft interview questions in advance, run them by HR, ask them,

take notes• Ask the right questions (but keep them appropriate to the level of

your applicants)• “Why do you want to work here?”• “How long do you expect to be a student at this campus?”• “Tell me about a time when you…”• Avoid questions with yes or no answers or leading questions

• Listen to their answers but also read between the lines• Interviewing goes both ways• What else?

Activity: Interviewing

• Select 3 items from your list of required knowledge, skills, and experience. Work together to develop an effective interview question for each of them.

• Remember:• “Tell me about a time when you…” is a great format for behavioral

questions• Avoid questions with yes and no answers • Avoid leading questions (questions that imply a desired response)

More on hiring…• Consider using an exercise• Shows ability to follow directions, ask questions, perform a simple task• Does anyone here use an exercise?

• Check references• Carefully review the candidate• Think about what they said or didn’t say• Think about overall fit• Consider what can be trained (skills) and what can’t (traits, attitudes)• Review exercise scores and references• Consider scheduling and your needs• Make the judgment• How do you go about making your decision?

• Don’t settle!

• Discussion: What do you do when you don’t get enough applications?

Welcome aboard!• Activity: • Close your eyes and imagine…• How do you feel?

• First example a bit extreme but it demonstrates the impact of a student worker’s initial experience

• On-boarding: • Process of bringing a new employee into the culture of an

organization• Making sure they have the skills, knowledge, and behaviors

needed for success in their position• Making employees feel welcome and prepared to do their job

well• Includes orientation, training, and mentoring

Activity: On-boarding

• Discuss:• What do you do to make new recruits feel

welcome their first day and beyond?• What are some other things you can

implement?

Orientation• Employee handbook• Policies• Procedures• Code of conduct

• Information about the library and department• Department and library mission• How the student contributes to the mission• Org chart• Introductions to co-workers and supervisors• Department’s activities and goals

• Information about the position• Job description• Exhaustive task list• Expectations (behavior, outputs) – more on this later

Training• Training is essential for the student’s success!• How you go about it will impact productivity, motivation, and

retention• Conducted (or orchestrated) by the supervisor• Establishes you as the authority• Builds your relationship with new hire• Provides consistent training to each new student• Opportunity to observe how student learns, what they will need

extra work on, and learn what might motivate them• Model best practices, behavior as well as procedure

Plan the Training• Prepare well in advance of an employee starting• Develop a training plan• Stay organized• Keep training consistent• Someone else can step in to train

• Build in plenty of practice and Q & A time into each unit

• First, look at everything the student needs to learn• What does the student need to know?

• Job description is a good place to start• When do they need to know it?

• Second, break the training down• Avoid overload! Divide training into small chunks or units.• Order units carefully and thoughtfully so they build on each other

and/or so the most urgent tasks are trained first

Plan the Training (cont.)• Next, look at each unit • How can this be trained?• Who can train this task?• What are the important talking points to include? • Why is this task important and how will you convey that?• What might be confusing about this task?• How can I incorporate practice in this unit?• How long will it take to train this task?

• Be sure to account for Q&A and practice time• Range of time

• How will the student demonstrate that they are fully trained on this task?

• Now use this to create a plan (training guide)• Revise the training guide continually

More on training• Create a manual with written instructions for each task• Student can refer back to refresh• Provides trainer with correct process to make sure nothing is

missed• Allows for succession of training responsibilities to new person

with short notice• Use a training checklist for each new hire• Ensure consistency • Keep track of training• Can be used to empower employee to initiate their own training• Student can look back at it and ask for refreshers

• Let the student determine the pace of the session. Ask if they feel confident or if they want more demonstration or practice

Correction/Praise in Training• Encourage questions! Newbies are reluctant to ask. • Praise what they do correctly • Be specific• Praise behavior or action• Share the impact of the good work

• Mistakes in training are good!• Let them know mistakes are ok while training – it’s how we learn• Immediately correct the mistake and explain the correct action• Their mistakes show you where they might be confused,

something you left out, and whether additional training or practice is needed

Spend less time on training?• Training students takes quite a bit of time. What can you do to

reduce the time you spend on training without reducing its effectiveness?• Stay organized• Plan ahead• Delegate training responsibility appropriately

• You may not need to be the one training every task• Very carefully select someone you trust to be thorough and accurate• A thorough training guide and/or step-by-step instructions for a task

allows almost anyone to train as you would• What other ways are there for students to practice what you

trained without you there?

Activity: Training Plan• In your group, select a library task that you are each familiar

with. Work through these questions, briefly brainstorming responses. • Should the task be broken into smaller chunks? If so, select a

smaller chunk and continue.• How can this be trained?• Who can train this task?• What are the important talking points to include? • Why is this task important and how will you convey that?• What might be confusing about this task?• How can I incorporate practice in this unit?• How long will it take to train this task?• How will the student demonstrate that they are fully trained on this

task?

Motivating Student Workers• Who has problems with student workers lacking motivation?• Full time, permanent workers who choose to work at a library

are often self-motivated• Student workers tend to need some extra assistance finding

motivation• Good news: We’ve established the groundwork for motivating

our workers!• Clearly defined what the job is• Consistently communicated expectations throughout• Demonstrated the value of the position• Made them feel welcome• Ensured they have the knowledge and skills to succeed

Expectations• We’ve touched on setting expectations but let’s look more

closely• Students will do what is expected of them • If you say they are “just” students, they will be• Develop and then clearly define the expectations

• Require responsibility and accountability• Include:• Behavior-type expectations (work habits, attitudes, etiquette)• Duties and tasks that must be performed• Quality• Quantity

• Don’t think anything is obvious….

Encourage Motivation: Increase Job Satisfaction• Reduce monotony and provide variety• Seek out new projects and activities, new things to learn• Make sure they have a “project” or task that is theirs alone• Keep them interested in the job

• Customize their job to them• Trust them• After training, allow student to work independently• Not completely hands off

• Check in and check work periodically• Ask how things are going and whether they have any questions

• Give benefit of the doubt!• Ask for their feedback and opinions (anonymously) • And take action• Helps them feel heard

Encourage Motivation: Increase Job Satisfaction (cont.)• Praise and correction• Provide praise for work well done (publicly ok)• Immediately address issues (privately)• Give constructive criticism (privately)• Be consistent and fair• Highly recommend pursuing training on effective praise, evaluation, and

discipline• Foster a positive, team-based work environment• We are all in this together• You belong here• Feeling of responsibility to the team• Your word choice influences the team mentality - we• Be part of the team yourself• Will you help me?• Have students train other students• Encourage collaboration and cooperation

Target what motivates them• Understand each student's goal and target that• Express version: Speak to multiple at once

• Connect the dots between what they are doing and how it will help them in their future careers

• See student jobs as essential to the mission and communicate it to them• Make it a real job• Give them ownership over projects so they can take pride• Don't micromanage • Tell them why a task is important

• Give them something to work toward• Are there tasks reserved for advanced or exceptional students?• Can you increase their responsibility over time?

• Some are especially motivated by praise and approval

Awesome breeds awesome• Be a stellar supervisor• Seek out leadership training!• Be a role model• Foster respect and trust• Reduce your employees’ roadblocks to success• Communicate openly

• Let them know what is going on around the workplace, as appropriate• Facilitate communication up and down the chain

• Show them that you care about them and their success• How are you things going for you at work/in school?• Let them know of opportunities they may be interested in

(scholarships, talks, trainings, internships, etc.)• Be firm but compassionate• Be available• Show that you value the work you do

Reflection: Motivation

• Assess yourself and the workplace you have designed.*• In light of what we’ve covered today, what

changes can you make to improve your students' motivation?

* No matter your position or what limited control you may have over your department, you can always strongly influence (design) the workplace culture for those you supervise.

Break?

Mentoring• Since many of your employees will be relatively (or brand) new to

working, you have an amazing opportunity to help them succeed

• Show interest in them and help them work toward their goals• Ask what their goals are• Ask what you can do to help them achieve them• Help them understand the connections between what they are

doing and their future careers• Help them translate what they are doing to lines on a resume and

answers to interview questions• Understand a student’s ability and push them to stretch themselves

with your support• Give open invitations to review their resumes, cover letters, and

serve as reference

Mentoring (cont.)• (Continued)• Observe student’s weaknesses and help them strengthen them• Refer student to campus resources• Encourage them to be involved on campus• Celebrate their achievements with them

• When/how do you do this?• Consider having regular one-on-one meetings• Can also be done in passing• Keep it casual (not necessarily a formal mentoring relationship)• Do as much as you have time for

Discipline as Mentoring• When things go wrong, resist temptation to just drop them• You’ve invested time and energy• Can you coach them on this behavior?• Turn it in to a learning opportunity• “What can I do to help you succeed?”

• This is typically called coaching

ScenariosOpen DiscussionWhat didn’t we cover?