10 ways to support your support staff
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at 05:26AM
Sandy. She was my first. She was older…and experienced. I was young and innocent and a little frightened. I wanted nothing more than to be good at what I did. Sandy was patient, caring and oh-so wise. She taught me the “little things” I could do, but also helped me see what I did within the larger picture.
There have been others since Sandy. A Bonnie, a Donna, a couple of Janes. Each in their own way, very special. But it is Sandy who helped make me the man I am today.
Sandy, this Valentine’s for you. - "A Valentine" School Librarians Head for the Edge
I've long appreciated the role good support staff, including my library clerks, in my own professional success. With out good paras and good technicians our school library and tech programs would be vastly less effective.
So I was happy to read Ozzie librarian Barbara Braxton's a great piece on LM_Net about working with her library paraprofessionals, which then turned into a wonder blog post called the "Supervisor's Hat" as part of her 500 Hats series of posts for librarians. Barbara offers some great tips on establishing and maintaining a good librarian/clerk relationship. (I like that she calls her para the "library manager", neatly defining the roles that person does that freed Barbara up to teach.) Read it. Now!
Anyway, I've also reflected on what we as professionals can do to support our support staff. Here it goes. (From The Indispenable Librarian, 2nd ed):
1. Honor their training needs
Paraprofessionals and technicians need and appreciate learning opportunities just as much as professionals. Learning about new trends in librarianship and technology, about new student educational resources, about new customer service skills, and about using new technologies are needed staff development opportunities for all support staff as well as professional. More than most of us, technicians realize that additional training to develop new skills is a real investment – in oneself. In no field does one’s skill become more dated, more rapidly than in the computer science field. Generous training opportunities – school financed, of course – benefit both the technician and the institution. People feel better about themselves if they feel more competent about what they do. Library and educational technology conferences often have a strand for support staff. Watch for conferences especially created for paraprofessionals.
2. Support their formal educational goals
The path taken by some of our best professional librarians started with the person as a parent volunteer, then as a library paraprofessional, and finally as a professional librarian. If one of your support staff shows an interest in getting a library, teaching, or educational technology degree, encourage them to do so. We need all the quality people in our field we can get.
3. Value their contribution to the team and give them decision-making power
Build on the recognition that you and your support staff’s skills are complimentary. While the librarian might have great planning, visioning, and teaching skills, the best paraprofessionals and technicians are well organized and detail-oriented. The simple acknowledgement that all skills used by the library’s staff are important is essential.
There is nothing more demoralizing to a technician than having a Dilbert-esque pointy-haired boss making ill-informed decisions that make the job more difficult than it has to be. There are days that I am sure my techs are convinced that I don’t know my ASCII from a hole in the ground, but they also know that I seek, hear, and value their advice. Again, there are more ways of showing people that they have value than just money.
4. Include them in planning and policy-making
One of my favorite stories tells of a janitor at NASA in the late ‘60s. When asked what his job was, he replied, “To help put a man on the moon.” Support staff members should know not just their jobs, but how those jobs are critical to the mission of the library program and school. One way to build this understanding is by making sure they have a voice in visioning, planning, budgeting, and policy-making. That being said, it is also important that the role of the support staff is not to make policy themselves, but follow policies approved by the professional staff.
5. Keep everyone in the loop
If the techs are going to help give good advice, it means they need to be aware of the “big picture” as well as the details. When folks understand the educational goals behind the decisions made, it gives a higher purpose to one’s job. For example, knowing that involved parents can significantly improve students’ school performance, maintaining that website or e-mail server becomes important. I believe that education really is a calling, an avocation, and that paraprofessional and technician can truly be educators.
6. Encourage their creativity
If your paraprofessional wants to read the kindergarteners a story, what’s the problem? If he has dynamic idea for a display or reading promotion, why not encourage him? If a technician has found a new technology resource, why not try it? Maybe her idea about rearranging the computer lab for better supervision is worth exploring. Clerical and technical tasks can be stultifyingly tedious. The chance for your paraprofessional or technician to do something creative, exciting, and different not only helps prevent job burnout and can be of genuine value to your program
7. Supply the tools and resources they need for them to do their jobs
Technicians and paraprofessionals need to have their own workspaces, decent computers, and the proper tools for the job. Those tools include not just screwdrivers, chip pullers, line testers, book tape, spine labels and book carts, but diagnostic software, program manuals, and telephone extensions or cell phones.
8. Pay a competitive salary or be flexible
Administrators don’t always understand why a “technician” should be paid more than a beginning “professional” teacher. When skills, like materials, are in short supply, their value increases. And competent technicians are too often in short supply. All schools should know what the competitive pay scale for these positions are in their area. Smart librarians can and do compensate folks in other ways as well. Being flexible with hours and days worked is a form of compensation. This gives us a larger pool of skilled workers from which to draw, including college students. Offering comp time works so long as it is documented. And just being “family friendly” by giving staff time to go see their daughter’s music program or help a friend in need is not just humane, but wise.
9. Run interference for them.
It’s not the paraprofessional’s job to take heat from disgruntled teachers or parents. The teacher’s computer just crashed and he doesn’t remember when he last backed up his files and he blames the technician. An angry parent calls the library paraprofessional insisting her child returned a book. The librarian’s job is to keep people communicating even when a technical fix doesn’t work the first time or when a parent has an issue. Librarians must provide a buffer between a cranky user and support staff who are operating in good faith. Do it. It’ll keep people loyal and effective.
10. Keep in touch with reality.
It’s not always easy to remember, but life continues even when not everything is working. A sense of perspective on everyone’s part can lead to a happier work environment. Help your technicians and paraprofessionals to do their best, to strive to provide good service, to use good communication skills, to anticipate problems before they appear, and to meet their personal goals. The reality is that the satisfaction from doing a job well and being perceived as important for many people are preferable to the higher remuneration in a more stress-filled environment. Capitalize on it.
So, dear Sandy, accept this small token of my appreciation. You taught me above all that behind every successful professional librarian is a competent paraprofessional. You’ll be special to me always.
Reader Comments (4)
This is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! Keep up the good work.
The competitive salary is killing us right now. It's so important, but so difficult to ensure when Board-approved salary schedules don't allow for much flexibility.
How are you able to stay competitive?
Hi Darren,
Depending on the economy, getting good tech support at our salary level is tough here too. Although, I find we pay pretty competitively at about $20 per hour.
Here are two things I've found that have helped us even at a lower pay.
1. Be flexible and provide a great work environment. We give techs flexibility in terms of hours, time off, and emergencies - trying to be humane. I believe our staff also gives techs a lot of positive feedback. I've had techs leave for the "real world" and higher salaries, only to come back because they like working here.
2. We tend to hire right out of technical college and give people on the job training. We become kind of a farm team. Newbies tend to be a little less expensive too.
Hope this helps,
Doug
Hello I wish to to share a comment here concerning you to definitely be able to inform you just how much i personally Loved this particular study. I have to elope in order to aTurkey Day time Supper but desired to leave ya an easy comment. We preserved you Same goes with be returning subsequent function to read more of yer quality articles. Keep up the quality work.