Focus Group Feedback from Staff Communication Meetings with Singer Group

Compensation/Classification and Performance Management Studies

The Singer Group held three (3) communication meetings open to all staff over two days – February 27th and 28th. The purpose of the meetings was to give an overview of the process, as well as outline expected staff roles. The meetings also provided an opportunity for staff to ask the Consultants questions about the study. Each meeting included focus groups where staff broke up into groups to discuss compensation, classification and performance management at the library.

Following is a summary of the focus group report-outs.

1. What do you like and not like about the compensation and classification plans (pay, pay grades and ranges) at Metro? What would you change? How? Why?
   • Pros
     • Rewards tenure over skill (pro and con)
     • Employees are judged equally (pro and con)
     • Everything is transparent
     • Generally happy with pay
     • Favorable toward study
     • Like the hotline – being able to ask questions about the whole process
     • Most people leave MLS with a favorable feeling about the library system
     • No raise for below average work
   • Cons
     • Rewards tenure over skill (pro and con)
     • Supervisors have no opportunities to reward employees outside of the appraisal system
     • New hires are at the bottom of pay scale regardless of experience
     •  Cap on salary limit – long-time employees are not compensated for their dedication to the system just when they need it most
     • Job descriptions have not evolved with jobs
     • Not enough cross-training
     • Collapsed pay ranges (Library Managers vs Lead Librarians vs Librarians vs Associate Librarians)
     • IT and Maintenance employees have specialized skills/certifications but don’t get paid as well as in other industries
2. Compared to other employers you may be familiar with, does the pay for Metro’s positions seem high? Low? Right on?
   • Fairly compensated, possibly higher than other systems
   • No one pays librarians or circulation clerks like we do
   • Maintenance and IT aren’t paid as well as with other industries
   • Educational requirements have been removed (Project Specialists no longer require a bachelor’s degree)
   • On the high end of pay
   • Maintenance has to pay yearly licensing/recertification fees (Note from The Singer Group: we were surprised about this and checked with HUM to identify the standard practice. HUM assured us that the Library does pay for the maintenance staff’s work related license/certification renewals.)
   • MLS pays better than most libraries
   • Compare favorably with most libraries in Oklahoma
   • Feel like it’s not a bad thing to pay more than other libraries in the state/region so it attracts top talent
   • Mostly fair
   • Comparable
3. For which positions, if any, has turnover been a problem? Why do you think that is? Which positions are difficult to recruit? Why do you think that is?
   • Exec and Leadership positions harder to recruit for
   • Library Aides and Circulation Clerks have highest turnover, hardest to recruit because their job duties don’t show up on a resume
   • Maintenance has least turnover
   • Library Aides leave because there are no full-time positions that they can move into without having a degree
   • Library Aides and Public Computer Specialists go on to other industries
   • Half-time positions – lacking hours, benefits, move on to other industries
   • Lead Librarians take voluntary demotions to Librarians with little to no loss of pay
   • Retired police officers (high turnover due to low pay)
4. Where do employees go when they leave Metro? Where do you best employees come from?
   • Come from:
     • State library
     • Education
     • Pioneer
     • Private sector
     • Out of state
     • Within the system or straight out of school
     • Swap employees with Pioneer
   • Go To:
     • Lose support staff to Paycom
     • Other industries (Paycom)
     • Retirement
     • Lead Librarians taking demotions
     • Non-career people leaving for other industries
     • Life-changing events
     • Transferring to another location or department
     • Swap employees with Pioneer
     • Associate Librarians go to other library systems (it’s hard to go from part-time to full-time if there are no positions available)
5. What do you like and not like about the performance appraisal system at Metro?
   • Lengthy
   • Overly detailed
   • Too much time between appraisals
   • More co-worker and direct report/peer input needed
   • More emphasis on customer service needed
   • Inconsistency with the way managers do appraisals
   • General competencies are covered, but no specialized skills are taken into consideration
   • Categories are too broad
   • Desire benchmarks throughout the year (example: if your appraisal happened today, this is where you would be)
   • Impossible to get a performance appraisal
   • Hard to fit some jobs into a general appraisal system
   • Delivery Drivers don’t get credit for all that they do outside of the job description – being flexible, creative problem solving, etc.
   • Tedious for managers to complete
   • “Weirdly specific”
   • Same questions phrased two or three different ways
   • Outdated expectations – jobs have changed, but appraisal is the same
   • Doesn’t apply to everyone
   • “Feels like every single thing I did last year is being judged all at once”
   • No opportunity for employees to give feedback on supervisor’s performance
   • Doesn’t allow for the fact that so many jobs have changed into something else
6. What would be a successful outcome of this project for you? What would you put on your wish list?
   • Fair compensation
   • Improve benefits (SG mentioned benefits would not be covered under this study)
   • Address workload balance
   • Clarify expectations
   • Higher pay
   • Clearer picture of what everybody does

Other Comments:

• Maintenance is happy to get to speak up/participate in the Study because they typically get left out of all decisions
• If our involvement is really as important as Singer Group says, we should get more time to discuss and answer the questions – ten minutes is not enough time
• Free and open group discussion > surveys