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Succession Planning in Action: Planning for the Unplanned Through Documentation and Evaluation

Elizabeth Szkirpan Estes, MLIS

Director of Bibliographic Services, University of Tulsa McFarlin Library

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

My history in succession planning started in 2016 and became part of my permanent workflows in 2017 as a technical services team leader.

In this presentation, we’ll start by defining some of the terms surrounding succession planning, especially because they are used interchangeably, then we’ll move on to implementation of a purposeful succession planning process, followed by examples of the documents used in succession planning and some metrics for successful succession planning.

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Definitions: Succession Planning

A focused process for keeping talent in the pipeline. It is generally a 12- to 36-month process of preparation, not pre-selection (SHRM).
Successful succession planners hire not only the best candidate for a position now (short term goal), but also hire staff who may qualify for key positions in the future (long term planning) (Knight).

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Definitions: Bench Strength

The ability and skill possessed by the reserve members of a sports team (Oxford).
The capability of members of an organization’s staff to move into positions of greater responsibility when required (Oxford).

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Definitions: Cross Training

The action or practice of training or being trained in more than one role or skill (Oxford).
The capability of members of an organization’s staff to move into positions of greater responsibility when required (Oxford).
Teaching your employees the skills and responsibilities of another position at your company to increase their effectiveness (Entreprenuer.com).

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Definitions: Documentation

Material that provides official information or evidence or that serves as a record (Oxford).
The written specification and instructions accompanying a computer program or hardware (Oxford).
The process of classifying and annotating texts, photographs, etc. (Oxford).

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Putting It All Together

In many cases, succession planning is a plan (sometimes written in or in the form of a project charter) for someone else to succeed an existing employee in a role or position. Smooth successions are achieved with good documentation so new (or new-to-the-position) employees can hit the ground running. Bench strength and cross training can be utilized to succession plan from within the institution, or to create a strong base of knowledgeable individuals to help support your new-hire.

In a COVID-19 world, succession planning can help us prepare for unexpected absences, furloughs/layoffs, or attrition by using planning and documentation processes.

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Why Succession Plan in Libraries

Library employees are usually in it for the long haul.
Library positions are dwindling, meaning that it is rare for a library worker to only have one set of tasks.
While libraries always have some documentation, it is rarely presented in context.
It can take years for new hires to untangle long-standing processes and procedures that deviate from the norm.
In a COVID-19 world, libraries have very little control over their budgets, staffing, and providing employee job security, in addition to staff safety.

Library employees will often hunker down in their positions for 10+ years, with many library employees often retiring from the institutions that they started their careers with. With each retirement, sudden career transition, furlough, or layoff, libraries lose hundreds of years of institutional knowledge.

Technical, budgetary, and even special collections positions are dwindling, meaning that it is rare for a library worker to only have one set of tasks.

Doctor Cataloger ILL Librarian Who Teaches Classes in Space and Helps with the Budget

While libraries always have some documentation, it is rarely presented in context.

Email printouts

Old files

Dated or irregular manuals

Out of place sticky notes

It can take years for new hires to untangles long-standing processes and procedures that deviate from the norm: TCC

Tulsa Community College

Part-time cataloger from 2016-2017

Hiring of new cataloger in 2017

Cataloger spends 2017-2019 building manuals, documentation, and a succession plan

Cataloger departs in 2020

Hiring of new Cataloger in 2020, but will rely on other employees until new employee is hired and trained

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Succession Planning Pros and Cons

Pros

Good succession plans only have to be created once. Plans and documentation can be updated on a regular (usually annual) basis.
Good succession plans can be picked up by any team member and successfully utilized to fill gaps in the library.
Succession planning allows you to review role responsibilities, workflows, and dated procedures along the way.

Cons

Time-consuming.
A successful succession plan shouldn’t be limited to one position; in theory, all positions should have documentation created for them.
Deciding to start a succession plan also involves planning for storage, naming and organizational conventions.

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Where to Start

Obtain supervisor and administrative support early.

Develop a written “game plan”.

Start with your own position.

Look at the roles in your department and identify all responsibilities for each position.

Develop a written “game plan” over the purpose of creating a succession plan, the estimated time to create plans for everyone in your team, and what steps will be necessary to complete your plan.

You can’t just start succession planning…You need to identify what needs to be planned for first.

Start with your own position.

Evaluate how you fit into the greater context of the library

Who is above you and who is below you

What core job tasks does your position do

For me: Acquisitions, Cataloging, E-Resources, so at minimum, I need to address these tasks.

What core job tasks do the positions under you do

Look at the roles in your department and identify all responsibilities for each position.

Work with each individual to identify the core tasks that they do

Consider creating a roles and responsibilities document that explicitly outlines the core tasks for each position in writing to aid in the documentation process.

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Where to Start Documenting

Once you have identified all positions under you and core job functions for each position, each individual will begin documenting their own job.
Documentation should center around core job functions only, not elective tasks.
For the sake of brevity, documentation should not include step-by-step instructions for commonly-used tools or programs or copy and paste manual content that is available online or elsewhere in the library’s digital files.
It may be helpful to have staff create a list of all tools that they use to complete their core job functions with a list of logins and passwords.
Don’t forget to put all tools and resources referenced into context.

Once you have identified all positions under you and core job functions for each position, each individual will begin documenting their own job.

Documentation should center around core job functions only, not elective tasks, such as helping with book purchase recommendations or book displays.

For the sake of brevity, documentation should not include step-by-step instructions for commonly-used tools or programs, like Microsoft Word. Documenters should not copy and paste manual content that is available online or elsewhere in the library’s digital files, just include links or a downloadable copy in the final folder of documentation.

It may be helpful to have staff create a list of all tools that they use to complete their core job functions, along with a list of logins and passwords. It’s easy to overlook these tiny details!

Don’t forget to put all tools and resources referenced into context.

e.g.: “Program for Cooperative Cataloging Manual available here. We use this manual to inform our cataloging of Name Authority Records because we are a PCC NACO Funnel Member.”

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Types of Documentation

Procedural

"What we do when". Often a description or explanation of a task.

Step-by-Step

How to go about doing something.

Change

Why we did something.

Planning

What to do when/if.

1. There are many different types of documentation, but I tend to break documentation into these four categories:

Procedural: How to open or close the library, how to file for a reimbursement, how to purchase items from a vendor.

Step-by-Step: How to import records from WorldCat into our ILS, how to reconcile your purchase card statements in the system, how to add a book to Reserves.

*Procedural and Step-by-Step documentations are closely related and may be the same or similar in the documentation that you write.

Change: "In 2011, we adopted Omeka to house the University's digital archives rather than add these items to the library catalog because... “

Planning: n the event that the director is ill, X is in charge. In the event of a pandemic or national emergency, operate library under Z plans.

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Points to Consider

Documentation is not necessarily meant to be read by the person creating it.

Include a record of decisions made or quirky procedures that deviate from the norm.

Include step-by-step procedures for task areas where vendor documentation is sparse or your institution has special procedures.

Documentation is not necessarily meant to be read by the person creating it, even if we reference our own documentation from time to time, so do not reference emails or procedures that someone else would have no way of gaining access to.

Include a record of decisions made or quirky procedures that deviate from the norm.

We decided to change the ILL loan code on heavy textbooks because of the cost of shipping.

When cataloging hotspots, our institution catalogs these devices as a physical medium, unlike keyboards, so students can place a hold on them.

It is possible to over-document, but don’t forget to include step-by-step procedures for task areas where vendor documentation is sparse or your institution has special procedures.

Think of documentation like a crash course in your job; if there is a problem or a deadline, can I find what I need quickly and reliably? Can I fix the problem or do the task with your instructions?

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Tulsa Community College: At A Glance

2017

Departure of long-time Cataloger
Hiring of new Catalog and Metadata Librarian
Identification of team roles and responsibilities

2018

Team-specific online storage area
Manuals created in a digital and standardized format
Emphasis on succession planning and cross training

2019

All Technical Services manuals made available to all library employees in SharePoint

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Case Study: Documentation at Tulsa Community College

Phase One

Create a roles and responsibilities document to outline core job functions and responsibilities.

Phase Two

Provide guidelines on what documentation should look like and ask employees to document their core job functions.

Phase Three

Supervisors review employee documentation for readability and to identify gaps in documentation. Revise as necessary and finalize.

Phase Four

Upload documents in a non-proprietary format into a shared space for all employees to see and access. Revise annually and as-needed.

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Bench Strength

Prepares employees who may be able to move into other positions and provides additional support in case of unexpected absences.

Consider cross training.

Ties into succession planning both by training employees who are interested in other specialized roles in the library for the potential to move into those positions temporarily or permanently at a later time, and by ensuring that specialized positions have coverage in case of sudden, unexpected absences.

When job documentation is finalized, approved, and made available, supervisors should consider cross-training employees who work closely together or with similar proclivities to ensure there is enough shared knowledge to help with highly-specialized jobs.

This training may look like:

One-on-one training as-needed between two or more team members

Reoccurring meetings one-on-one or in a group

Regularly revising and visiting one and other’s documentation

Creating a permanent or semi-permanent team or group to oversee group training or discussion of highly-specialized job tasks

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Bench Strength: COVID Edition

COVID is a perfect example of why bench strength should exist in every library.
A pandemic may not always be the reason, but it does showcase how proper documentation, cross-training, and preparing for the future can put the library in a better position in uneasy times.

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Thinking Ahead: Storage

Involve your local IT team.

Documents should be stored in a cloud environment for ease of access.

Consider an encrypted password manager for sensitive logins.

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Steps to a Complete Succession Plan

Step One

Gain supervisor and administrative buy-in.

Step Two

Identify core job tasks for your position and all positions under you to inform documentation.

Step Three

Work with employees to document core tasks. Revise and edit documentation as a team. Determine how often your team will revisit documentation to update it.

Step Four

Once documentation is finalized, determine if you can cross train staff for specialized positions. Determine a training plan and stick to it.

Step Five

Make succession plan, relevant documents, and logins accessible in non-proprietary formats via cloud storage or secure shared drives.

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What Does a Good Succession Plan Look Like?

Provides documentation where none exists and provides context for all documents included.

Succession plans should be encompassing and a one-stop-shop.

Plans should be in a non-proprietary format and accessible by all library employees and managers.

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Elizabeth Szkirpan Estes, MLIS�

E-Mail Address: eszkirp@gmail.com

Copy of Slides and Notes: https://sites.google.com/view/szkirpan-web-portfolio/home?authuser=1

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Additional Resources

Charbonneau, Deborah H. & Jacqueline L. Freeman (2016) Succession Planning for Libraries, Journal of Library Administration, 56:7, 884-892, DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2016.1216229

Knight, J. (2010, September). Successful Succession Planning in Libraries: Building Bench Strength. Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://ala-apa.org/newsletter/2010/09/13/successful-succession-planning-in-libraries-building-bench-strength/

Leonard, B. (2015, March 17). Create a Succession Plan That Works. Retrieved April 22, 2020, from https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-development/Pages/succession-plans-that-work.aspx

Siewert, Karl G. & Pamela Louderback (2019) The “Bus Proof” Library: Technical Succession Planning, Knowledge Transfer, and Institutional Memory, Journal of Library Administration, 59:4, 455-474, DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2019.1593716