PLANNING FOR A
BRIGHT FUTURE
BY PLANNING FOR
THE INEVITABLE:
Handling Sudden and
Extended Staff Absences
ANGELA ECK
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT THE
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY PUBLIC
LIBRARY
[email protected]
812-379-1254
SOME OF THE MANY REASONS EMPLOYEES MAY
BE GONE FOR A WHILE…
ANYONE WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY OF
HANDLING A STAFF ABSENCE?


How did you handle it? Did you learn a lot you didn’t
know about your library during that staff person’s
absence? Did it inspire you to make a better plan for
the future?
Or, did you have a “crash and burn” moment?
A COUPLE EXAMPLES OF MY “CRASH AND
BURN” MOMENTS…
When I needed to fill in at the Teen Services desk due
to a staff absence and realized that not only did I not
know the password for the computer at that desk, but
it was not written down anywhere. Individual staff
had been calling our IT person each time they needed
the password.
 When I needed to cover a couple hours in our Digital
Underground and realized that I did not know any of
the passwords for any of the computers, whether
there was a sign-out sheet for any of the equipment,
or really… anything.
The above situations, and others, are examples of
how I realized the need for Cross-Training and
Standard Operating Procedures! 

CROSS-TRAINING
Each member of your staff needs to develop a
Swiss Army Knife mentality and level of
preparedness.
EVALUATE YOUR CURRENT STAFF
STRUCTURE
The typical library staff structure tends to be very silolike. Staff tend to stay only within their narrow area of
specialization within their own “department,” “branch,”
or “desk.”
 How many of you would say you have a silo staff
structure?

MAKE MORE INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN
YOUR SILOS THROUGH CROSS-TRAINING
All staff members work a couple hours per week
in a department other than their own, doing job
duties different than their usual ones.
 During those couple hours each week, those staff
members should learn by doing, but they should
also be given a standard operating procedure or
training guide ahead of time to review and use as
a “cheat sheet.”

CHANGE IN PHILOSOPHY

The most valuable thing each employee can
contribute to an organization is not perfection at
any single skill set, but rather resilience. What
does it take to contribute resilience?
•Willingness and enthusiasm
to learn new skills, which
means feeling safe enough to
make mistakes in the process,
learn from them, and grow as a
result.
•Not expecting each day’s work
to be the same. Okay with
unexpected challenges and
change in routine.
•Sharing knowledge with
coworkers for the good of the
organization as a whole.
HAVE EACH EMPLOYEE AND DEPARTMENT
CREATE WRITTEN STANDARD OPERATING
PROCEDURES (SOPS)



Think of this SOP as the
CliffsNotes version of the steps
necessary to do your job.
Tells someone all of the basics if
they need to fill-in.
Be sure to include: Login
information for any software
unique to your job duties. Or
standardize usernames and
passwords across your system.
Also, location of any keys or other
essentials needed to do the job.
STEP ONE IN SOP CREATION: CREATE A
TEMPLATE FOR SOPS


In order for SOPs to be easily
and quickly understood by
everyone within your library,
you need to create a consistent
template which everyone uses.
Think of this like your library
is creating a cookbook, and
you’re asking for submissions
of recipes from all staff. In
order for your cookbook to be
easy to follow, all recipes
should follow a pre-determined
format.
GATHER A TEAM TO STUDY AND DECIDE
UPON BEST FORMAT(S) FOR SOPS
Gather a team consisting of staff from as many
work specialties as possible, in order to study and
decide upon which format(s) to use for SOPs.
 Some helpful online resources to consider:

http://extension.psu.edu/animals/dairy/hr/tools-fordairy-employee-supervisors/ud011
 https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/
36910/sopsdir.pdf?sequence=1
 https://empireflippers.com/standard-operatingprocedures/
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gaMlxplLas

EXAMPLE OF STANDARD OPERATING
PROCEDURE

SOP for Opening Reference Desk:








Log-in to staff computers at Reference Desk using xxxx
password.
Log-in to WorkFlows at each staff computer using xxxx
username and xxxx password.
Turn on receipt printer at middle staff computer.
Print 40 guest passes for public computers and place in
tray at Reference Desk, and 10 more to place in tray at
Adult Circulation Desk.
Turn on photocopier and restock paper if necessary–
both in copier and in storage drawer at Reference Desk.
Turn on all public internet computers in Reference area
and check to make sure PC Reservation is working
properly once they’re up and running.
Restock all public catalog stations with scrap paper and
golf pencils.
Clean designated public computer carrels according to
attached cleaning schedule. This includes dusting,
cleaning mouse and keyboard with sanitizing wipes,
and wiping down the carrel.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF TASKS WILL
REQUIRE DIFFERENT SOP FORMATTING

Some possibilities for format:



Checklist
Flow map or flow chart
Instructions with a photo/image of
each step
In creating your SOP
templates, you should take
into account the different
formats needed and offer a
template for each format.
Put the templates on a
shared drive where everyone
can access them.
WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF SOPS WITHIN
YOUR LIBRARY?


Which Standard Operating Procedures, if any, do you
have that are currently in written format?
Do you have some SOPs that aren’t yet written and
shared with others? If so, what format do you think
would be best for the template for that SOP?
NEXT STEP: HAVE EACH
DEPARTMENT/WORKING UNIT CREATE THEIR
SOPS BASED ON THE TEMPLATES

Important considerations:



Clearly communicate about where the SOP templates
are located.
Clearly communicate a specific deadline by which to
have SOPs completed.
Include at least one person from outside the
department/working unit in SOP creation. They
bring the important perspective of whether an
outsider will be able to understand the SOP.
FINAL STEPS: ENSURING CONTINUATION OF
HIGH QUALITY SOPS AND CROSS-TRAINING

Make it a priority for
department and branch
managers to :
Review and update SOPs for their
areas on at least a yearly basis.
You could even add this
expectation to your performance
appraisal discussion at the end of
each year.
 Ensure that both their staff and
themselves are working at least a
couple hours per week in an area
outsider their usual work area.
This will entail cooperation
between managers. Again, this
could be added to performance
appraisal expectations.

FINAL STEPS: ENSURING CONTINUATION OF
HIGH QUALITY SOPS AND CROSS-TRAINING
Keep a chart in a shared location showing which
employees are cross-trained in which areas.
 This ensures that when you have a sudden staff
absence for which you need to fill-in, you have a
list at your fingertips of the staff who are best
qualified to fill-in the hole.
 Keep SOPs in an easily accessible, widely known
location.

KEEP A SHARED LIST OF STAFF CONTACT
INFORMATION


In a case in which an employee is away from work for
a time but still able to be contacted, it’s very useful to
have their personal contact information available for
their coworkers, with the understanding that staff
should only use that personal contact information in
an emergency.
This list needs to be in a shared, easily accessible
location, regularly checked for accuracy, and updated.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN A STAFF
MEMBER IS ON LEAVE
For certain types of absences from work,
such as FMLA, if that staff member who is
on leave is getting constant work calls and
emails which she is expected to answer, that
constitutes work time, and violates FMLA.
Limit contact with that staff member as
much as possible while she is on leave, and
make clear to that employee that she is not
expected to keep up with answering all
emails and calls while out on leave.
 For non-exempt employees, the above
guideline applies equally as much when the
employee is taking regular sick, vacation, or
personal time.

DO YOU HAVE A SHARED EMPLOYEE
CONTACT LIST AT YOUR LIBRARY?

If so:
Where do you store it so all employees can easily
access it?
 How often do you update it?
 How do you ensure staff use it only for emergencies?

PUT ALL OF THESE PIECES INTO PLACE,
AND YOU’LL ALWAYS HAVE A PARACHUTE!
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, AND FOLLOW-UP
•Slideshow is available
on the ILF website.
•Feel free to contact me
with follow-up questions:
Angela Eck
[email protected]
812-379-1254