Page 73 - DLIS406_ACADEMIC_LIBRARY_SYSTEM

Academic Library System

Notes Recommendations

To foster an effective staff appraisal system, a few measures should be considered.

Training of Appraiser

The first key to a successful appraisal system is the appraiser. The appraisers must be able to
see the values of the appraisal exercise and good training for appraisers is, therefore, essential.
Carrying out staff appraisal and evaluation each year should not be treated as just a regular
routine, and it is certainly not a formality. As Byars (2004) remarks, “A more promising
approach to overcoming errors in performance appraisals is to improve the skills of raters.”
Pynes (2004) also claims that “Training can improve raters’ documentation and counseling
skills, thereby not only reducing their discomfort but also enabling them to help employees
understand and acknowledge their own strengths and areas that need improvement.” Although
most personnel offices of universities issue guidelines for staff appraisals, they are usually too
general and do not cater to the specific needs of libraries. Thus, libraries should design an in-
house guideline and provide adequate and specific training to appraisers. Appraisers should
be trained to be open-minded, honest, positive and skillful in addressing staff members’ capabilities
and competences. Clear guidelines and effective training system should be developed for
appraisers to reasonably report the strengths and weaknesses of the appraisee and make
logical and fair recommendation as to how the appraise can be assisted in an improvement
plan. Most of all, the appraisers should be guided to appraise the work performed, not the
person.

Task What should be the recruitment procedure in a company? Write in your own
words.

The Appraisal Form

Libraries would benefit more if the tool for the appraisal—the appraisal form—is tailor-made
to suit its own situation and specific needs. In view of the specific job nature of library staff,
libraries should design their own appraisal form or modify the central form to tailor for each
group of staff to accurately and effectively reflect the important aspects of the performance
evaluation. As mentioned earlier, the nature of work is quite different between reader services
and technical services, so if libraries could customize the performance evaluation standards
for different categories of staff, so much the better. It is believed that open-ended questions
probing for detailed accounts are more useful than a rating scale. A rating scale often gives
appraisers the excuse to just check the boxes without giving their comments. Open-ended
questions avoid the embarrassment caused by rating and invite staff to present their viewpoints
in their own words. It is also important that negative words such as “barriers” and “obstacles”
should not be used in the questions; especially barriers and obstacles, in many cases, are
largely related to the limited resources or heavy workload instead of the appraisee’s ability
and motivation.

Setting Objectives

Another key to a successful staff appraisal system is the communication of expectations. The
appraisal is a tool for the senior management to envision the staff to share the institutional
mission of the university, as well as the specific goal and purpose of the library. Objectives

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