Building agile organizations

Roy Tennant. Library Journal. New York:Apr 15, 2001.

Vol. 126, Iss. 7, p. 30 (1 pp.)

Abstract (Summary)

Agility in staffing involves whom you hire and how you hire them.
Strive to bring staff on board who exhibit the flexible traits I outlined in
the previously cited column. Also, rather than thinking that every job
requires a full-time, permanent staff member, consider the range of
potential staffing opportunities. It's more flexible to hire part-time staff,
temporary staff, and contractual staff, if unions involved will allow such
options.

Copyright Caners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. Apr 15, 2001

AS I POINTED OUT in a previous column ("The Most Important

Management Decision," LJ 2/15/98, p. 102), it's essential to hire flexible
staff to meet the challenges of building digital library collections and
services. But it's also important to maintain organizational agility.

New tools and technologies offer new ways we can meet the needs of
our users but only if the organization can accommodate them. Agile
organizations are marked by committed staff, skilled managers, and
commonly held beliefs in the organization's mission.

If we are to create the kinds of organizations that our present

challenges and opportunities require, we must strive to create agility
where none may now exist. Here are some ways to do so.

Communication and leadership

Good communication within the organization-both from above and

below-is essential. Communication should not be stifled by over
controlling management or by resentful staff. An agile organization
offers many avenues of communication. Line staff must have ways to
bring issues to management's attention, and managers must
promulgate decisions without delay to all staff.

Nothing harms the “esprit de corps” of an organization quicker, or with

worse effect, than regularly hearing about an internal decision from an
external source. Similarly, management should not have to discover
front-line problems from customers.
Leadership can come from anyone, at any level of an organization. In
fact, those at the top are sometimes not close enough to the ground to
see what's coming.

For example, look at what happened at Microsoft. Bill Gates did not
understand the Internet and the impact it would have on his company.
Those of us who were Internet-savvy were amazed when Gates
attempted to remake the Internet with a Microsoft label and call it MSN
(Microsoft Network). It took an employee to make him see the light,
but when he did, he turned the company around on a dime. It was
stunning (see "How the Web Was Won").

Librarians are better consensus builders than leaders. That makes us

inclusive, cooperative, and willing to build on the work of others.
However, we don't always rise to the occasion on an individual basis. In
an attempt to include everyone in decision-making, we end up
watering down the decision.

Radical change cannot be achieved by consensus management, except

perhaps in times of clear and present danger. Sometimes you need
good, old-- fashioned autocratic leadership.

Management and working groups

An agile organization requires agile management. Managers must use

techniques such as those described above to build agile organizations.
They also should make it clear to all employees that individual agility is
valued and honored and then follow through.

Individuals who exhibit professional flexibility should be recognized for

their efforts. Do not expect employees of an organization to value
something that management does not.

Standing committees will meet forever whether or not there is

anything of substance to discuss. Such committees should be avoided
at all costs and tolerated only as a mechanism from which to spawn
task forces and project teams that get the work done. You can appoint
anyone to such a group on an ad hoc basis, give them a specific
charge, and disband the group when the charge has been completed.

Staffing and budget

Agility in staffing involves whom you hire and how you hire them.
Strive to bring staff on board who exhibit the flexible traits I outlined in
the previously cited column. Also, rather than thinking that every job
requires a full-time, permanent staff member, consider the range of
potential staffing opportunities. It's more flexible to hire part-time staff,
temporary staff, and contractual staff, if unions involved will allow such
options.

As your staffing needs change, you can adjust the mix if you are not
completely committed to permanent staff. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics reports that in the 1990s use of temporary staff for jobs in
the information technology sector grew dramatically (see "The
Changing Temporary Workforce").

Truly agile organizations will set aside a portion of the budget to move
quickly in new directions. Most libraries lack such money. In these
cases, you might consider trimming areas of the budget to support
new endeavors. Still, such exercises are time-consuming and lower
staff morale. Also, try to seek extramural funding from foundations and
government agencies.

An essential organizational trait

Libraries are experiencing rapid and unpredictable change. Only a

decade ago, the Internet was hardly a blip on most library radar
screens. Now it is essential.

It took years for most libraries to learn about and begin to implement
what was obviously a vital technology; this demonstrates that most
libraries are far from agile. But with effort, libraries can create the kind
of agile organizations that we require to meet the ever changing needs
of our users in a timely and effective manner.

[Sideb
ar]
LINK
LIST

[Sidebar]
The Changing Temporary
Workforce stats.bls.gov/opub/ooq/1999/Spring/art03.pdf
How the Web Was Won www.webwon.com
"The Most Important Management Decision"
www.libraryjournal.com/articles/infotech/
digitallibraries/19980215_2276.asp

[Author Affiliation]
Roy Tennant (roy. tennant@ucop.edu) is Manager, eScholarship Web &
Services Design, California Digital Library. He is founder and manager
of the electronic discussion lists Web4Lib and Current Cites