[Publib] compilation--sub fairness

Thu Aug 30 15:31:20 EDT 2007

Hi everyone, a hearty thanks to those who offered suggestions about keeping
sub hours fair.  I'll be bringing these suggestions to the circulation
supervisor, and we'll come up with the best.  The most frequent suggestion
was a rotating list.

Here are the suggestions:

Another thing to consider is training for your subs.  I've substituted at a
large library system, and have had to fly by the seat of my pants for new
technololgy.  

As Carolyn says, you should consider the library's needs. Probably the
fairest way is to post the hours you need subs and ask them to fill in the
blanks.  I'm on a sub list, and the regional library assistant for the area
I usually work in posts a list of shifts (date, time, branch) and we let her
know when we can work.  

Check with your jurisdiction (city, county, whatever) to see if working X
number of hours makes the sub eligible for benefits.

---

I am going to present the other point of view, as I worked as a sub for
several years before getting hired part-time (jobs are not plentiful in this
area and the competition is stiff) and I still sub frequently.

  First, your remark that you don't know the subs well is significant.  This
may be a good time to evaluate your subs and let one or two go, as it sounds
like you have more than you need.  I suggest talking to each of your subs
individually, explaining the situation, and ask what they are interested in.
The amount of time each of them wants to work can vary considerably, and it
can change.  You need to know and they need to let you know.  Most
importantly, you need to make it very clear what the situation is now and
what opportunities may or may not come up in the future.  Dont' give hope
where there is none, and don't leave room for false hope by saying nothing.
I believe that a library director, like a good parent, should also be on the
lookout for improving her/his people's lot.  If you hear about a useful
class or seminar or an opening elsewhere, let your people know, even if it
means losing them.  They'll bless you for the leg up but they'll never
forgive you if they  believe you held them down.  Reasons like this are why
managers get bad reps as people to work for and a library can get a bad rep
as a place at which to work.

  Second, get each one to create an internet calendar so you can quickly
check schedules to see who is available on a certain date.

  Third, give one person (and one back-up) the responsibility to arrange for
subs and track their total hours.  The only way to be fair is to try to keep
the total number of hours each sub gets over a period of time (6 months?
year?) as equal as possible.  Most importantly, let the subs know that this
is the method you are using so no one will feel treated unfairly.  Those who
need more hours will have to find another job; those who are happy with what
you can offer will stay.

  There will be subs that for whatever reason do not work out well.  If that
is so, why keep them?  There are also subs whom some people want all the
time, but that doesn't mean they are the best at doing the work, and even if
they are, it is unfair when these same people get all the hours.  Your other
subs lose out on gaining experience and familiarity with your library sytem.
Do you want 1 really great sub and 3 poor ones?  Or do you want 4 good ones?
Which situation is better for your library?

  Try to keep personal preference and personalities out of the mix.  I speak
from experience.

---

I work full-time at one library, and am one of the substitutes at another.  

The way the other library has always done it is to send out an email to all
of the subs with the date(s) needed to be filled, with a request to reply to
all if someone is able to work.  Then it's simply first come, first served.

Every once in a while, it might happen that I'm working the evening that the
scheduler realizes he has holes, he asks me if I can fill any of them,
because I usually jump at the extra hours.  But for the most part, everyone
gets asked at the same time for the same hours.

---

We had a system. For part time workers who would come in to cover, they get
first priority. But that gets tricky. So I would send an email to all
available subs with a deadline. No answer by the deadline, then no go. After
that, priority to regular part time employees. After that, to the first
response, however you go with library needs. We had one sub who was rather
rude and very lazy. I only used him when no one else volunteered. More of a
warm body thing.

--

As a former substitute teacher, I will suggest you touch base with some
local principals and vice/assistant principals and talk with them about the
situation.

--

I work in a union shop library.  We don't use substitutes, but this is what
we do for overtime.

Eligible staff are listed in order of seniority (though really you could
list them in any way, at one library we did it by birthdays!).  One then
simply calls in the order of the list.  When shifts are available, just pick
up where you made the last call.  It's the call that matters (or 3 tries or
something like that), not the shifts work.  People just need to be given the
opportunity to work.

--

In answer to your question on Publib about

  scheduling subs in a fair manner--

  Could a simple rotation work?  I don't know how many subs you have, but
could you have a numbered list

  that you could follow?  For example, call #1 for the first opening, then
move them to the bottom of the

  list for the second.  It would be your call if a "no" or a negative
answer, or a scheduling conflict,

  left them to be called first the next time or moved to the bottom.  It's
also a good way to keep track

  of who says yes or no the most often.  I'm sure this can be done simply in
Excel or by the use of  (gasp)

  index cards.

  (BTW, this is not how it is handled in my library, but I'm not the
scheduler -- I would, however, do

  this if I were -- I agree you need to be sure all your subs are up-to-date
amd familiar with the

  policies and collections.)

--

Your first concern is the needs of the library.   Besides availability, you
need to take into consideration having people work frequently enough so they
remember what they are supposed to be doing, so that means spreading the
work around somewhat.   One thing that got me in trouble at one point was a
sub who "always" worked a certain shift and we ended up having to pay for an
expensive medical device (don't even ask) so she could continue to work it,
even though we always thought of her as a sub and not a regular employee.

This is never going to be completely fair or precise but I think if you
always call one person, you lose out on the value of having a pool of subs.

--

I encountered the same problem when I started this job 5 years ago. I make a
monthly work schedule. The first few years I tried to keep even hours for
each of the three substitutes. 

As time went on, it became clear that one likes to keep her schedule open
and work on an emergency basis. She is almost always available when we need
her quickly without much notice.  

Another has grown children who live in other states. She is glad to work
lots of hours. Her family time is always planned well in advance.

The third, a young retiree, now works 20 hours per week at the library with
ample allowance for time off to attend her elderly parents.

If I were to do it again, I'd just ask them. I worried too much about
keeping things even. They didn't care!

--

Two methods come to mind.  The first would be to call the subs in order of
seniority.  The second would be to use some sort of rolling list.  If you
list them alphabetically the first time you call you'd start with the first
person on the list, the second time you'd call the second person first, etc.
On the whole I like the rolling list better as it ensures that everyone has
a crack at the jobs and helps keep everyone's skills fresh.  If you go with
seniority the people on the bottom of the list may not get called in very
much.  If you're an union shop, though, seniority may be the way to go.

In any case, either method should eliminate any question of favoritism or
bias.  

--

***************************

Jennifer Inglis, Director

Whitman Public Library

100 Webster Street

Whitman, MA 02832

(781) 447-7613