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Developing data-driven approaches to library organizational development

Hello, my name’s Tony Zanders and I’m the founder and CEO here at Skilltype. I’m excited to join this year’s ER&L conference to discuss developing data-driven approaches to library organizational development. I’m joined today by colleagues, Dorothy Mackendrick, Director of Administrative & Strategic Services at the Tulane University Libraries and Alan Grosenheider, Deputy University Librarian at the UC Santa Barbara Library.

The Role of Data in Organizational Development

Today, we’re excited to share our experiences and how Skilltype is changing the way libraries manage organizational development using data. Before we began, a few points on why data’s important and the context of organizational development.

Number one, data helps libraries and hiring managers save time, money, and other resources as they’re making key personnel related decisions.

Number two, data helps level the playing field. Imagine a world where each employee across our libraries had the same access to the data on what opportunities exist for their personal development along with for their career. Data also helps to broaden talent pool.

Talent Management and Career Advancement

There is a world of people who have the skills and the qualifications we need for jobs within our organization, but without better data, it’s hard to know whether those people exist inside of our organization or whether they exist outside. Better data also creates alternatives to recruitment. There are people, as I mentioned a few seconds ago, who may be great candidates for reskilling or upskilling who have aspirations to serve in roles. Perhaps they’re not a hundred percent there with their skills, but they’re 70%. Better data can help us close that 30% gap to help our own employees advance their careers as an alternative to recruitment. Overall better data helps us make smarter personnel decisions. 

For the past three years, we’ve been thinking about this problem as Skilltype and it’s led to the development of the first talent management platform specifically for libraries.”

To learn more, watch the full video here

Access slide deck here.

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