The problem

Today’s workforce is evolving at a more rapid pace than the workplace, creating tension between employee expectations and the environment in which they work. Supervisors cannot change factors outside their control while struggling to support employees due to a lack of management training. Lack of management training is more acutely felt within libraries and archives due to its leaders receiving training on managing information rather than managing people. While there is widespread acknowledgment of the lack of management training for current and aspiring library leaders, reskilling the workforce to create better managers is a long-term effort. On the other side of the org chart, employees desire more growth opportunities and better insight into their future at the organization. The confluence of these trends results in a disengaged workforce navigating lacking motivation and morale to put forth their best efforts.

The solution

Adopting Skilltype is a demonstrable investment in employee development and engagement. Employees who have perennially lacked access to quality industry training receive access in one fell swoop, with over 10,000 vetted resources and opportunities at their fingertips. This includes the training catalogs from top conferences and training providers, including the Charleston Conference, Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), Ex Libris Users of North America (ELUNA), Library Juice Academy, and more. 

Since Skilltype uses software to understand employee interests and goals better, managers can save time in their employee engagement efforts. With Skills Inventory each employee’s interests and priorities are now visible to administrators in seconds, enabling managers to make better suggestions on employee training opportunities and increase morale.

For additional insight, managers can compare employee interests and goals against the organization’s needs to identify areas of alignment. These insights can help facilitate more meaningful dialog during 1:1 meetings and departmental conversations. Employees can also view the organization’s needs assessment to see which areas align with their personal goals, helping identify where they fit into a rapidly changing organization. This helps managers save time communicating the organization’s priorities to employees as they evolve over time.