Submitted by: Colleen Burlingham and Brian Riordan

What do you think about all the changes underway in the library? The new integrated system is undoubtedly the biggest change facing us, but pay-for-performance must be a close second. We'd like to take a moment to share a few thoughts on PfP, which really gets under way over the next two weeks when we all will be trained to use the new performance appraisal form.

Change is hard, especially when you're on the receiving end. Performance enhancement -- of which pay-for-performance is a (major) part -- is a University initiative that represents a potentially significant change in the way this library is run. Good or bad, it's a change that causes all of us some anxiety -- even us, and we've been part of developing and implementing this for almost a year now.

But we feel strongly that this will be a good change. Why? Because it holds the potential for making our working lives here at the library better than they have been. It's a change that is directed at us, but it envelops our supervisors and even their supervisors. The way the performance appraisal form and the distribution system have been structured, the old top-heavy and non-participatory management style will be very difficult, if not impossible, to sustain. We will be held accountable for our performance, but so will our supervisors. Because performance appraisal will be more rigorous than before, managerial lapses and deficiencies will become much clearer. The importance of our contributions to the library and our development as workers will be emphasized through planning, feedback and, yes, reward. If these things aren't done very well -- or if they don't happen at all -- our supervisors will be held accountable. In fact, we will be empowered to hold them accountable.

Performance enhancement is an attempt to build a structure that will result in employees knowing where they stand based on thorough, thoughtful, and meaningful feedback on their performance. The performance appraisal form will be instrumental in creating and maintaining this structure. Of course a form can only do so much, and it will not suddenly inspire communication where there is no trust. But exactly because PfP -- a university initiative -- rests on this form, it has teeth. Whatever goes into it will be taken seriously and followed up on. Therefore, it behooves all of us to actively participate in our appraisals. PfP has brought us a structure to effect meaningful change, but each of us has to take advantage of it.

We disagree with the notion that the way staff are treated and rewarded is fine the way it is. The way things are now, "reward" via compensation is tied strictly to length of service. This does a poor job of recognizing the outstanding contributions that most of us make to the library every day. We believe that most staff at the library are highly motivated workers, but motivation tends to wane in the absence of recognition. PfP is a good way of addressing this problem. It is good not only in a monetary sense, but also because the structure that comes with it -- painstakingly developed by the Appraisal Form, Distribution, and Labor-Management Committees -- will go a long way toward holding staff and supervisors accountable for making changes in the culture of the library. And these cultural changes - greater collaboration, flexibility, opportunities for leadership -- will prove to be far stronger incentives for each of us than money. These cultural changes are a recipe for an environment in which people can work to their greatest potentials. These are the benefits of PfP that we envisioned when we got involved in developing the system and we still believe they are the most important things we can get out of this change.

See everyone in training!