Develop competencies to describe the work of positions. Developing useful job descriptions for positions involves defining the tasks and results for positions in combination with identifying appropriate qualifications. But what are appropriate qualifications? Traditionally, educational qualifications are used; however, it is more useful to define specific skills and competencies. Competencies are concrete evidence of a specific ability or skill. For example, if the position requires that the individual provides tours, then the potential staff person should be able to demonstrate that they can engage a group of people that they have never before met, that they can speak clearly to them, and can respond to questions. While there is nothing wrong with defining educational qualifications for positions, alone they are not the best indicator of an individuals ability to do the work of the position. Job descriptions are the foundation for many other human resource activities such as the job interview or the performance review. Spend time on writing the job description for any position, as the information will be used many times in the future. Job descriptions are also the basis for developing interview questions. Consequently, if you focus on competencies in developing job descriptions, identifying appropriate interview questions will be easier. For example, if the position is for a tour guide at a museum, potential interview questions may be: i. Describe how you would start off a new group through the museum. ii. What has been the most challenging type of museum visitor you have encountered and what did you do in that situation? iii. What do you enjoy about being a tour guide? What do you dislike? The essential points about interviewing are: Ask all interviewees the same set of questions. It is likely that other questions will be asked during the interview as a conversation begins between the interview panel and the interviewee. That is OK. But you must ensure that all interviewees have been asked the same questions. No more than three people should be involved in an interview. It is unlikely that your museum has that many people available for interviews that may take one to two days. At a minimum, there should be two people when one is asking questions, the other can be listening and writing. And, at least, one of the two people should know something about the real work environment of the job. Then, after the interview, there should be a short discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of the interviewee. There are some questions that you CANNNOT ask under any circumstances such as those that address marital/family status, age, race, sexual orientation, or religion. However, you may need answers to some of these questions, but you will need to phrase the question such as: Our museum is open on the weekends and evenings. Are there any reasons why you would not be able to work weekends or evenings (this gets at any questions around religion observations and/or family commitments)? This should not disqualify a good candidate, but it does inform your museum that you may have some scheduling problems if you decide to hire the individual. References are a difficult element to assess. Personal references are almost useless as many employers are under the impression, they cannot give information other than length of employment. However, if you ask specific questions about the specific type of work that the individual did and how it compares to the work your organizations needs, you may be able to get a work reference that is useful. Focus on facts. For example, did the person arrive on time, did they undertake new initiatives, and did they contribute to the work of a team? Previous employers will share facts with you. Offers of employment are legal and binding documents. Too often employers offer positions to individuals on the basis of very little information about the terms of employment. Once a job offer is made and accepted, the employer has entered into a legal document that may be difficult (and expensive) to withdraw from. While the employee has also entered into a binding agreement, courts have traditionally given the benefit of the doubt to the employee, not the employer. At a minimum the letter of employment should include: Start date Salary range for the position and starting salary (if the position is a term position, state the start and end date for the term) Notice period for resignation Probationary terms Directions on accepting the offer Requirements for bonding General benefits Any special conditions of work, including expectations respecting hours of work Any accommodation needs of staff member as negotiated during the recruitment/staffing process Reporting/supervision relationship Information on the museums human resources policies (include a copy) Information and consent form on museums Privacy Policy Attach to the letter the job description, other relevant policies, and any other general information considered necessary Insist that individuals being offered positions take the letter (and accompanying information) away read the information thoroughly and completely, and suggest that they seek any advice prior to signing the agreement As an employer you must ensure that a prospective employee has the opportunity to consider the offer and seek any outside advice. Only then can you discharge your duty of due diligence/ Compensation and benefits need to be presented to staff as a whole package. It is generally accepted that non-profit organizations, cannot compete with private or public-sector organizations in the areas of compensation (salary). Salary is important and it is part of the organizations financial management strategy to ensure that your company salary settings are aligned to current industry standards. Set clear and measurable expectations for performance and link them to the organizations direction. The most frequent cause of poor staff performance is a result of fuzzy expectations for a position both paid and unpaid positions. If, as a supervisor, you cannot articulate clear results that a position should produce, it is unrealistic to expect the staff person or volunteer to do so. Often, we expect staff to be professional and for them to define results that will be gained from their work. Some individuals will be able to do this. However, it is not their job to do so. It is your job as the supervisor to relate the work of the position to the direction of the organization and to define expected results. There will certainly be discussions with staff on expected results, but it is the supervisors responsibility to define, finalize and monitor those expectations. Without defining specific results, staff may waste their time on activities that do not fully relate to the organizations mandate and results will be less than expected for the amount of resources committed. In the end, all will be frustrated. The impact on the staff person may be a negative performance review. Often employers are too focused on only looking at what they need from staff. Staff also have expectations from their work with the museum. Find out what they are and use them in planning future directions. It is often rewarding for staff to know that their suggestions have been taken seriously and are being implemented. Performance reviews are the best opportunity to set performance expectations. In addition to reviewing both successful and unsuccessful results, the review sets the stage for the work of the next year. The performance review will also be the prime document if performance slips in the future and the individual needs to be either disciplined or terminated. If the organization has not done any formal, systematic, performance reviews, its case for discipline or termination is weakened. Probationary periods have a purpose. The purpose of a probation period is twofold to orient the individual to their position and the organization and to assess the individuals ability to do the work of the position. Many supervisors and organizations neglect to structure the probation period so these purposes are achieved. Things which should be covered during the orientation include: Review of the organizations strategic plan HR policies How performance is assessed Results expected from the position The resources available to the position How the position interacts with other positions in the organization And administrative information such as pay periods, health benefits, vacation times and how schedules are established This is the opportunity to begin assessing the skills of the individual as those skills are applied to the position. Opportunities should be provided, so that the staff persons skills can be monitored with feedback on performance. If problems arise, it is at this point that remedial action should be applied, with the intent to help the individual. If performance problems arise during the probationary period and are ignored or not addressed, it is more difficult to use these problems as a cause for dismissal later. All staff in new positions should have a probationary period. However, probationary periods are not automatically triggered when a person is hired. The probationary period must be outlined in HR policies; notice of the probationary period must also be included in the offer / letter of employment. Address performance problems early. Staff performance problems will always exist. How you deal with them will determine if the problem continues or if performance improves. The golden rule is to address performance problems early. It is helpful if there are clear expectations for positions. Hoping the problem will go away rarely works. Typically, the problem continues, grows in seriousness, and has ripple effects on other staff, volunteers, members and ultimately the museums target audiences. Monitoring staff performance is a key task for any supervisor. This does not have to be tyrannical or oppressive, but rather should be part of on-going discussions with staff and volunteers about their work and the results obtained. Always focus on the behaviour rather than the person. For instance, Im concerned that you have been late for each shift for the last week. What is the problem with getting to work on time? rather than stating You are being lazy by always coming in late. This will lessen the defensive position that a staff person may assume. Make it a practice to talk with all staff at least every 2 or 3 weeks. The conversation should be informal and along the lines of: - What are you currently working on? - Are there things that are going well what are you proud of? - Are there barriers that are making your work difficult? And, most importantly, what can I do to help? (and then do it!) Once a performance problem is identified particularly with a staff person, the supervisor needs to take clear actions to ensure due diligence. Specifically, the staff person needs to be told clearly and firmly: That the situation cannot continue That changes and improvement in performance are expected What support the museum is willing to provide to help staff improve performance Time frame for improvement What will happen if there is no improvement These discussions should always be documented. It is important to document a performance problem. Yet, there is a fine line between documenting a discussion and recording each and every violation of policy however minor. This will appear to an outside adjudicator that the organization was not willing to help or support the staff person and it was the actions of the organization which contributed to the staff persons poor performance. Even with the best effort from the organization and individual staff person, from time to time, staff may need to be let go for poor performance. Terminating staff is always difficult, but dragging out the process does not make it easier, particularly if poor performance is the cause. Review the process outlined in your organizations HR policies, in particular: Was performance monitored and assessed regularly? Was the individual informed of their poor performance and given opportunities to improve? Was the individual notified that termination may result from continued poor performance? If these conditions were met and performance has not improved, termination needs to follow. If no action is taken, poor performance is, in effect, condoned and all staff will suffer. High performing staff will feel their efforts are unrecognized, while less effective staff will have permission to continue with low performance. Be fair in providing notice (employment standards will provide the minimum notice required). However, it is important to make the decision, take action and move the organization forward. Be sure to have a well-developed and clear policy on termination in your organizations human resource manual to aid these types of situations. Having access to a lawyer, likely through an association with a board member is not a bad idea. There will be times, such as during a dismissal for cause that you will want to consult a lawyer. However, the purpose of good human resource management practices is prevention. Lawyers are expensive and can only deal with a situation after the fact, which will generally add to any costs. Training is not a perk or reward. In times of funding restraints where salary increases may be limited, the temptation is to reward staff with other perks training often falls into this category. However, training should be a tool to help your organization improve staff performance, either by addressing existing performance gaps or developing individuals to assume new tasks or duties in the organization. Without linking the training to performance expectations, it is a waste of both staff time and your organizations money. Any training should begin with a discussion with the staff and a clear explanation of how training will improve performance followed by the application of the new skills / knowledge with results monitored. Ensure staff are consulted about planning and direction, but it is the managements job to decide. Avoid talk without action. Talk is easy and common, but without action serves only to disengage staff and volunteers. While it is important to include staff in identifying and planning directions, staff want to see decisions and actions, so that they can do their work. Human resource management decisions are difficult and uncertainty is a given. Delaying decisions on work assignments and directions or seeking more information in the hope of finding a perfect solution only serves to reduce motivation in staff. Be honest in dealing with difficult situations, but make decisions that are timely and clear. Unions are neither good or bad, but if you have to work with a union, there are rules to

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