CE Managers Meeting 07-22-16

Hello,

Here are the minutes from the July CE Managers Meeting.

CE Managers Meeting

07-22-16

Compiled by Yolanda Anguiano

CE Update: (Elizabeth Sargent)

Management Changes/Updates:  As of August 1^st, SMI/YOU will have a new LII-Assistant Manager Cedric Clark.  He’s moving here from Virginia.  He was a branch manager and worked with the mobile outreach program there and also worked with different health organizations in North Carolina.  Julia Bradley from COL will be leaving to pursue a law degree on August 15^th.  Dena Melvin from PAR has returned from maternity leave.  Craig Bertuglia is now serving as acting manager at SMI/YOU while Kitty Myers is out on extended leave. 

News from around Customer Experience:

·         Jose Santoyo welcomed a baby boy named Benjamin on June 5^th.  He was 7 lbs., 15 ounces and was 21 inches long. 

·         Danielle Wilson gave birth to a baby boy named Cy Lewis Wilson on July 12^th weighing 7 lbs., 11 ounces and was 21 inches long.  Until Danielle returns, Assistant Manager Billy Glasco is in charge of the Gregory School. 

·         Liz asked staff to keep Sr. Manager Pedro Fonseca and his family in their thoughts since his son underwent heart surgery.  He will remain hospitalized for nine days and then be recovering at home for about a month.  Pedro has his city cell and laptop.  He also has a hotspot, so he does have connectivity while at the hospital.  His responses will be a little delayed during this time but he is working as much as he can based on how his son is recovering.  Liz asks that if you have a critical issue that needs his attention to contact CE Admin and we’ll try to address it.

·         Last Friday the second Leadership Academy class graduated.  Those completing the program from CE were Angela Barratt, Christy Chang, Rebecca Denham, Sara Pope, Jennifer Sessa, Billy Glasco, Jayla Parks, and Tula Gorden.  Their final project will be posted to the intranet soon.  Candidates for the next Leadership Academy are still being considered.  Those selected will be announced at our next meeting in August.  Liz shared that if a selected candidate feels he/she will be unable to commit to the program requirements due to personal or professional conflicts, it is alright to turn the opportunity down.  He/she can resubmit their candidacy at a later date.

·         Eleven postings are coming out next week: Part-time and Full-time CSCs, Librarian II-AM (KEN), Librarian II (CEN YOU), Librarian II (HMRC), Librarian III-Manager (PLE/TUT & SWX/WAL), LSS Youth (CAR), Sr LSS (Generalist & Passport Services at CEN), Librarian III (CEN), Sr. LSS-Youth (HIL/RIN).  There will be job offers extended for PT CSCs soon.

·         If you have staff incorrectly assigned to you in Kronos, issues with keys or codes or with email or Sirsi passwords, notify Laurie.  She is the point person for those issues.  Please don’t contact HR, IT, Payroll, or GSD directly about these types of changes.

Kronos:  Mr. Weeks forwarded an email that was sent at the end of June concerning Biweekly Exempt Employee Schedules.  All supervisors should be reviewing every employee’s schedule editor in Kronos at the beginning of each pay period, whether they are exempt or non-exempt.  For non-exempt staff it is essential you update it to reflect any changes to days off or starting/ending times for that two week period.  If you don’t do this an employee will show they have an exception such as being late or being early. 

For Exempt staff, working different schedules than what is in the schedule editor can affect the employee being paid accurately for vacation, sick and holiday leave.  Supervisors are responsible for ensuring accurate work schedules are reflected in Kronos.  Since work schedules can change based on the needs of the employee or the needs of the department, we are requesting that supervisors review the work schedules and make any necessary adjustments in Kronos early in the pay period.

Try looking ahead up to 2 weeks in advance.  If you find that you are consistently changing a staff’s schedule and need to make a change in the pattern, talk to Payroll.

Pride 2016: HPL participation in the Houston Pride events was a huge success.  There were over 100 library card applications and nine memory boards filled out showing Houston stands with Orlando.  Staff from Central, Community Engagement and Laney from HMRC worked the table.  Next year we are looking to have another table for the festival and a float in the parade.  My’Tesha and Liz are spearheading the 2017 effort and are asking for volunteers.  Please email Liz and cc Laurie Covington and Leah Fraser if you are interested.

Digital Strategies: (Rick Peralez & Britney Scott): There are two upcoming FY17 initiatives.  The first is project management for HPL.  The goal is to work better across the organization.  HPL is adopting a web based tool called Smartsheet.  Britney Scott in the Director’s Office has been appointed as the coordinator of the project and she will be creating an HPL Dashboard for projects.  In Customer Experience, Laurie and Mary will be working with Digital Strategies on it.  Smartsheets will help track progress on projects across the organization.  Managers may receive emails requesting updates on different projects.  Look on-line for Smartsheet tutorials.  Each Smartsheet looks like a spreadsheet with columns and rows but it stores important files, you can copy emails to rows, set reminders, view as a calendar, share the sheet with others and it can be accessed from a smart phone or tablet.  Again the purpose is to simplify tracking and planning projects.  A dashboard will be created with all the projects going on in the system.  Those who want to get involved early can look to web tutorials or view YouTube videos to get started.  Their official website is www.smartsheet.com and you can sign up for a free trial membership.

The second initiative is a Hot Spot lending program.  This program has already been adopted by Chicago and New York libraries.  Digital Strategies wants to start small and develop the program.  The pilot sites will be ACR and DIX.  There will be 25 hot spots and 25 small notebook computers available for check out at each location.  Further into FY17, the program will expand if funding allows.  The launch is targeted for August.  DS is working on the technical aspects and what is needed to make the program work.  Customer Experience needs to develop policy, fines, fees, etc.  DS will have a separate number from the Help Desk number specifically for the hotspots call-ins from public customers.  That hotspot number will have different hours of service than the Help Desk.  DS is considering Hot Spot telephone service hours in the range of Monday through Saturday 9PM-6PM.  CE staff can call the Help Desk for assistance with hotspot support.  DS staff will be able to turn off Hot Spots after the loan period expires.  The loan period will be the same as books, 3 weeks.  The ability to place holds on the Hot Spots is still being worked out.  Customers will be able to save documents to a specific area on the laptops but they will be erased upon checking the laptop back in. DS is exploring possibilities of using filters on the laptop.

If you have additional questions regarding these programs or other DS related questions, email Liz and cc Laurie and Leah.

Youth Services: (Rebecca Denham)  On August 12^th, there will be a mandatory Youth Services meeting because of training on the Learning Link.  If Youth Staff members can’t attend, please instruct them to go to the CE Managers meeting on the 26^th at the Hiram Clarke Multi-Service Center Auditorium and participate in the Learning Link training there.  Please notify Rebecca and Sara about the change.

                For SRP, customers need to log in their book or hours read by August 1^st.  On the 2^nd, YS will pull the information and determine who the bike and Family Prize Pack winners are.  The winners will be notified by the YS team and Communications.  They will send winner information and awarding instruction to Managers and youth staff.  A photo of the winner and his/her bike is requested, so a photo release form will need to be completed.  These items will be used in the press release announcing the winners as well as a photo collage.  Please try to keep the SRP propaganda (posters, etc) visible in the photos of the winners.  All the leftover prizes and books will be collected in late August, so please continue to award prizes until then.  End of SRP surveys will be going out next week.  All staffs are encouraged to submit one by Wednesday, August 10^th. 

Please update the names of your Youth Services staff on the Youth Roster found on the Youth blog: YS Blog.  This helps the YS team know who belongs in the Youth meetings.  Each location needs at least one representative.  Rebecca also reminded managers to submit Positive Pops nominations.  She highlighted the section on the blog that deals with In-house Monthly Observances.  There is a link to the spreadsheet that lists all the in house programs with date and time and person in charge for each location.  This helps keep everyone informed about what programs have been scheduled for locations.  Rebecca urges everyone to read the YS blog because it’s frequently updated.

At Central, CEN Teen Room staffs are taking advantage of the Pokémon Go phenomenon.  YS staff are borrowing a few Hot Spots and leading Pokémon tours around the CEN complex and/or City Hall.  There are 2 staff members leading the group.  One staff member will be holding the Hot Spot.

Safety Update: (Gwen Walter)  Gwen shared that compared to other City departments our safety record is great.  There will be a new safety campaign launching in FY17.  It will be a 2 year process.  There will be a “Caught Being Safe” award for those staff members that are vigilant and mindful of staff safety as well as “Most Improved Location”, and “Safe Employee of the Year”.  Gwen wants to encourage managers to submit nominations for the Caught Being Safe.  Some managers asked if more training on defibrillators could be made available, since those locations that have them don’t know how to operate them.  Gwen promised to follow up, since she has now been certified as a teacher.  She added that instead of doing fire drills for every location, she will be doing safety walk-throughs on “Facility Fridays”.

Language Access Plan: (Helen Chou & Terence O’Neill) Training on the iSpeak Houston Language Access Plan is mandatory for all City of Houston Departments.  Houston has been declared one of the most diverse cities in the US and Harris County has one of the largest foreign-born populations.  The top five languages spoken in Houston are Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, and now French, which has replaced Urdu.  24% of Houstonians have limited English proficiency.

                On August 3^rd, a study of the economic impact of immigrants in Houston will be released.  Terence O’Neill from the Office of International Communities in the Department of Neighborhoods shared that the Hispanic community contributes $15 billion to the Houston economy while Asians contribute $10 billion. 

The language access plan is a response to a federal law that all public agencies are obligated to provide service to all, even those with limited English proficiency (LEP).  LEPs have trouble reading, writing or speaking English, or don’t write, read or speak it, or are hearing impaired or deaf.  When former Mayor Parker was in office, she launched Administrative Procedure 2-11 concerning Houston’s language access plan iSpeak, where all essential information would be translated in the top five foreign languages spoken in Houston. All essential documents have been translated.

                All City departments that deal with the public need to adhere to this language access plan.  Each of those departments has a written policy and a language coordinator: HPL’s is Helen Chou.  The HPL Language Access Plan can be found here:  http://www.houstontx.gov/ispeakhouston/dlap/Library.pdf. The coordinators report how the department is helping LEPs, ensure that important documents are translated into the five official languages and report how the library complies with the city policy.  Terence also discussed the difference between interpretation and translation.  Interpretation is oral and in real time while translation is word for word written communication.  iSpeak is the City of Houston’s official portal for resources, information and media that promote public access to essential information and services in languages other than English.

                Every library location has posters that list most of the foreign languages (written in that language) that non-English speakers in Houston use.  Customers can point to that language so that customer service staffs know what language they speak and can contact the language line for assistance.  In addition, non-English speaking customers can print out language access cards from on-line that tell them how to contact 911 or 311 services.  It is a pocket size card that says what language the person speaks and tells the LEP how to say “I speak … language” phonetically.  The posters should be placed in a highly visible place and staff should know what to do with them.  Staff members should also be prepared if customers come in with the smaller identification cards.  Helen will be sending out laminated posters soon.  If customers come in needing assistance in another language, there is a language line.  You can call 832-393-3000 and you’ll get a voicemail asking if you need interpretation help.  Our client ID is 50-45-49.  The department code is confidential and can be procured from your location manager.  At the April CE Managers meeting, a flow chart was distributed detailing the process staff will need to follow when requesting help with interpretation: iSpeak flow chart.

                A video was shown of the common issues LEPs face when trying to receive public services.  Terence explained that staff shouldn’t make assumptions when helping people.  You should always maintain eye contact with the LEP and speak directly to them instead of the translator.  Avoid speaking in a loud voice and avoid going through family members.  Use simple sentences and be patient.  With hearing impaired constituents, use written notes, smart phone or texting to communicate.  Central has a specific “purple” phone to use with those customers.  The Language Line will need advance notice of your need for interpretation for hearing impaired customers.  Not all deaf people can write or use a smart phone, so you need to provide a private space to communicate.  American Sign Language also has a different type of sentence structure so written messages may seem strange from a hearing impaired person. 

                All LEPs are entitled to City services by law, so staff members need to learn how to use the language line.  If you have questions, direct them to Helen.  All constituents are entitled to privacy so when using the language line, don’t use speaker phone.  Continue to report your language access numbers in your statistics.  One suggestion made was for staff to take a MANGO language course to learn another language.  Liz and Laurie will see if staff could get training credit for it.   Terence’s presentation was recorded and will be made available on-line in a few weeks. 

                Helen added that 35 staff members completed citizenship training last weekend.  She will be meeting with all locations to determine what specific needs your community has in terms of international services.

Marketing Plan: (Marjorie Gonzalez, Donna Jackson, Veronica Davidson)  Marjorie shared that her group along with Helen have been on a road show visiting locations.  Communications, Print Shop, and Virtual Services are working on streamlining the marketing process to increase consistency of messages and determine what needs printing and how much to print.  The budget for printing in general and color printing has decreased.  Marjorie says they’ve discovered that currently about 50% of the print material used to market our services go in the trash, unused.  Customers for recent big events have been surveyed and results show they learned about the event via email or on-line. 

The goal with the new calendar of events is to have events planned 12-18 months in advance and prioritize them for printing and marketing.  There will be new promotional tools to advertise programs and events.  Each location will have a push card flyer that will focus on 3 events every month.  The flyer, location specific e-newsletters and social media (Twitter, Facebook Instagram) will be used to market events.  Location events will need to be in the event module 3 months in advance.  Each location will receive a proof of your flyer at the first of the month, then approval/edits will be due by the 15^th and then the flyer will be distributed before the end of the month.  If the Print Shop doesn’t hear from you by the 15^th, they will assume the flyer is approved for printing.  Google docs will be used to collect edits and be put on the G-drive.  The folder will be labeled Neighborhood Library Marketing.  Celeste will be a CE liaison and review, select and prioritize Instagram posts. 

The calendar template will continue.  There will also be 8 ½ x 11 poster templates available to promote in house.  Staff can also reserve digital cameras and Kindles to help document an event.  Marjorie wants you to encourage customers to sign up for the location e-newsletters.  There will be no more seasonal flyers like book clubs, fitness programs or craft times and flyers for individual events will cease.  System wide projects will be filtered through Programming.  Marketing packets will take 6 months.  This stream lined process will help with flexibility for last minute projects. 

Communications will be the primary contact for all promotional endeavors rather than the Print Shop.  All email communication concerning one project will be self-contained in one email chain.  There will be a new approval form to proof a marketing piece and a new marketing evaluation form to gain feedback on the new process.  The new marketing request form will launch August 1^st.  For internal communications, there will be a monthly email newsletter.  It will highlight information from every location.  Updated information will be on the Communications Intranet Page soon.

1. Use New Marketing Request form to submit for a new project.
2. All communications for marketing requests are now through Communications - hpl.communications@houstontx.gov
3. Use the Reprint/Outreach Request form for standard reprint and outreach material requests.

                Brand Ambassadors will become point people for each location.  In a few months the team of ambassadors will be determined.  The Brand Ambassadors’ purpose is to create a cohesive library.   Action implementation will begin in November.  They will focus on consistency in library “evergreen” services.  They will maintain brand compliance in pull up banners, posters, and billboards for locations.  There will be Google AdWord campaigns, Facebook Ads, and Link newsletters coming in January.  

The timeline for this new way of marketing will be in 4 phases.  The first is the road show (already done), the 2^nd has the new forms in effect starting August 1^st, the third phase is when the location event cards will start and seasonal flyers will stop, and the fourth will be in January where all improvements will be in effect.  The Marketing presentation can be viewed here.  The e-newsletter will be sent before the beginning of each month so they can promote the upcoming month’s programming.  For in-house programming staff can use the calendar and sign templates.  The approved fonts staff can use can be found here: Approved Fonts.

More Announcements: (Liz, Laurie, Mary)  Managers were asked who on their staff is bilingual.  Those that receive bilingual pay need to verify their language proficiency.  CE Admin needs to know how frequently those staff members use their second language.  All bilingual pay staff will need to pass a competency test.  Senior managers will be requesting the information soon.

CE Teams: Laurie and Liz will be working on implementing various customer experience teams to get work done or evaluate services.  A Service to Veterans team was discussed and Julia Bradley let us know about a Reference E-Learning Quick Team she wanted to lead.  Please email Laurie and cc Liz and Leah if you are interested in helping on the Veterans team or lead or work on the Reference e-learning team.  An email will be sent to all CE staff asking for participation, so feel free to take some time to think about it.  Each team will have a CE Admin liaison that will help with scheduling meetings and keeping the team moving forward.

Buzz Magazines:  The Buzz magazines are a digital and print publication that will be partnering with HPL on creating a dedicated HPL feature section.  Their publication covers the communities of Bellaire, Memorial, River Oaks, Tanglewood, and West University. This is an opportunity to reach different community members.  Buzz wants to host a virtual book club with HPL and have our staff provide content for our weekly section. The weekly editions would be blog-type posts highlighting a specific book or several rotating for different audiences.  Buzz plans to post 1 article per week online only.  Staff will provide book recommendations for their readers, not a book review.  Those locations that are being asked to participate are HEI, OAK, RIN, LOO/MNT, KEN, STE, MEY, SWX/WAL, and CEN.

Librarian of Congress: Dr. Carla Hayden is the new Librarian of Congress.  She was confirmed on July 13^th and she’s the first woman and first African-American to hold the position.  She is also the first professional librarian in more than 60 years.

Learning Link: Our August 26^th meeting is mandatory due to the Learning Link training we will have.  We are close to finalizing the details.  Discussion still continues on what resources will be featured on the landing pages.  If you are unable to attend our August meeting, speak to your Senior Manager and Liz about attending the August 12^th training during the YS meeting instead.

Libraries for Peace: Liz spoke about the Libraries for Peace display idea that she emailed staff on 7/18.  On Friday, July 15^th Harris County Public Library posted the message, “Read something by someone you think is nothing like you—whether that separation is cultural, philosophical, or religious.  It might not change your mind, but understanding is the first step toward dialog.”  Liz sent a picture that was included with the post.  Both Central and HMRC are participating by also creating a display with the message.  If any other location decides to put up a sign or display, please take a picture and send it to Liz.  She will share it with Communications for posting on social media.

Blue Ridge: Blue Ridge staffing is still being worked out.  An email requesting recruits will be sent soon.  We need to find the right kind of people that will be able to flourish in a family and literacy centered work environment.  When Blue Ridge reopens, it will be a combination Library and WIC clinic.  The WIC part will be run by the Health Department.  Staff members will need to be able to handle crying babies and have an interest in early literacy.  Liz is looking to add a Librarian II or LS Sup that has an early literacy focus and background to the budget, but needs City approval first.

Supplies: Every location is getting a tape dispenser gun.  Those locations with iPad kiosks will also be getting wet wipes and micro-fiber cloths to clean the iPads.  The cloths can be laundered.

Plan Houston and FY17 Goals: An email will be coming out in the next week or two to all location managers and assistant managers about creating goals for your locations in FY17.  Locations used to have to create something for Communications that covered what they were hoping to accomplish that year.  Liz will be providing some guidelines for what we want in FY17 but start thinking about what legacy and accomplishments you want for your location or grouping in FY17. 

                Also make sure you become familiar with Plan Houston (http://planhouston.org/).  It is based on existing visions, goals, and strategies already created by the City and organizations representing all aspects of the community.  Plan Houston defines successful outcomes for the City and develops strategies to enhance neighborhoods and support growth and development.  This effort will improve coordination between government agencies and ensure efforts of the City and its partners are as effective as possible.  The system-wide HPL goals have to be tied to Plan Houston goals and strategies starting this fiscal year.

HEAR: Non-supervisor reviews will include professional development as a Smart goal for full-time employees and it will be up to the manager’s discretion for part-timers.  Behavioral Factors will include Customer Focus and Attendance and Punctuality.  Managers will decide the other two goals.  Detailed Professional Development goals weren’t passed out.  The base SMART goal is the one we submitted to managers last year.  Use the metric on the CE Blog as the starting place for the number of professional development hours.  Managers and employees may decide to increase the number of required hours but they should not have less than the hours listed there.  For other goals, managers and employees should work together to tailor your plans to your employees within reason.  For Supervisor reviews, Liz is working with Senior Managers on doing something similar.  There will be a SMART goal that is the same but then the others will be tailored to you and your specific role/location.

Articles: There were two articles concerning the Library in the Chronicle recently.  One describes how library projects got hit because of the bond delay.  MOO, MEY, and MNT improvements are delayed because there is no funding presently.  If you receive questions about this, please refer customers to CE Admin.  A second article focused on summer activities the library is providing for kids.  Both Karen Luik and Tony Goodwyn were quoted.

Interns: Council member Karla Cisneros is getting excellent reports regarding the summer interns she funded.  She heard from Tuttle that they’ve never had so many teenagers in the Library.  At Carnegie, the interns are having great success in helping prevent the “summer slide”. 

Each Intern and their Supervisor should have received an invite to an August 4^th luncheon in celebration of the completion of the Summer Intern program.  Supervisors need to RSVP for themselves and their intern as soon as possible.  Laurie added that it’s okay to give interns a ride in your vehicle to the event.

Pokémon:  Try to take advantage of the Pokémon craze, and incorporate it into your programming by doing a display or putting up a sign.  Share pictures of your events with Liz.  Be welcoming to those that come and use it as an opportunity to entice the public to your programs and services.

Staff Appreciation:  Our booksale budget was just received and the funds were reduced by $10,000.  Liz and Laurie will have to evaluate the entire budget to determine what is being allocated to locations for staff appreciation as a result of the reduction.  Each location’s appreciation allotment will be determined by the August meeting.  We aim to have Dimitri from Financial Services conduct a training on how to handle the paperwork. 

Flashdrives:  Laurie asked if locations have extra flash drives; please return them to CE Admin for redistribution to other locations in need.  We only have 30 left in reserve.

Outreaches:  Be proactive and start planning your fall outreaches and begin requesting your outreach collateral and prizes.  The prizes include pens, pencils, magnets and post-its and can be requested from Celeste via email.

Renovation Update: (Mary)  Collier is getting a new roof.  September is the target month for closing.  We will have access to the Jungman building by August 1^st.  JUN staff will be determined in August.  They will need help in tagging, weeding, etc. in preparation for opening.  Access to ALI is scheduled for August 8^th.  Mary hopes to have it up and running by the time school begins.  She thanked all the volunteers that have helped get all the buildings ready for closure and opening.  BLU and YOU are still a work in progress.

Open Job Lab statistics have gone up in FY16.  Mary is encouraged by those numbers for FY17.

In attendance: Felicia Brisco, Kelly Patton, Leonore Hu, Rebecca Denham, Jenny Phengdara, Chris Arrowood, Maggie Sepulveda, Robert Lewis, Drew Alvey, LeRoy Robinson, Melissa Hayes, Christy Chang, Laura Montegrande, Diane Doyen, Melinda Campbell, Tim Siegel, Tega Zoma, Monica Siboldi, Derrick Spearman, Melissa Gwinn, Virginia Williams, Mercedes Mayne, Vanessa Gempis, Erika Cardoso, Tony Goodwyn, Shirley Singletary, Alma Avina, Jayla Parks, Sylvia Espinosa, Donnie Byrd, Alexandra Drake, John Merullo, Tara Hornbeak, Tula Gorden, Dena Melvin, Jennifer Sessa, Jose Santoyo, Craig Bertuglia, Dominick Spinelli, Nhu Le, Fred Schumacher, Angela Barratt, Julia Bradley, Sara Pope, Patricia Ogea, Laney McAdow, Richard Hurst, Nathan Stokes, Karen Luik, Hellena Stokes, Gary Lackey, Christopher Patrick, Edgar Fuentes, Marcia Cameron-Denton, Paty Bustamante, Jesus Villegas, Billy Glasco, Maria Powers, Michelle King, Sue Kaufman; Guest: Rick Peralez, Britney Scott, Gwen Walter, Terence O’Neill, Marjorie Gonzalez, Veronica Davidson, Donna Jackson; CE Admin: Elizabeth Sargent, Laurie Covington, Mary Wagoner, Patrick Atkins, Djuina Hammett, Leah Fraser, Celeste Diaz, & Yolanda Anguiano