Succession Planning and the Talent Management Toolbox

This chapter defines succession planning as a key component of talent management and explains its relevance for academic libraries. With a combination of unique human capital challenges and the current higher education environment, academic libraries are now facing risks that require special considerations as they plan for the future. In this chapter, the authors define talent management and succession planning and review the major models that are currently in use. They then discuss the “decision-science” framework, which they propose is best suited for addressing future talent needs in academic libraries. Such elements as resources and processes, organization and talent, and sustainable strategic success are highlighted as avenues to linking overall decisions around impact, effectiveness, and efficiency. The final aspect of the chapter includes techniques for developing the talent pipeline, identifying “pivotal” positions, and developing strategies and practices. Assessing progress against talent management goals, including identifying specific metrics, is also outlined.

The Role of Professional Protocols

The cultivation of professionalism is a necessary part of training the academic and research library leaders of the future. By incorporating professionalism into succession planning efforts, individuals acquire skills that will serve them across institutions as they transition between positions of power. For the purposes of this study, the aspects of professionalism were divided into four main categories: etiquette, professional behavior, personal presentation, and space (how people fill and use it). This chapter examines existing literature and contains the results of a survey of how library employees feel about professional protocols. It argues that the observance of professional protocols can impact student satisfaction as well as create a more positive work environment. Results of the survey indicate that libraries value professionalism with an emphasis on professional behavior.

Influence and Leadership

Innumerable conversations have been held over the decades, with increasing frequency, about the future of the library, information, and knowledge profession. The profession of librarianship was once well defined by describing library and information professionals as custodians of and guides to content; that description is no longer adequate, and the profession is perceived to be fragmenting. Furthermore, the rapid extension of the domains in which professionals with library and information credentials are active—information architecture, knowledge and collaboration management, social media—has led to the suggestion that the library profession is losing its identity in society. The chapter considers the profession's status and asks whether a focus on leadership and influence may have a role in securing a productive occupational future for its members: What single umbrella term could bind library and information professionals together, give them a cohesive identity, and tell the world why they are worth their pay?

Strategic Planning in Special Libraries and Information Centers

The strategic planning process in special libraries and information centers is described, with emphasis given to the importance of planning efforts being tightly aligned with the business goals of the parent organization. Success in executing the strategic plan is strongly dependent on developing and polishing skill sets needed by persons active in the workforce today, while concurrently growing leadership and technical talent to meet future challenges. Following a discussion of general characteristics that distinguish special libraries and information centers from academic and public libraries, key concepts related to the strategic planning process in an organizational context are presented. A case study of the strategic planning efforts at a special library, the Illinois Fire Service Institute Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, illustrates the process and benefits gained from following the goals and strategies highlighted in the plan. The authors offer insightful recommendations to those involved in the planning process and suggest future research directions.

Preparing Tomorrow’s Library Managers

This chapter reports on a study of leadership development and succession planning at The University of the West Indies Libraries. The research shows that in the absence of formal succession planning, leadership training takes place in tandem with the staff appraisal and career development process. The annual appraisal and assessment system provides the opportunity for staff who aspire to leadership positions to be guided in their career development and thus be better prepared when vacancies arise. The benefits provided to academic, senior administrative and professional staff—for example, funding for travel and professional activities, special leave for scholarly pursuits and other career development opportunities—are utilised by librarians to advance their careers. The chapter highlights the importance of strict adherence by library administration to the annual appraisal and assessment processes and staff use of organisational support for career development as integral components in leadership development and succession planning and implementation.

Succession Planning and the Library

This chapter focuses on the strategic planning aspects of succession planning in libraries. The idea of succession planning needs to be included in the long-range plan. Strategic planning grows from a strong mission and vision and, in this case, implementing succession planning as a value. By employing some foresight in the development of policy, an environment supporting succession planning is created. Becoming part of the process and gaining a support network with resources are important aspects of this discussion. Assessment of the current situation and considering the structure of the library also come into play. Creating a strategic plan that involves succession planning is the goal.

The Code of Ethics and Workplace Behaviors

An investigative study was performed to better understand the practical influence of the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics on the workplace behaviors and decisions of academic librarians. Participants in this investigative study were credentialed academic librarians working in North American college and university libraries, and this chapter focuses on academic librarians who hold leadership positions in management and administration. Study results show no significant results between COE familiarity and effects on ethical behaviors in the workplace; however, these results have implications for the debate surrounding enforcement of the COE and offer some insight into the links between the challenges of succession planning, leadership, and ethical behaviors in academic library environments.

Effective Recruitment Practices as Part of a Larger Plan

This chapter explores recruitment. Recruitment is intrinsic to succession planning and management. Succession planning relies on external recruitment to bring appropriate individuals into the organization. In addition, because of succession planning's focus on developing and advancing individuals within the organization, internal recruitment is a key process. Recruitment is often subsumed within discussions of personnel selection, but it is a distinct stage in the employer-employee relationship. There is a substantial and growing body of empirical research on recruitment in the industrial/organizational psychology literature. It is important for libraries to learn from the body of empirical research on effective recruiting. The growing complexity and mutability of professional work in libraries is making it more difficult for libraries to attract and engage appropriate individuals for employment. Effective recruiting practice is becoming increasingly important for libraries, and it is a precursor to effective succession planning.

Mentoring for Retention, Promotion, and Advancement

Mentoring can play a key role in the career development of librarians. Formal mentoring programs are often available for students enrolled in graduate library and information science programs, for early career professionals through a variety of professional associations, and for librarians at the institutions in which they work. The goals of these mentoring programs may vary, and can range from orientation to promotion or retention and even to advancement. Using the 115 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) academic members as a population, this chapter examines the mentoring practices that may be in place at these institutions by closely reading and analyzing the existing mentoring documentation that was available on their Websites. In all, 22 ARL institutions had mentoring documentation available for analysis. The findings indicate that a large majority of the mentoring programs studied have defined orientation and promotion as their main objectives, while far fewer make any mention of advancement or leadership development as their objectives. Further research is recommended to study both formal and informal mentoring opportunities at ARL institutions.