Position Profiles: Strategic Tools1 Position Profiles: Strategic Tools for Career Advancement Margaret Basket Carol Bekar SLA Annual Meeting, Baltimore

Position Profiles: Strategic Tools 1

Position Profiles:Strategic Tools for Career Advancement

Margaret Basket

Carol Bekar

SLA Annual Meeting, Baltimore

June 12, 2006

Position Profiles: Strategic Tools 2Position Profiles: Strategic Tools 2

Agenda• Change within the modern information

organization• Pharmaceutical & Health Technology Division

(DPHT) Position Profiles Project – Overview– Deliverables– DPHT member feedback – Project challenges & lessons learned

• Position profiles as strategic tools• Discussion & questions• Next steps?


The Evolving Library

THEN…• Paper-based• Bound by walls• Gate keepers• Organized around

functions, processes, & services

NOW…• Digital-based• Global reach• Consultants• Organized around

goals & results

How are we getting there?


The Modern Library Professional

• Integrates within the parent organization• Utilizes technology & partners with IT• Participates on global teams• Understands and anticipates client needs • Strives to connect the client to the right

information at the right time in the right format


Position Profiles

• Describe the responsibilities of contemporary information professionals

• Identify necessary professional, technical, personal and educational competencies

• Reinforce the value of information professionals within their organizations

• Provide a career path for information professionals


The DPHT Position Profile Project• Funded by a 2004-2005 SLA Endowment

Grant• Vision: create generalized profiles

describing the work of information professionals in Healthcare Industries

• Incorporate SLA’s Competencies for Information Professionals of the 21st Century, revised June 2003– http://www.sla.org/content/learn/comp2003/index.cfm


Project Team

• Margaret Basket, project leader

• Carol Bekar, project consultant

• Stephanie Fitch

• Karen Mirabile

• Cheryl Schairer


DPHT Project Goals (1)• Provide a resource for:

– Benchmarking– Strategic Planning– Marketing– Professional Development & Career Planning– Recruitment

• Profiles are intended to be a guideline– They should be adapted and customized by

each individual organization


DPHT Project Goals (2)• Create general position profiles that can be

adapted by members of the SLA community– Collaborative effort – Peer reviewed– Sponsored by an established professional

organization• Involve Division members in the project

– Contribute existing job descriptions– Review drafts of emerging profiles– Participate in focus groups

• Distribute electronic copies of deliverables widely in easy-to-read/utilize/modify format


Position Profile Title

# of Submissions Contributing

to ProfileExecutive, Senior Director 10Director Information Analysis 7Senior Information Analyst 19Information Analyst 15Director Library Operations 15Digital Librarian/Web Content Librarian 2Content Manager for Electronic Resources 1Associate Librarian 3Assoc. Dir. Taxonomy & Content Services 3Senior Information Project Manager 1Information Project Manager 3Associate Information Project Manager 2Assoc. Dir. Global Product Literature System 4Assoc. Dir. Communication & Training 1

Total number of submitted job descriptions contributing to the position profiles project 86

Member Contributions to the Project


Project Deliverables

• Overview and user guide

• Detailed position profiles– Established & emerging positions

• Summary document comparing key aspects of positions

• Sample organization charts


Position Titles

• Executive Director• Dir. Information Analysis• Sr. Information Analyst• Information Analyst• Dir. Library Operations• Digital Librarian• Mgr e-Resources

• Assoc. Librarian• Mgr. Taxonomy• Sr. Info. Proj. Mgr.• Info. Proj. Mgr.• Assoc. Info. Proj. Mgr.• Mgr. Global Prod.

Literature System• Mgr. Communication &

Training


Position Profile Details

• Position Title(s)

• Summary Description

• Professional Competencies

• Personal Competencies

• Education & Experience


• Provides overall vision, strategic direction, and management of Library and Information services and may include Records Management functions.

• Responsible for policy, strategy, budget, and staff development.

• Ensures a cost effective service responsive to the organization’s research & business goals to advance its competitive position in the marketplace.

Example Summary Description: Executive Director


Example Summary Description:Information Project Manager• Directs the design, development, and support of broad

scope, complex Information Management (IM) systems or business processes.

• Reengineers global, multi-divisional business processes to improve information flow and enhance productivity.

• Develops metrics to evaluate process or system efficiency.

• Contributes to long-range project planning and the evolving technical architecture across individual projects.

• Leads and manages projects to advance information management initiatives.


Example Summary Description:Manager Communications & Training

• Develops, manages and executes plans for evaluating and marketing existing and proposed products and services offered by the Information Management department.

• Ensures that plans are consistent with the department’s strategy and enhance the value of information management to the business.


Summary Document

• Compares key aspects of positions:– Title

– Span of control

– Decision making authority

– Budget authority

– Key working relationships

– Education & experience


IML ead e rsh ipT eam

P o sitionP ro files n ota va ila b le

P o sitionP ro filesa va ila b le

LEG EN D

A d m in is tra t ive A sst

#3Sr. Inform ation Analyst

#4Inform ation Analyst

#2Dir. Inform ation Analysis

#6Digital Librarian

#7Content M gr e-Resources

#8Associate Librarian

#5Dir. Library Operations

#11Inform ation Project M gr

#12Assoc. Info. Project M gr

#10Sr Information Project M gr

T e ch n ica l A ssis ta n ts

#13Assoc. Dir.

G lobal Product Literature


#14Assoc. Dir.

Com m unication & Training


#9Assoc. Dir.Taxonom y

#1Executive Director IM

V ice P re sid e n t/S e n io r V P

Information Management Organization Chart #1


LEG EN D :

P o sitionP ro files n otava ilab le

IML ead ersh ipT eam

P o sitionP ro filesava ilab le

A d m in is tra tive A sst

#3Sr. Inform ation Analyst

#4Inform ation Analyst

#2Dir. Inform ation Analysis

#6Digital Librarian

#7Content M gr e-Resources

#8Associate Librarian


#13Assoc. Dir.

G lobal Product Literature


#9Assoc. Dir.Taxonom y

#5Dir. Library O perations

#11Inform ation Project M gr

#12Assoc. Info. Project M gr

#10Sr Information Project M gr


#14Assoc. Dir.

Com m unication & Training

#1Executive Director IM

V ice P re sid e n t/S e n io r V P

Information Management Organization Chart #2


Download Project Deliverables• Documents available in Word format (.doc)• Organizational charts available in PowerPoint

format (.ppt)• All documents can be viewed & downloaded at the

following site:– DPHT Employment Relations Page:

http://www.sla.org/division/dpht/Members%20Only/emprelat.cfm(SLA membership ID and PIN required)

– Project blog (for a limited time only): http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/dpht_position_profile_pro/


Member Feedback (1)

• This is really important work with useful deliverables

• One of the outcomes of this project should be to “stretch our possibilities”

• Every organization is a hybrid of these functions

• This brings position descriptions to a whole new level. Meeting these competencies will be a challenge.


Member Feedback (2)• Shattering the “glass ceiling”:

– We manage large budgets– We manage large numbers of people– We provide critical & sensitive compliance, scientific,

and competitive activities– Our peers at this level are recognized with a certain

status– What do we have to do to achieve parity with other

industry professionals?

• Collaborate with an SLA division where information pros are directors to find out how we can achieve parity?


Member Feedback (3)

• Don’t just want to be compared to other librarians-want to be compared to other managers as well. Titles are important.

• Debate over labels chosen for positions:

– Librarian

– Cataloger


Project Challenges• Requirements for higher level management

positions (science background? PhD?)

• Specifying education and experience requirements for positions (MLS vs. science backgrounds)

• Creating technical vs. managerial track


Lessons Learned• Many information organizations have

outdated job descriptions

• Position profiles are not time sinks; they have value in today’s business environment

• Executive titles are very difficult to achieve

• Information professionals are passionate about titles and perception


Do you have comments about the DPHT Position Profiles Project?


Great, so we have position profiles.

How will they be useful to me?


Position Profiles: A Tool for Benchmarking• How does your organization incorporate

the services described by the position profiles?– Does your organization provide the services

detailed in the profiles?– How is your information organization

positioned within the parent organization?– Does your staff exhibit the professional and

personal competencies listed?


Position Profiles: A Tool for Strategic Planning• The position profiles could inspire:

– Marketing campaigns– Expansion of services– New or expanded staff positions– An organization wide development plan– Discussion and collaboration within our

industry related to elevating our status and positions within our organizations


Position Profiles: A Tool for Marketing• The position profiles can be used to

market services and opportunities both internally and externally– Job postings– Creation of pertinent and accurate job

descriptions for submission to HR– Accurately represent your work to other

organizations with whom you interact (e.g. IT)


Position Profiles: A Tool for Professional Development & Career Planning

• The details within the position profiles (e.g. the personal and professional competencies, position summaries) could guide:– Individual or organizational development

plans– The creation of formal job ladders with clear

expectations


Position Profiles: A Tool for Recruitment• The healthcare industries face a shortage

of information professionals with science backgrounds. These position profiles could help:– Encourage undergraduate science majors to

pursue information science– Increase awareness of an information related

alternate career path among workers with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in science


How could these position profiles be used as a strategic tool for both career advancement and advancement of the profession?


We need your input!• Feedback!

– Are the profiles useful? – How will you use them?

• Ideas for disseminating deliverables• Ideas about keeping the profiles current• How can we incorporate these materials into

recruiting efforts?• How do we break through to the Executive level

without leaving the profession?• What should we do as a follow-up to this

project?


Leave your commentson the blog!

– http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/dpht_position_profile_pro/


Recommended Reading

John Cohn and Ann Kelsey

Staffing the Modern Library: a How To Do It Manual.

New York: Neal-Schuman, 2005


Questions?

Margaret Basket [email protected]

Carol Bekar [email protected]