Appointment to PLA Board

Public Libraries Australia Ltd (PLA) proudly advocates on behalf of all Australian public libraries. Together, public libraries form Australia’s largest library sector.

Richard has welcomed appointment to the Board as an opportunity to contribute his wide experience of library service innovation and professional development and training.

For more information about PLA, visit http://www.pla.org.au/

Social Networking and Strategy

For customer service organisations, social networking without strategy is like a film without a plot. Sure, there may be lots of diverting colour and movement short term, but when the film ends, you leave the cinema feeling frustrated – still trying to make sense of it all.

A recent Smartblog article at http://tinyurl.com/2df57no supports the view that technology without strategy is only half the customer service story.

“Great corporate social-media efforts aren’t about technology … new gadgets aren’t what make companies great at engaging their customers — that has to come from sound strategic planning.”

An expert panel convened for BlogWorld Expo 2010 identified three emerging trends in social media strategy:

Listening to your customers is great but reaching out to them is better. Great customer service is the best crisis-communications strategy. Organisations should make staff available to answer questions and talk with customers before they become disgruntled.
No one department within an organisation (eg, Marketing) can control social media. Ultimately, all parts of the organisation will need to make effective use of social media within their areas of expertise.
Listening doesn’t mean forgetting who’s in charge – of services and the organisation’s brand. Social-media fans are only one subset of customers, and not necessarily a representative sample. Organisations must ensure that complaints received via social media truly represent how the bulk of their customers feel – not just a vocal minority. Feedback is not a substitute for good planning and judgment!

With extensive experience of social media and strategic planning, let us help your organisation ‘stay on message’ online – contact us today.

Future Proofing Libraries

Working with library managers and their teams to imagine the future, and plan accordingly, is always fun and satisfying. People enjoy ‘practical creativity’ and ‘thinking with a purpose’.

Is your Strategic Plan gathering dust in a drawer? Worried what the future holds for your library?

Call Richard on 0410 746 540 to discuss a customised ‘future proofing’ strategy for your library.

Library Thought Leaders

Recently I interviewed Joann Ransom, Head of Libraries for the Horowhenua Library Trust in New Zealand.

Joann is one of the thought leaders responsible for the Koha and Kete open source library systems. Earlier this year, Joann was named one of the American Library Association’s Movers and Shakers for 2010, the first New Zealander to be honoured in this way.

Joann’s thoughts on innovation are simple, practical and incredibly profound. Her advice to other librarians includes:

Go to conferences in other sectors, not just library conferences
Don’t over think things – ask yourself, “how hard can it be?”
Use critical friends from outside libraries to test ideas and prototypes
Communicate your vision (the big picture) from day one
Don’t get stuck trying to be perfect, and above all
Don’t be scared…try things!

It’s all good advice, from someone quietly changing the library landscape, one innovation at a time.

Follow Kete.net.nz

Library Innovation Training

“Excellent, inspiring” … “Easy to follow, informative and interesting” … “An excellent presenter”

Introducing an exciting and practical new program on Library Innovation. Topics include:

Defining opportunities to innovate
Re-discovering personal and group creativity
Overcoming ‘Innovator’s Block’
Sustaining innovation at work

A dynamic group of 12 university, government and public library managers completed the first program in Sydney in August; focussing on the roll-out of iPads in several libraries.

To discuss Library Innovation training in your organisation, email [email protected] or telephone +61 (0)410 746 540.

Creative Individuals and Teams

Feeling a little creative? Plant that seed in fertile ground and watch the innovation grow! Everyone is capable of creative thinking and innovation – it’s part of being human. In a competitive business environment buffeted by social and economic change, innovation at work is more important than ever before. Principal Consultant Richard Sayers facilitates the Personal Creativity Assessment (PCA) ® - a trusted tool for gauging how creative our workplace behavior is right now, and how it can be made more creative in the future. Presented in a supportive format that recognises individual differences and celebrates the practical power of ideas, the PCA is an excellent activity to conduct in a workshop or group setting where creativity is critical to business success.

To discuss using the Personal Creativity Assessment ® in your team or for individual coaching purposes, email [email protected] or telephone +61 (0)410 746 540.

Toowoomba Oral History Workshop

Richard will be presenting a half day oral history workshop at Toowoomba Library for ALIA Training, Saturday 5 June, 10 am – 1 pm. For details and to register online, visit http://www.alia.org.au/education/pd/pd.services/oral.history.html

Oral History Workshops

Oral history draws on our rich human tradition of storytelling and narrative to gather and record the unique life experiences of people from diverse traditions and backgrounds.

With appropriate training and the right tools, oral history can be collected by virtually anyone in the community. Public and university libraries are particularly well positioned to facilitate local oral history projects and add value.

Richard Sayers is proud to offer a new and very practical half day workshop introducing the primary tools and techniques of oral history. ALIA will be offering public dates soon. For more information, email [email protected] or telephone +61 (0)410 746 540.

Understanding Teams with Belbin and TMS

Principal Consultant Richard Sayers offers a range of consultancy and training services using the respected Belbin Team Roles (UK) and Team Management Systems (Australia and US) programs for improving individual self-knowledge and improving team performance.

For more information and to discuss using Belbin or TMS in your team or organisation, email [email protected] or telephone +61 (0)410 746 540.

Management Institute Awards Associate Fellowship

In recognition of his record of proven management achievement at a senior level, Richard Sayers has been made an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. Richard first joined the AIM (Qld & NT ) in 1991 and was a nominee for 2009 Not for Profit Manager of the Year in Queensland.