Retaining academic librarians: by chance or by design?

Abstract

Purpose -This paper seeks to examine the direct and indirect strategies that academic libraries currently use to retain librarians and the levels of satisfaction librarians express about those strategies. Design/methodology/approach -The study consisted of a 23-item survey, administered online to current academic librarians. In total, 895 viable responses were received. Findings -Respondents reported that initiatives related to professional development are the most widely available type. Respondents expressed satisfaction with most of the initiatives available to them and general agreement with positive workplace environment statements; however, administrators were substantially more satisfied than employees in other positions. Few indicated that their libraries had adopted a formal retention program, implying that the reported retention strategies are generally seen as serving another purpose. Research limitations/implications -As little previous research has been conducted on this topic, this study is inherently exploratory. The list of potential retention initiatives studied represented a wide range of strategies suggested by the literature, but it could not be exhaustive, nor can it account for variations in individuals' preferences and priorities. Factors that may contribute to employee retention usually have multiple purposes, making it difficult to state confidently whether retention is their goal. This paper questions whether retention is approached intentionally or incidentally, a worthwhile area for future study. Practical implications -Understanding current retention strategies and librarians' attitudes toward them should help library administrators to plan future retention efforts in a more deliberate way. Originality/value -A number of articles have described the importance of retention and provided advice on encouraging it. This paper is unique in examining how that advice has been implemented throughout the field of academic librarianship.

Staff Perception of Leader Emotional Competency as a Predictor of Satisfaction with Retention Factors

“…This is done through rewards for performing jobs effectively, building harmonious working relations between managers and employees and maintaining a healthy, safe work environment. Our review of the research literature indicated eight critical factors that must be considered in the retention of employees namely, employee commitment, compensation, job characteristics, training and development opportunities, career opportunities, supervisor support, work/life policies and turnover intention (Bhatnagar, 2007;Brundage & Koziel, 2010;Carraher et al, 2006;Chabault et al, 2012;Döckel, 2003;Flinkman et al, 2008;Gaiduk, Gaiduk, & Fields, 2009;Gberevbie, 2010;João & Coetzee, 2012;Kerr-Phillips & Thomas, 2009;Strothmann & Ohler, 2011;Tanton, 2007).…”

“…Research has suggested numerous reasons why employees consider leaving their employers, such as inadequate pay and benefits, lack of career opportunities, training and development, poor communication and subordinate-supervisor relationships, a negative perception of leadership and culture, an unsatisfactory work environment, a lack of autonomy and decision-making authority and conflict between family and work responsibilities (Carraher, Parnell, Carraher, Carraher, & Sullivan, 2006;Flinkman, Laine, Leino-Kilpi, Hasselhorn, & Salanterä, 2008;Gaiduk, Gaiduk, & Fields, 2009;Gberevbie, 2010;Strothmann & Ohler, 2011). Researchers recognize these reasons for leaving an organization as important factors to consider in retaining talented staff (Bhatnagar, 2007;Döckel, 2003;Döckel, Basson, & Coetzee, 2006;Kerr-Phillips & Thomas, 2009;Van Dyk, 2011).…”

Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment Among Customer Service Representatives at Call Centre Industry in Malaysia

“…Job satisfaction and organizational commitment has received much attention in various organization industries including airways (Chen, 2006), educational institution (Gopinath, 2020;Anari, 2012, Wong & Tay, 2010Arif & Junaidah, 2011), library, (Noor & Noor, 2007;Strohmann & Ohler, 2011), health (Puriene, Petrauskiene, Janulyte, & Balciuniene, 2007), tourism (Gunlu et al, 2011), police (Abdulla, Djebarni, & Mellahi, 2011) and others. With regard to the importance of satisfying and retaining employees, most organizations are now being highly concern to be proactive in understanding and dealing with these issues.…”

The chief learning officer

“…While there are libraries actively engaged in strategically integrated internal knowledge management processes (Balagué et al, 2015(Balagué et al, , 2016, it is clear that most libraries have not adopted such processes. Relatively recent studies indicate that, at least in academic libraries, there is an overall lack of attention to retention in general (Strothmann and Ohler, 2011) and to specific programs that might aid in retention (Harrington and Marshall, 2014). Without CLO-like oversight of retention initiatives, libraries will continue to face the challenges associated with engaging and retaining employees common to all organizations including libraries (Markgren et al, 2007;Deloitte, 2016).…”