ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Joe,

You are a wise man indeed.


Preeti,  

I have often found the tazer or threat there of to be helpful.

Good Luck,

Mike




Mike Levad
Lead Exhibit Developer
651-631-4735 (direct)
651-631-221 xt.735
651-631-0707fax    
Toll free: 800-433-9599
[log in to unmask]
www.splitrockstudios.com



On 2/20/07 11:35 AM, "Joe Ruggiero" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> Hello Preeti,
> 
> Maybe these folks are just being 'thoughtful,' allowing visitors time to
> gather around before beginning a demonstration. I don't think I've ever
> seen an ASTC session that started on time - even my own. We always give
> the stragglers a few minutes to settle in.
> 
> Or maybe, that as 'casual' employees, they're doing their jobs as
> described - casually. In a way it's comforting for me to see that people
> can act like people and not like machines. But, you may not like this
> slowly slipping schedule, which can admittedly cause chaos down the
> line. I assume firing is not an option because these people perform
> important tasks through out the museum and you need them. Let me tell
> you of a very important lesson I learned from one of my employees when I
> was a supervisor at your very same New York Hall of Science.
> 
> This guy was a talented craftsman and he did beautiful work, when he had
> worthwhile work to do.  But when he had crappie little filler projects
> assigned to him he wouldn't show up for days at a time, sometimes
> without even a phone call. When I asked him about it, he told me he had
> a little balance scale in his head. When the benefits of coming to work
> favored him, he came in. When the balance did not favor him, he did
> something else.
> 
> I realized I also had a balance in my head. In his case, the quality of
> the work he did for the Hall when he did come in outweighed the loss of
> work when he didn't. This was a brilliant revelation for me. I think the
> guy deserves a Noble Prize in economics. Isn't it like that for all of
> us? The sum of the benefits of doing a job have got to outweigh the
> negative aspects or we wouldn't show up. And it is the same with these
> casual employees
> 
> Obviously, the two sides have found a balance point. You're annoyed by
> their tardiness but not quite annoyed enough to fire them. They tolerate
> the work but don't love it quite enough to be worried by being fired or
> being on time
> 
> The solution to me seems obvious. You have to increase the benefits of
> being employed to the point where they will care about being let go.
> Benefits could include higher pay, but that's not the only benefit you
> have to offer. You could also offer them more responsibility, greater
> respect and more interesting assignments. Find a way of making the job
> more valuable to them and they will likely do a better job for you.
> 
> These people are your institution's interface with visitors. Though
> often the lowest paying position on staff they are likely to have the
> biggest impact on the visitor experience, perhaps more so than the
> exhibits they help interpret or the demonstrations they perform.
> Personally, I think it takes a very special person to do this kind of
> job well. Think of it, a director or a couple of department heads can be
> 'no-shows' for days on end and that doesn't affect the visitor at all.
> Have a few floor staff call in sick and it's a nightmare on 111th Street.
> 
> 
> Joe R.
> 
> 
> 
> Preeti Gupta wrote:
> 
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>> *****************************************************************************
>> 
>> 
>> Hi everyone,
>> 
>> We are experiencing a problem getting our casual staff to start their
>> demos on time. Sometimes they are running from one post to another,  but
>> other times, they have a warped sense of what it means to start a  demo
>> on time. They have been clearly instructed that they must report  to
>> their post 10 minutes before its scheduled start time, but they  just
>> don't care. I have tried discipline, positive reinforcements,  morale
>> boosting talks, responsibility talks, it looks bad on "me"  talks, and
>> staff will shape up for a day or two, but then it reverts  back to old
>> ways.
>> 
>> Does anyone have any advice on how to get about 150 college students  to
>> get to their posts 10 minutes early? (Assume they are not running  from
>> a different post.)
>> 
>> 
>> Preeti Gupta
>> Vice President for Education
>> New York Hall of Science
>> 47-01 111 Street
>> Queens, NY 11368
>> P. 718.699.0005 ext. 349
>> F. 718.699.5227
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ***********************************************************************
>> More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
>> Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at
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>> 

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