ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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OK, I have to put my two cents in. Joe, I am very sorry, but I think the attitude of letting employees choose what aspects of their job they want to do is a slippery slope. We all have aspects of our jobs that we do not enjoy/like. But that doesn't mean we are any less responsible for those aspects. Just because our work environments are more casual doesn't mean we should be any less professional. And it doesn't do our employees any justice in setting expectations low, which you do when employees don't have to fulfill all their job requirements. And what happens to those employees when they move to a different job/workplace where that attitude is not tolerated? Expecting staff to fulfill all their job requirements, no matter how little they enjoy doing them, increases the professionalism of the science center and the individual employee.
I think we all are very lucky that we enjoy our jobs at science centers, much more than most people, and that the not-so-fun aspects play a very small part in our otherwise fun jobs.
-Elizabeth Wiles
Science on the Go! Supervisor
Pacific Science Center
Seattle
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joe Ruggiero
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 9:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: need advice-getting staff to start programs on time
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
> http://www.astc.org.
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>
--
ÐÏࡱá
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More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
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To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
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