Quantum² Highlights
A newsletter of the Dialog leadership development program for information professionals

Dear Quantum² Member...
Just as spring heralds the making of plans for relaxing summer holidays, so the fast-approaching conference season highlights the chance for us to use these valuable learning and networking opportunities to boost our personal professional development. Amongst the biggest of these learning and networking events is the SLA Annual Conference. This year, the “mile high” city of Denver, Colo., plays host to the conference from June 3-6, 2007. As usual, Quantum² sessions will be part of the offering of continuing education (CE) courses. To find out more on the topics we will be offering, read on.

Quantum² at SLA

SLA Annual Conference is being held June 3-6, 2007, in Denver, Co. This year our two Quantum² CE courses are being offered through partnership with division programming for the Legal Division and for the Leadership & Management Division. Whilst we are thrilled to be collaborating with members at the grassroots level, of course, you do not have to specifically be members of either of these divisions to attend the sessions. You qualify for the member rate just by being a member of SLA. We look forward to welcoming you. To find out more about these sessions and to register, see below.

Negotiation Skills for Information Professionals

Saturday June 2, 2007 8:00am — 12noon Ticket #180, Member $199/ Non-member $299 Presented by Betty Jo Hibberd, for Leadership & Management Division

Partnering with Management to Achieve Results

Saturday June 2, 2007 8:00am — 12noon Ticket #170, Member $199/ Non-member $299 Presented by Liz Blankson-Hemans, for Legal Division

To register for these events, please visit the SLA Conference Website at www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2007/index.cfm

Quantum² for Australia/New Zealand

In addition, Quantum² members in Australia and New Zealand can mark the date of May 30, 2007, in their calendars, as we will be soon posting the details for a web session specially timed for take-up in the region, to be presented by Melinda Kershaw, our local coach. The topic will be Measuring Impact: Cost Justification for Information Services.

Quantum² Topic of the Month
Communicating Your Message with Service Level Agreements

As an information professional, how often have you wondered why it is that you sometimes find your clients do not know what it is that you do? Or that even if they know what it is you do, why they try to get you to toke care of things that either nobody knows what to do with, or nobody else wants to take care of?

One of the best ways to make sure that your clients and patrons know exactly what you are about is to communicate effectively what it is that you do and how you do it. This can be done by “setting the stage” to agree ground rules and manage expectations through Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

According to Naomi Karten, a speaker, consultant and author with experience in addressing communication gaps, service level agreements are

• Communications tool
• Establish ground rules for working together
• Criteria for gauging service effectiveness and quality
• Specifies service provided
• Conditions of service availability
• Service standards (eg timeframes)
• Costs vs service tradeoffs
• Escalation procedures
• Service disagreement resolution procedures

(Establishing Service Level Agreements by Naomi Karten, available at www.nkarten.com/sla.html#est).

Service level agreements are excellent tools for helping service providers and their customers improve communications, manage expectations, clarify responsibilities and build foundations for lasting relationships. They can be effective communications mechanisms for creating a common understanding between the parties regarding service delivery and availability, responsibilities and priorities on each side. They help prevent conflict and can be objective platforms for assessing service effectiveness and quality.

By creating an SLA or “charter” for your information service delivery, you will have a solid basis for engaging with your patrons in activities which they know and understand you to be expert on, and you will avoid them placing unrealistic demands on you or your resources. The end result is a more effective and targeted delivery to meet client expectations.

This and other skills and attributes form the core of many Quantum² workshops and web resources. For more tips on boosting your personal and professional competencies, visit the Quantum² Web pages at http://quantum.dialog.com/.

As always, your suggestions for workshop topics are welcomed. Also, if you know a friend or colleague who would benefit from Quantum², please encourage them to sign up today.

Liz Blankson-Hemans
Director, IPMD
Thomson Scientific