National Occupational Standards
National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Introduction Introduction to this guide The National Occupational Standards (NOS) for information and library services, archive services and record management describe the standard of work required of those who work in the sector. The contribution that these NOS can make to the development of qualifications is well established; however their relevance to human resource development and performance management is less well understood. The NOS are, in fact, practical resource tools with the ability to support staff at every level throughout the workforce, giving rise to personal, managerial and organisational benefits. A growing number of individuals and organisations now stand testimony to the rewards that NOS can bring in terms of reducing workload, improving effectiveness, reducing resource expenditure and focussing the industry. NOS can be used to support the full range of human resource development activities: from the management of your continuing professional development, to the design of recruitment and selection procedures, through to planning and undertaking organisational change. Flexible, free of cost, easily obtained and with the potential to significantly reduce the time, money and effort spent undertaking regular work-related tasks, NOS has much to contribute to the provision of quality services. This user guide demonstrates how to make the most of this freely available, easily accessible resource. The guide does not have to be read from cover to cover, its bulk is merely a reflection of the flexibility of NOS and the variety of activities that it can be used to support. You can click on a link in the guide to go to another section of the document, or to connect to an external website. The guide is divided into two parts: Part A which provides a general introduction to NOS and highlights the unique characteristics of the libraries, archives, information services and record management NOS, and Part B which explains how NOS can be used and provides several examples of its application in the workplace.
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Contents Part A
4.0 Preparing to use the standards
Introducing the standards 1.0 Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management National Occupational Standards (NOS)
4.1 Considerations in preparing to use the standards
5.0 Step-by-step guides for using the NOS
1.1 What are the NOS and who are they for?
5.1 Guide to developing a role profile
1.2 The benefits of using the NOS
5.2 G uide to identifying your role-related personal development needs
1.3 T he organisation and components of the libraries, archives and information services NOS Suites 1.4 The structure of individual standards
2.0 The relationship between the libraries, archives and information services NOS and other sets of standards
5.3 G uide to using the NOS for recruitment and selection 5.4 Guide to using the NOS for inducting new staff 5.5 G uide to establishing a framework for performance management 5.6 G uide for using the NOS to help manage your continuing professional development activities 5.7 G uide to using the NOS to support organisational change
2.1 S tandards of key relevance to the libraries, archives and information services sector 2.2 T he libraries, archives and information services NOS and the wider context of National Occupational Standards
6.0 Appendices 6.1 A ppendix A – Titles and summaries of the Operational Functions covered in the libraries, archives and information services NOS Suite
Part B
Putting the standards to work 3.0 An overview of how the standards can help you
3.1 H ow the standards can support your personal development
6.2 A ppendix B – Titles and summaries of the Managerial and Practitioner Functions covered in the 2008 libraries, archives and information services NOS Suite 6.3 Appendix C – Useful resources and contacts 6.4 A ppendix D – NOS related terms used in this User Guide
3.2 H ow the standards can support your day-to-day management activities 3.3 H ow the standards support the development of the workforce
National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
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Part A
Introducing the standards
.0 Information and Library Services, Archives Services 1 and Record Management National Occupational Standards (NOS) This section covers:
1.1 The benefits of using the NOS
1.2 What are the NOS and who are they for?
1.3 The organisation and components of the libraries, archives and information services NOS Suites
1.4 The structure of individual standards
1.1 The benefits of using the NOS The information and library services, archive services and record management National Occupational Standards (NOS) have been developed through extensive national consultation with the employees and employers across the sector. As such, they specify the standards of performance required in the industry across the UK and are consistent with the range of government initiatives that focus on the delivery of high quality service. Benefits associated with the NOS include:
Flexibility: the NOS can make a valuable contribution to almost any human resource development purpose. Based on discrete functions and expressed as modules they can be used independently or in combination to meet a wide variety of needs. Irrespective of whether you are using NOS to support management activities, or whether you are using them to support your own personal development needs, time invested in familiarising yourself with NOS is well spent because of the vast array of activities that it can support.
Dependability: developed though national consultation with the sector – you can be certain that the standards described in NOS have widespread acceptability. NOS represent a nationally agreed benchmark, so you can be confident that they express competent performance throughout the industry. Cost effective: the economic gains which can be achieved by using the NOS are easily recognised. Unlike most other human resource tools, NOS are free to obtain. Being crown copyright, they can also be adapted to meet your own needs, without implication. NOS have the ability to speed up any activity related to the development of human resources, from conducting self-appraisals to writing job descriptions and providing the format for appraisals. The resource expenditure that they can save in terms of both time and money is therefore potentially immeasurable.
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part A | Introducing the standards
Convenience: All accredited NOS are stored on a government website, so you can download exactly what you need, when you need it. You can extend your search to look at libraries, archives, and information services and record management functions that you are not familiar with or extend your investigation to other industries without wasting time sorting through a mass of irrelevant information.
Recognising achievement: The modular nature of NOS means that they can be used to recognise individual performance by indicating when a member of staff has reached the required level of competence. New vocational qualifications at Levels 2 and 3 are currently being developed, based on the NOS and qualifications that already exist for some of the generic NOS in the suite. This is of additional benefit since it means that if you are working towards meeting the criteria specified in a standard, you could also be simultaneously working towards obtaining an additional qualification. There are benefits associated with the use of NOS for individuals, managers and organisations. Consequently NOS have the potential to improve service delivery and professionalisation throughout the workforce. Fig 1.2 - The contribution the NOS can make to the workforce:
Units of Assessment CPD Recognition
National Occupational Standards
Personal & Professional Development
Manage Personal
Career Progression
Workforce Planning & Organisational Workforce Development Performance Management
Improvements to service delivery, professionalisation and workforce mobility
Qualifications
You may also be interested in looking at Section 3 of this user guide An overview of how the standards can help you which provides related information.
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Part A | Introducing the standards
1.2 What are the NOS and who are they for? The libraries, archives and information services NOS have been developed for staff who work in the libraries, archives and information services and records management sector. They describe the skills, knowledge and understanding required for the functions carried out within the sector. NOS were first established in the United Kingdom in 1986. They are sponsored and promoted by key government departments and agencies with responsibility for education, training and qualifications, as well as all local government employers and organisations. NOS have been widely used by individuals and organisations throughout the UK for many years. They have been developed for the majority of occupations across the public, private and voluntary sectors and are well used in industries such as retail, manufacturing, the fire service, and throughout management and leadership roles, for example. The libraries, archives and information services NOS are the responsibility of Lifelong Learning UK, which is the independent employer-led Sector Skills Council responsible for the professional development of staff working in the UK lifelong learning sector. The project steering group overseeing their development included: The Chartered Institute of Libraries and Information Professionals (CILIP), the Archives and Records Association (ARA, formerly Society of Archivists), UNISON and sector representatives from across the four nations. The diagram in Fig 1.2 demonstrates the contribution that NOS can make to improving the quality of service in the industry.
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part A | Introducing the standards
.3 The organisation and components of the libraries, 1 archives and information services NOS Suites Collected together as sets, NOS available for a sector are described as a ‘suite’. There are two ‘suites’ of NOS available to the libraries, archives and information services sector. One of these suites covers the management and practitioner functions carried out in the industry and the other covers the operational functions. Together these two suites of NOS cover the whole of the sector’s UK workforce, being applicable to both private and public sector workers. To aid use, individual standards within the NOS suites are divided into areas. The areas covered in the two suites are shown below. Areas in the suite containing Operational Functions Titles and summaries of the NOS in this suite is shown in (Appendix A)
Area AS:
Archive Services
Area RM: Records Management Area IL:
Information and Library Services
Areas in the suite containing Practitioner and Managerial Functions Titles and summaries of the NOS in this suite is shown in (Appendix B)
Area A:
Planning, developing and evaluating services
Area B:
Governance and ethics
Area C:
Identifying, evaluating and acquiring content and collections
Area D:
Managing knowledge
Area E:
Managing content and collections
Area F:
Facilitating access to and use of content and collections
Area G:
Facilitating lifelong learning
Area H:
Managing people to deliver services
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Part A | Introducing the standards
Like the majority of competence based standards, individual standards in both suites describe the skills and knowledge associated with a specific function or occupational activity. Two types of functions are described:
Sector specific functions – describe activities that are specific to the libraries, archives and information services and records management sector. Generic functions – describe activities that relate to areas such as customer service, training and development or generic management and leadership which are carried out in a number of sectors as well as in the libraries, archives and information services sector. These generic functions have been developed by other sector bodies who have the responsibility for ensuring that NOS covering these areas apply across sectors, meeting the needs of all the industries in which they may be applied. The importation of these generic functions into the libraries, archives and information services suite encourages the transferability of skills, ensures standards are consistent with wider industry benchmarks and assists the NOS user by collecting NOS most relevant to the sector in a single document. NOS in the suites do vary slightly in format, depending on their origin. This may be particularly noticeable in the case of the generic NOS where standards have been imported from other sectors; however, the main components remain consistent. The structure of individual standards is discussed in more detail in Section 1.4.
1.4 The structure of individual standards All NOS have a title, a list of outcomes and a list of the knowledge and understanding that underpins performance. Depending on the Sector Skills Council responsible for their development, NOS may also have additional sections covering areas such as skills, behaviours, values, key words or range. This is true of all the NOS in the libraries, archives and information services suite covering management and practitioner functions. Although this may seem confusing at first, recognition of the main parts of a standard will become relatively straightforward after working with one or two different types. If you are completely new to NOS, focussing on the performance requirements and the underpinning knowledge will help in the familiarisation process. The sections below provide a description of the main components of NOS, whilst introducing the structure of the standards in the libraries, archives and information services suite.
NOS Summary: Most of the standards in the NOS suites have a summary. The purpose of the summary is to provide the reader with an ‘at-a-glance’ indication of what the rest of the standard contains. However, there are often other useful pieces of information included in this section, for example, details of the type of staff the standard is likely to apply to or the relationship between the standard and other standards in the suite. If the standard has been imported from another sector, this information is also often included in the summary.
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part A | Introducing the standards
Elements: All of the NOS in the Operational Suite are broken down into elements. Several of the standards in the Management Suite also take this form. Elements are simply a breakdown of a single function into two or more coherent ‘chunks’ that would make sense to an employer, a learner or member of staff carrying out the function. In the Operational Suite for example, ‘RM/8 Organise information and material’ is broken down into ‘8.1 Classify information and material’ and ‘8.2 Catalogue information and material’. Standard RM/8
Consists of 2 elements
Organise Information and material
8.1 Classify information & materials 8.2 Catalogue information& materials
Outcomes of effective practice: These are a series of observable and objective criteria which describe the standard to which the activity should be carried out. They are a key part of all competence based standards and are listed under different headings according to the individual standard. In the libraries, archives and information services standards the outcomes of performance are usually presented with a boxed border around them, which should make them relatively easy to spot. In terms of headings they may be preceded by a heading entitled ‘Outcomes of effective practice’ or ‘Performance criteria’ or they may be listed following a statement in bold text, reading ‘To meet the standard, you must be able to:’. For a member of staff to be judged as competent in an activity, they must be able to achieve all of the outcomes when they are carrying out the activity described in the standard.
Knowledge and understanding: This is a list of the knowledge and understanding which underpins performance. This is not a list of ‘nice to know’ or ‘background’ information, but rather a distillation of essential knowledge and understanding required to carry out the activity competently. This listing includes knowledge which could not be inferred from an observation of performance. In some instances the knowledge and understanding is divided up into sections, however this should make little difference to the overall reading of the standard.
Behaviours: NOS in the suite covering practitioner and management functions are also supported by a list of the behaviours associated with the activity described in the standard. Many, but not all, NOS suites include behaviours as part of the standard. An example of a typical standard is shown in Figures 1.4.1 to 1.4.3 overleaf.
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Part A | Introducing the standards
Figure 1.4.1 Example of the first part of a standard, taken from the practitioner and management suite for the libraries, archives and information services sector
Area in the Suite Reference & Title of the Standard
NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS INFORMATION AND LIBRARY SERVICES, ARCHIVE SERVICES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT Area D – Managing knowledge Standard D1 – Develop policies and strategies for knowledge management What is the standard about? This standard is about defining the organisation’s intention in implementing knowledge management (KM) practices and the development of strategies to support the organisation’s objectives. It is relevant to people who lead or who are active in influencing the future direction of KM in their organisation. It includes identifying areas where KM will have most value and determining the KM activities and processes that are appropriate to the objectives and culture of the organisation.
Summary Information
Who is the standard for? This standard is applicable to people in management roles responsible for defining and embedding effective processes for building and sharing knowledge within organisations. In addition to the core values, the following values and behaviours underpin effective performance: • You are committed to ensuring that KM policies and practices are aligned to organisational goals and strategies.
Values & Behaviours
• You are proactive in identifying and championing the value of KM to all levels of the organisation. • You work with others to embed KM into organisational thinking and practices. • You work collaboratively with others in the organisation and external partners to facilitate knowledge sharing across boundaries. • You temper passion for KM with practicality Links with other standards and competency frameworks: This standard has links with HI 10 – Monitor, evaluate and improve the management of data and information; HI 12 – Promote and facilitate the use of information and knowledge; HI 13 – Identify the needs of clinicians, patients and the public for communication, information and knowledge systems; and HI 14 – Develop a specification for communication, information and knowledge systems to meet the needs of clinicians, patients and the public which are standards within the NOS for Health Informatics, developed by Skills for Health. See www.skillsforhealth.org or www.ukstandards.org The standards also have links with MLD 2 – Develop productive working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders and MLF 12 – Improve organisational performance from the NOS for Management and Leadership, developed by the Management Standards Centre. See www.management-standards.org or www.ukstandards.org Final version approved April 2008 The UK benchmark standards for the workforce in libraries, archives, records
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part A | Introducing the standards
Figure 1.4.2 Example of Outcomes of Performance taken from D1 of the libraries, archives and information services suite covering practitioner and management functions Example shows
Standard D1 – Develop policies and strategies for knowledge management To meet the standard, you must be able to: 1.
Relate the principles and practices of KM to your organisation.
2.
I dentify where key knowledge is developed, shared and transferred and how it adds value to the organisation.
3.
Determine where and how knowledge management goals, processes, and tools can add value to the organisation.
4.
Define strategies to facilitate the building and maintenance of organisational knowledge.
5.
pecify activities, processes and standards that support knowledge creation, sharing and S capture and which ensure that valuable knowledge is recorded.
6.
ake the business case for KM, identifying the objectives, benefits and outcomes of KM M policies and activities and the required KM strategy.
7.
I dentify key internal stakeholders, and influence them to support and champion the KM strategy.
8.
Ensure communication and collaboration between those functions that focus on the creation and communication of knowledge and information and organisational learning.
9.
I dentify, implement and review processes that will promote the use of information and knowledge.
10. D etermine, in partnership with external and internal stakeholders, the tools and systems required to support KM activities and processes, develop specifications and make a business case for their acquisition. 11. Track, assess and report on the value obtained by the organisation from its KM
Figure 1.4.3 Example of knowledge and understanding taken from D1 of the libraries, archives and information services suite covering practitioner and management functions
Example shows
Standard D1 – Develop policies and strategies for knowledge management To meet the standard, you must know and understand: 1.
The organisation, its sector, its customers, its environmental context and its strategies.
2.
How knowledge is currently developed, shared and used in your organisation.
3.
The techniques of knowledge mapping, knowledge auditing, and network analysis.
4.
The key internal and external stakeholders who will influence the success of the KM strategy.
5.
Existing and emerging KM theories, concepts, strategies, principles, techniques and good practice.
6.
The approaches of similar or competitor organisations to KM.
7.
How ICT tools can be used to facilitate KM.
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The KM tools and services market and how to select appropriate tools and services.
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Part A | Introducing the standards
.0 The relationship between the libraries, archives and 2 information services NOS and other sets of standards This section covers:
2.1 Standards of key relevance to the libraries, archives and information services sector
2.2 The libraries, archives and information services NOS and the wider context of National Occupational Standards
.1 Standards of key relevance to the libraries, archives 2 and information services sector The libraries, archives and information services NOS suites are likely to contain the main standards that you will need. You may however want to identify other standards closely associated with, but not part of, the NOS identified for the sector. Other key standards that may be relevant to your work are listed in the pdf link below. Several of the NOS in the Suite for management and practitioner roles are closely linked to NOS in the suites for Health Informatics and Creative and Cultural Skills. These may consequently be of particular interest.
http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-libraries-standards.pdf
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part A | Introducing the standards
.2 The libraries, archives and information services NOS 2 and the wider context of National Occupational Standards For a variety of reasons you may want to identify standards outside the lifelong learning sector. You may, for example, need to identify standards which reflect specialist or particular functions that you carry out which are unusual in the libraries, archives and information services occupational area. This is likely to require a search which extends beyond the ‘key’ sets of standards described in 2.1. The table in the pdf link lists a range of generic suites which contain standards that are commonly used by individuals across a variety of industries. The web links provided will take you directly to the homepage of the relevant standard setting body where the standards can be downloaded. Alternatively you can search for these or any other standard on the government directory that houses all accredited NOS at www.ukstandards.org.uk The suite covering management and practitioner functions incorporates several NOS from the Management and Leadership and Customer Service Standards, so you may be particularly interested in viewing the related NOS in these suites. You can check which NOS have been imported from other suites in the NOS Summary Table in Appendix B.
http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-generic-standards.pdf
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Part B
Putting the standards to work
3.0 An overview of how the standards can help you This section covers:
3.1 How the standards can support your personal development
3.2 How the standards can support day-to-day management activities
3.3 How the standards support the development of the workforce
Using the Standards: NOS can be used to support individuals, managers and the libraries, archives and information services workforce as a whole. The lists below provide an indication of the types of areas in which NOS can assist. Section 5 of this document shows step-by-step guides to support many of the examples listed below
.1 How the standards can support your personal 3 development The following list shows some of the most frequent ways that NOS are used to support individual development and this is further demonstrated in Fig 3.1 below. As an individual you can use NOS to: • help make sure your work conforms to best practice by supporting activities associated with self-appraisal, benchmarking and identifying role-related development needs (See Section 5.2) • indicate your own achievements, by demonstrating that you can perform tasks to the nationally agreed standard • stimulate constructive and objective feedback from co-workers and managers by using the standards to encourage objective comment according to the areas outlined in the NOS • provide a framework for collecting evidence of your work performance to support recognition through the sector’s competency frameworks and professional development schemes (See Section 5.6) • create a bridge between current roles and related occupations.
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part B | Putting the standards to work
Fig 3.1 Using the standards to support your own performance
Identifying personal learning
Motivation Stimulating feedback on performance Benchmarking
LAIS
Standards Collecting evidence for qualifications or other assessment purposes
Exploring progression opportunities
Meeting CPD Requirements
.2 How the standards can support day-to-day 3 management activities Performance management is concerned with the effective management of people, once they have been employed, in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance, involving for example target-setting, supervision, performance review, appraisal and feedback. It involves establishing a shared understanding of what is to be achieved and requires the adoption of an appropriate management approach to lead, support and develop people to ensure the achievement of the identified goals. In its most positive form, performance management will help individuals not just to understand what is expected of them but also to recognise how they contribute to achieving organisational goals. There are particular advantages in using the NOS to assist you in your performance management activities: a) The NOS have been developed to meet the specific needs of the libraries, archives and information sector b) The NOS are readily adapted to meet the specific needs of your individual organisation without losing robustness or integrity
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Part B | Putting the standards to work
c) The NOS are flexible; they are broken down into modules that describe discrete functions and can be combined to cover any role in your team, irrespective of the combination of functions in their job d) The NOS can be adapted to support the whole performance management process, bringing consistency and co-ordination to a variety of often disparate activities As a manager, you can use the standards to support organisational objectives and assist you in your everyday management activities. The purposes for which you can use them include: • inducting new members of staff (See Section 5.4) • designing, delivering and evaluating training • keeping up-to-date with trends and developments in your field of operation • delegating responsibilities to staff • appraising performance • providing a framework for adapting organisational procedures and systems to address new and emerging concerns, such as information technology or environmental management.
.3 How the standards support the development of the 3 workforce Workforce development is the business process for ensuring that an organisation has suitable access to the talent required to enable quality of service and future business success. It includes the activities associated with attracting suitable staff and is closely related to performance management. Workforce development activities that the NOS can contribute to include: • managing organisational change (See Section 5.7) • designing and implementing recruitment and selection processes (See Section 5.3) • quality assuring staff performance across the organisation • meeting the indicators for external accreditation, such as Investors in People (See note on integrating with other initiatives) • planning workforce requirements • partnership and corporate image by working to common standards across organisations.
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part B | Putting the standards to work
4.0 Preparing to use the standards This section covers:
4.1 Considerations in preparing to use the standards
4.1 Considerations in preparing to use the standards Consideration of the items described in the pdf link should help you to plan your use of the standards. The degree to which the questions are relevant will vary depending on your intended use, but overall they should help you to make use of the standards in the way that best suits you. Before using the standards you may want to consider:
http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-considerations-in-using-the-standards.pdf
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Part B | Putting the standards to work
5.0 Step-by-step guides for using the NOS NOS are flexible resource tools which can be used to support workplace activities in a wide range of areas. There is no prescribed method for using them, but seeing how they could be applied across a range of instances should help you to identify ways that they can support you in your own work. This section of the guide provides a collection of examples to get you started
This section covers:
5.1 Guide to developing a role profile
5.2 Guide to identifying your role-related personal development needs
5.3 Guide to using the NOS for recruitment and selection
5.4 Guide to using the NOS for inducting new staff
5.5 Guide to establishing a framework for performance management
5.6 Guide for using the NOS to help manage your Continuing Professional Development Activities
5.7 Guide to using the NOS to support organisational change
5.1 Guide to developing a role profile A role profile is the set of competences that are most relevant to a particular job. Role profiles can be used for a number of purposes. They are an important step in identifying role-related personal development needs, they are used in the development of job descriptions and they are useful for helping workers understand precisely what is expected of them, and what they need to know and understand if they are to do their jobs effectively. The example in the pdf link shows how NOS can be used to develop role profiles.
http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-developing-role-profile.pdf
Please find in the pdf links example role profiles http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-librarian-role-profile.pdf http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-library-assistant-role-profile.pdf http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-records-management-assistant.pdf
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part B | Putting the standards to work
.2 Guide to identifying your role-related personal 5 development needs The example shown in the pdf link illustrates how you can use the standards to identify your role-related personal development needs. You can facilitate the process by meeting regularly with a peer, supervisor or mentor with whom you can compare your experience with the standards, discuss the progress you are making and help identify any further support needed to develop your skills. You may also find it useful to consult Section 5.6 which looks at managing continuing professional development activities. http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-personal-development.pdf
5.3 Guide to using the NOS for recruitment and selection NOS can be used to support every stage of the recruitment process. The use of common standards throughout the recruitment process contributes to the development of integrated recruitment procedures which can be closely linked to organisational objectives and the management of performance. Basing recruitment practice on NOS also helps to make sure that candidates are recruited fairly, against objective criteria which directly support competence. You can check your own competence in recruitment and selection practice by looking at unit D3 ‘Recruit, select and keep colleagues’ in the generic Management and Leadership suite of standards.
Writing the Job Description NOS can support both the review of existing job descriptions and the development of new job descriptions. The table in the pdf link shows steps for using standards as the basis for developing a full job description. http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-recruitment.pdf
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Part B | Putting the standards to work
5.4 Guide to using the NOS for inducting new staff Induction into a new role is most effective when it helps the job holder to understand what is expected of them and addresses any specific learning and development needs. NOS can support the induction process, helping new job-holders to understand where they fit within the organisation, get ‘up to speed’ quickly, and play an active part in identifying their development needs. The following diagram in the pdf link sets out the key steps involved in using NOS to help with induction:
http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-induction.pdf
.5 Guide to establishing a framework for performance 5 management The effective management of performance is a complex task involving the implementation and co-ordination of a wide range of activities. You can use the step-by-step guide in Section 5.2 for identifying your own learning needs to help you review your own competence with regards to managing performance. NOS H3 (Allocate and check work in your area of responsibility) or H4 (Allocate and check work in your team) may be of particular use. H3 is geared towards first line and middle managers and H4 is more appropriate to team leaders. However you may want to check both in order to decide on the one which most closely matches your work role. Alternatively, the NOS summary table provided at the back of this document provides a summary of both NOS which you may feel provides you with sufficient information for differentiation. The table in the pdf link demonstrates how NOS can be used to provide a framework for performance management. http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-performance-management.pdf
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part B | Putting the standards to work
.6 Guide to using the NOS to help manage your 5 continuing professional development activities In the libraries, archives and information services sector, NOS can support your continuing professional development (CPD) activities in a variety of ways, several of which have been examined in previous sections. This section however, looks at how NOS can help you in the management of your CPD activities. It looks at the contribution of NOS to: • planning for CPD • identifying professional development needs to achieve CPD related goals • organising professional development activities to meet identified needs • recording and reviewing of your CPD activities These are illustrated in the pdf link below. http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-cpd.pdf
.7 Guide to using the NOS to support organisational 5 change The management of change is a major issue for today’s organisations. Factors including globalisation, technological advancements, economic instability and the effects of climate change add to the sector-specific challenges for the libraries, archives and information services sector, to make organisational adaptability an increasingly essential requirement. NOS can make an important contribution to the change management process, by showing how organisations need to change and develop to improve services and meet skills gaps. They can be shared with staff to help create a collective vision of the competences required for success, supporting staff development and encouraging workforce participation through transparent goals. They can later be used to measure effectiveness and can act as a form of recognition for the achievement of results. The table in the pdf link shows some of the ways that NOS can assist. The guidance is relevant to managing change in teams or departments within organisations, as well to managing change throughout an organisation as a whole. You can use NOS from the generic Management and Leadership Suite to help check your skills and support your role in the process. There are three NOS in the suite which are specifically dedicated to change. These are: C4 Lead change C5 Plan change C6 Implement change http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-organisational-change.pdf
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Appendices 6.0 Appendices The following appendices are provided in this section:
6.1 Appendix A Titles and summaries of the Operational Functions covered in the LAIS NOS Suite
6.2 Appendix B Titles and summaries of the Managerial and Practitioner Functions covered in the 2008 LAIS NOS Suite
6.3 Appendix C
6.4 Appendix D NOS related terms used in this user-guide
Resources and useful contacts
.1 Appendix A Titles and summaries of the Operational 6 Functions covered in the libraries, archives and information services NOS Suite Please see the pdf link to view: • AREA AS: Achieve Service • AREA RM: Record Management • AREA IL: Information and Library Services http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-operational-functions-appendix-a.pdf
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National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part B | Putting the standards to work
.2 Appendix B Titles and summaries of the Managerial 6 and Practitioner functions covered in the 2008 libraries, archives and information services NOS Suite Please see the pdf link to view: • Area A: Planning developing and evaluating services • Area B: Governance and ethics • Area C: Identifying, evaluating and acquiring content and collections • Area D: Managing knowledge • Area E: Managing content and collections • Area F: Facilitating access to and use of content and collections • Area G: Facilitating lifelong learning • Area H: Managing people to deliver services http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-managerial-functions-appendix-b.pdf
6.3 Appendix C Useful resources and contacts Please see the pdf link to view the information and includes links to useful website. http://www.lluk.org/documents/lais-nos-user-guide-resources-appendix-c.pdf
National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
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Part B | Putting the standards to work
.4 Appendix D – NOS related terms used in this 6 user-guide Competence
The ability to apply work-related skills and knowledge to achieve the outcomes expected in a job role.
Elements
Statements that describe work related functions within a National Occupational Standard.
Knowledge and Understanding
Possession of facts, principles and theories that underpin effective performance in a job role.
National Occupational Standards (NOS)
Standards of performance an individual must achieve when carrying out a function in a job role, together with the knowledge and understanding they need to consistently meet that standard. NOS are benchmarks of good practice.
NOS Directory
An electronic web-based directory of all currently approved national occupational standards: www.ukstandards.org.uk/
Outcomes of Performance
What a person achieves as a result of carrying out a work-related function.
Performance Criteria
Statements that establish a standard of performance. Performance criteria answer the question: “what does an individual need to do or ensure happens in order to carry out a function to a satisfactory standard?”
Sector Skills Council
Sector Skills Councils are government licensed, employer-led organisations that cover specific economic sectors in the United Kingdom. They have four key goals: • to reduce skills gaps and shortages • to improve productivity • to boost the skills of their sector workforces • to improve learning supply.
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Standard
A short form of National Occupational Standard.
Suite of standards
A set of national occupational standards grouped together to cover a specific job role or function.
National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
Part B | Putting the standards to work
Notes:
National Occupational Standards for Information and Library Services, Archives Services and Record Management – A User Guide
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Developing the lifelong learning workforce of today‌
This information is available in alternative formats from Lifelong Learning UK Lifelong Learning UK Centurion House 24 Monument Street LONDON EC3R 8AQ Ref: 200910.04.
Please contact us on: 0300 303 1877 www.lluk.org enquiries@lluk.org