Shiloh Museum Case Study

The Shiloh Museum differs from other City of Springdale departments in a number of important

ways. The Shiloh Museum’s personnel policy recognizes those differences and is designed to

complement but not replace the City of Springdale’s personnel policy. This policy is designed to be

used as a part of new employee orientation and as a guide to the director in the performance of his

administrative duties.

1. Employee classification. Employees fall into five categories:

Permanent: a. Full-time employees (40 hours). All full-time employees are expected to

work a 40-hour week. An eight-hour day is customary except when

weekend rotation of hours (Saturday) necessitates adjustment.

Benefits include vacation, sick leave, and health insurance.
b. Part-time employees (≥30 hours but < 30 hours weekly). These may be fixed hours

weekly or variable as stated in the individual job description. No benefits.

Temporary: Employment not expected to last beyond six months. No benefits.

Grant-funded: Employees may fall into any of the above categories.

2. Job description. Job descriptions for all positions, listing entry-level requirements for each

position, will be kept current and are available upon request.

3. Education and Training. The museum board encourages the staff to learn about and keep current

in various aspects of museum studies. Work hours will be arranged, when possible, to allow time

for university or college museum-related course attendance. The museum will reimburse staff

members for education expenses to the extent possible when the educational experiences relate to

the individual’s museum job.
4. Conventions and Seminars. Employees are encouraged to attend workshops and seminars

dealing with their job, the object being to promote knowledge and to maintain contact with others in

their field to provide for an exchange of ideas. When any convention, seminar, class, or workshop

is attended by one or more staff members, a written report to the museum board shall be submitted

covering the highlights of the topics discussed and how these can be applied to the benefit of the

museum. A more complete outline of the sessions shall be prepared for all those staff members

unable to attend and filed at the museum. (If material covered is quite extensive, a staff meeting

covering topics discussed would suffice.)

5. Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action Statement. It is the policy of the museum to provide

equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to race, color, creed, age, national

origin, or sex. In addition to recruitment, selection and advancement, this policy of

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nondiscrimination applies to all aspects of employment relationship, including but not limited to:

compensation, benefits, layoff, recall, transfer, and termination. Physical handicap may be
an

employment determinant only in the case of a validated occupational requirement.
In order to

promote this policy, a positive, continuing program is in effect to provide equitable representation

and distribution of minorities and women through the personnel from all segments of the

community for all job levels and actively supports the development of employees for internal

advancement. The museum periodically reviews and audits its personnel policies and employment

activities to assure compliance with this nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy.

6. Recruitment. Applications for any vacant position shall be solicited by the director. After initial

screening, a minimum of three candidates (if possible) for any permanent, full-time position shall be

interviewed before the position is filled. When filling the position of director, the personnel

committee of the board of trustees shall solicit applications and conduct interviews. The assistance

of the mayor of the City of Springdale will be requested in this process. The museum prohibits the

permanent hiring of members of the immediate family of staff members or family of museum board
members.

7. Performance Evaluation. A yearly evaluation of each employee shall be implemented in August.

This should be a routine matter to alert each employee of ways to improve job performance by

measuring performance against job description. This exercise should provide an opportunity to set

goals and plan promotion and merit compensation decisions. This evaluation shall be conducted by

the director for all full-time staff members, while full-time staff shall conduct evaluations of their

supervised part-time staff members. The president of the board and/or persons of her/his choosing

shall conduct the assessment of the director’s performance. This occasion would not necessarily be

critical, but could be an occasion for positive comments, encouragement, and goal setting.

8. Vacation. The City of Springdale’s policy manual specifies:

2 weeks (10 work days) after the first year

3 weeks (15 work days) from the second through eleventh year

4 weeks (20 work days) from the twelfth through twentieth year

Each employee vacation request shall be filed with the director during January of each year.

Preference in vacation scheduling will be given to employees with the most seniority. Vacation

schedules shall be reported to the museum board. If illness or other circumstances necessitate

rescheduling vacation time, an effort will be made to accommodate the employee. If, for

operational reasons, vacations cannot be scheduled during certain periods, such periods should be

identified at the beginning of the calendar year.

9. Minimum Vacation Periods. Whenever possible, vacations should be taken in increments of one

week (5 work days) or more. Vacations in less than one week increments are discouraged.

10. Holidays. Since the museum is open on Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day, staff members

assigned to work on those days must be compensated with time off at another time. Special events,

weekends, and evening work will also require time-off adjustments.

11. Sick Days. Sick days shall be used exclusively for health reasons or for medical care.

Requirements as specified in the city manual shall be followed.

12. Absences. All employees are required to notify their supervisor in advance of an absence from

scheduled work, or if he or she will be 30 minutes or more late reporting for work. All absences or

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