John K. Borchardt
Dr. Borchardt is a consultant and technical writer. The author of the book “Career Management for Scientists and Engineers,” he writes often on career-related subjects.
Articles by John K. Borchardt
Listening to President Obama's State of the Union speech last night prompted me to think about leadership and laboratory management. I found his theme of support for American innovation encouraging but without offering specifics. "The first
| 3 min read
You suspect your boss is going to be promoted or transferred or may retire soon. How can you position yourself to be the first in line to inherit his/her job? Train for your boss's job Many laboratory staff members have only a
| 2 min read
Corporate hiring is picking up – finally. This solves some problems for some lab managers coping with accomplishing goals with a limited number of laboratory staff members. However, resuming hiring gives rise to a new concern: making good hirin
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Lab managers can reduce overhead costs by reducing unnecessary bureaucracy. A rough rule of thumb is that larger laboratories tend to have more bureaucracy. Staff members often find their productivity increases substantially when they change jobs and
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Impact players are employees whose knowledge, skills and work habits make them exceptionally productive. Of course, one always wants to hire new employees who have these attributes. In this post-recession period, financial managers are beginning to g
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What the Deepwater Horizon disaster can teach lab managers about decision making
| 5+ min read
Delaying retirement? You are not alone. Many baby boomers currently are delaying their retirement. One-third plan to retire only after age 65 according to an Employment Benefit Research Institute survey. In another recent survey of more than 2,200 U.
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Much has been written about the advantages of flextime for both employees and employers. However, there are downsides as well – downsides that are seldom mentioned. This is particularly the case for people working in laboratories. Safety The la
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Laboratory managers can benefit greatly by establishing a corporate social networking site or utilizing an already existing one. Think FaceBook on a corporate intranet. The software isn't the challenge. Rather it is defining your objectives and strat
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For companies marketing to a large number of customers and potential customers, newsletters and blogs offer a way to keep them in touch with customers informing them of new products and generic descriptions of how their products solved other customer
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Many lab managers could ignore a rising tide of incoming résumés for the past two years or so since staffing levels were frozen or being reduced. However, as they begin to hire again they have to deal with this flood. This is a particular problem for
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The primary basis for employee job satisfaction is your personal relationship with your manager. Next is importance is your personal relationship with coworkers and the people that report to you. Only then do broad personnel practices come into play.
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"Better the devil you know than the one you don't." is a familiar proverb. Whether consciously or unconsciously, many lab managers are guided by this proverb in the way they manage their laboratories. The result is a static workplace culture that can reduce productivity and job satisfaction as business conditions change and both science and technology advance.
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Lab managers have been faced with cuts in their training budgets since the recession began. Upper level managers have been cutting back on the number of employees allowed to enroll in external training programs and limiting lab staff participation in
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In the wake of widespread layoffs, laboratory managers are beginning to hire again as the economy slowly recovers. Lab managers could ignore a flood of incoming résumés while staffing levels were frozen. However, as they begin to hire they have to de
| 2 min read
