Different industries will recover from the recession at different rates. So in addition to monitoring general economic news, company managers – including lab managers – must closely track business trends in their own industry. The World Chemical Outlook series of articles in the January 11 issue of Chemical & Engineering News can help them do this for a variety of chemical industry segments.
When data clearly demonstrate that a recovery is occurring, organizations will be more willing to spend funds "on the front lines" to reopen production plants or add additional shifts to operate facilities 24/7. Where labs will most probably first see an increasing demand for their services is in customer support and technical services. Managers have four main options in responding to increasing demands.
1. Doing nothing
If the current customer service lab staff is under-utilized, the best strategy, at least initially is to do nothing and allow the workload for your customer service specialists to increase. Lab managers be sure that workloads don't become excessive resulting in staff members cutting corners and reducing the quality of their work. Even if there is no hiring, customer support spending may increase. For example, increased business travel may be required. (However, today's communications technology means that there are alternatives to face-to-face meetings with customers and suppliers.) Increased consumption of lab supplies and great use of outsourced functions such as analytical work may be required.
2. Transferring staff members into customer service
Transferring staff members working on new product and product development into technical service work or having them devote a portion of their time to it is another strategy. This does not increase current laboratory costs. However, there is a hidden cost. The pace of new technology development is slowed. The company may not be ready with the new products and services that customers will soon be demanding. So in making the decision to shift staff resources into technical services, lab managers must balance current versus future needs.
