Unlike the recent British nuptials, where strict social etiquette dictated every nod, handshake and curtsey at the ceremony, rules of behavior in today’s laboratories are slightly more relaxed. But whether strict or subtle, good manners and proper social conduct are keenly important to lab professionals—judging by the 1,160 of you who registered for our recent Lab Manager Academy webcast: “Lab Etiquette - Maintaining High Professional Standards in the Lab.”*

Based on feedback to a survey on the same topic, issues of concern included not cleaning up after oneself, taking the last supply and not re-ordering, using lab computers for things other than lab work, overuse of cell phones, bad attitudes and outright rudeness.

If you’re among those who wonder what ever happened to common courtesy in the workplace, read our May cover story to learn what lab managers can do to reverse this trend and perhaps increase a sense of teamwork and professionalism in the lab.

But manners alone do not a great laboratorian make. Lab professionals also need regular training to keep their skills and knowledge from languishing, skills that are not limited to research and scientific techniques, but include management. According to a 2006 study, 42 percent of a scientist’s time is consumed by administrative matters. This month’s Leadership & Staffing article, “Empowering Your Staff,” shares techniques for improving your staff’s skill set across multiple areas in order to enhance your lab’s research culture and decrease the managerial burden.

In keeping with our tag line, “Running Your Lab Like a Business,” this month’s Business Management article addresses the very important and bottom line-improving matter of creating new sources of revenue for your organization. As author John Borchardt points out, “Recently, big pharmaceutical companies have cited the failure to develop new products and develop new revenue streams as the rationale for R&D cutbacks and even the closure of large research centers. Preventing this sort of situation from occurring at your company is a major responsibility for lab managers at all levels of the organization.” Read the article to learn some pro-active techniques to help your lab become aware of new science and business developments and how to take advantage of them.

This month we introduce the first in a three-part series of articles on cell culture contamination. “Since the sources of culture contamination are ubiquitous as well as difficult to identify and eliminate, no cell culture laboratory remains unaffected by this concern.” If this is true for your lab, read more to learn the causes of and possible techniques for managing this problem.

And if you’re in the market for a biological safety cabinet, but overwhelmed by the myriad of choices, the panelists from our February “Product Showcase” webinar on this same topic will help guide your decision-making process. Read more here.

Lastly, in preparation for an article we’re working on for the July/August issue, I am soliciting your opinion concerning the use of smartphone and tablet apps in the lab. Are you an early adopter or a skeptic? Take our survey on this topic for a chance to win an Apple iPod Nano, and if you have anything to share on that now, I’d like very much to hear from you. E-mail me: pam @ labmanager.com.

Here’s hoping all those April showers deliver an abundance of May flowers. Happy Spring!

Pam

*If you missed this event, go to www.labmanager.com/etiquette to view the archived webcast.