For nearly all labs, people costs are the single biggest item in the cost stack. Learning how to optimize this spend is critical to developing business acumen and running a successful lab. While people are the lab's highest cost, they also represent its most important asset. Their knowledge, expertise, experience, and work ethic drive all successful outcomes from the lab and generate the technical accomplishments that encourage stakeholders to keep investing in the lab and allow it to continue functioning. Here are five tips to help you better optimize your investment in lab staff.
Hire the right staff
Invest your time and energy in hiring the right people. These are some of the most important decisions a lab manager can make. Good hires bring technical expertise, improved teamwork, and a better community to the lab. Poor hires reduce productivity, create conflict, and cost you time, attention, and money. Herb Kelleher, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, said, “Hire for attitude and train for skill.” Hire good people, then help them develop the technical skills they need to succeed.
Engaging and retaining staff
Gallup has shown extensive data that investing in employee engagement improves business performance across the globe. One interesting finding is that more engaged staff are up to 43 percent more likely to stay with your lab. Some important ways to improve engagement include building trusting relationships, providing clear expectations, praising and recognizing staff, delivering effective feedback, using staff strengths, and providing ongoing training.
Managing staff time
Staff time is perhaps the most important resource in the lab. Metrics tracking time allocated to technical projects, overhead, and paid time off can help lab managers improve time use, making the lab more efficient and productive. Lab managers can help staff be more productive by making clear priority and alignment decisions and communicating them directly to the people.
Using a discretionary budget wisely
Some lab managers are fortunate to have a small discretionary budget, a small amount of money that can be used on things like travel, training, rewards and recognition, and team building. While this budget may be small, often less than one percent of the lab’s overall spend, these activities are important to improve people’s satisfaction and engagement. This helps retain trained staff and improve the return on the investment.
Saving the people
Simon Sinek says, “Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers.” Finding the right people, onboarding them, and providing ongoing training and development are significant investments for the lab. The right staff is critical to the lab's long-term success. Sacrificing them for short-term benefits often collapses the lab’s strategic plan.
Closing thought
Lab staff are critical to the lab's ability to fulfill its purpose. Investing in the right people and developing and retaining them is vital to the lab's long-term success.
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