The relationship between medicine and science is fast-growing. More connections are being made to heal people while understanding what's hurting them and preventing it from happening again in the future.
While new discoveries are helpful, and medicine and science are becoming more correlated, the concepts occasionally bump heads. As questions arise, physicians and scientists often arrive at different conclusions. Research labs need to be regulated and monitored to ensure everyone's safety and the lab's success.
Here are a few key steps to make sure your workspace is running smoothly, and everyone in it feels respected and valued.
Delegation
You need to hire the right team of physicians and scientists. Hire a clinical team that is talented, driven, and skilled in their area of expertise. Task management won't matter unless you have the right people to do the job.
Assigning tasks to your team helps keep the workplace running smoothly. Structure makes it easier to function. If you're in a managerial role, delegating work will free-up time for you to dedicate your focus on things that need more of your attention.
Be mindful of your staff's strengths. Their tasks should cater to their skills and capabilities. You want to avoid overlap. Having too many people working on the same thing can breed frustration, or put a strain on the work environment.
Know what the goals of your employees are, and delegate tasks that help them achieve them. Check in with each member of your staff and ask them what they want to accomplish; this will help you decide on what projects to assign them to.
Be transparent and communicate with your team. Let them know your objectives, and how their task will contribute to meeting them. Healthy workplaces have a good rapport between team members, everyone maintains a mutual understanding of daily expectations and long-term trajectory. Get everyone on board, and on the same page.
Don't micromanage. It's good to have a vision, and a drive to do what it takes to fulfill it, but policing every move your team makes will deter them from wanting to share their progress with you. Avoid this issue by scheduling a regular sit-down where progression can be discussed.
Clinical environments are incredibly meticulous. Physicians like to be detailed in their diagnosis, and scientists want to be exact with discoveries. Establish a level of respect and independence, this will give your team the space they need to succeed.
Accommodation
Speaking of space, a healthy workplace cannot be maintained without it. Clinical facilities need designated work areas for physicians and scientists; as well as a "bridge" area where the two concepts can come together to work on a project.
Space is a resource that needs to be accommodated for. Each team member needs a dedicated space to complete their daily tasks. Having people piled on top of one another will create a suffocating environment and decrease overall morale.
Relational accommodation is important as well. You need to establish common ground with each of your team members. Cater to the characteristics that will encourage them to do their best work. Support their strengths, and ask them how you can help improve their weaknesses.
A healthy workplace has an equal balance of quantity and quality. If your sole focus is productivity; churning out answers, results, conclusions, and services as fast as possible, your business will suffer. Your team will experience burnout, and this will negatively impact your ability to serve your community.
Team-building exercises can be helpful when they're used properly. Your team should feel comfortable cooperating with one another.
Houses crumble when there isn't a solid support system. The same can be said for your business. Build your structure, test it, and tweak it when necessary. Providing accommodation and sustenance for your staff will ensure the success of your facility.
Appreciation
The success of your business deserves to be celebrated, and giving credit where credit is due is the most important part of commemorating achievements. Your team members should know that they're appreciated; that their tireless effort is noticed, and valued. Employee appreciation bolsters the morale of the workplace. Catering to your staff's well-being will contribute to more success in the future.
There are several different ways to show appreciation to your team. The first, and easiest, is your words. Let your staff members know how much you appreciate them. Tell me what you admire about their work ethic, celebrate the things they accomplish, shed light on their goals and the effort they've put in to reach them.
You can also invest in employee enrichment programs; incentives that can increase morale. This can be anything from catered parties to retreats, to rewards programs, or anything else your staff may enjoy.
Let them know they're valued, and they put that value back into your business.
As we build this bridge between medicine and science, it's important to make sure that the bridge is being built with care, caution, and diligence. Support breeds progress, and progress leads to finding the best ways to serve the community.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of sciencetimes.com
