lead to job dissatisfaction (hygiene). At least sixteen other investigators have been able to replicate his study from 1968. Hygiene factors include salary, benefits, job security and status. Motivators include challenging work, responsibility, personal growth and recognition. I am sure many good technologists are de-motivated because management has failed to recognize some or all of these motivating factors. An appropriately structured laboratory team will provide opportunity to promote certain members of the team. An effective manager will recognize who is a suitable candidate to be given more challenging duties. The need to acknowledge good performance cannot be over stressed. It is important to remember, however, that these general motivators can translate differently across different generations. For example, Xers (people born between 1965-1977) and Millennials (1978-2003) can be interested in time off more than money as a reward. If you are a baby boomer like me, it is likely that you display high company loyalty. This is generally low for an Xer or a Millennial.


“In 2008 a Wall Street Journal article claimed that 70% of people don’t like their job”


PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL There are many benefits that can be gained from a successful performance appraisal. In order to be fair and consistent with staff appraisals it is important to have a formal, well-defined process. Most organizations perform this at least annually. But do not wait for the formal appraisal to recognize achievements. An informal appraisal can also be a motivational tool to evaluate an employee’s job performance and a great way to open communication channels. There is no point to conducting an appraisal without clearly defined expectations. Many companies link compensation to these appraisals. It is also an opportunity to identify training needs and career decisions. A performance appraisal is only fair if training needs had been identified and tools were provided to address these needs. To achieve this, you need a solid, relevant training program. If a new


general medical technologist is strong in chemistry and haematology, for example, but needs to pick up more skills in microbiology, you need to invest more time in microbiology training for her or him. Otherwise your assessment of the technologist’s performance will be unfair when conducting the appraisal. When designing a training program,


keep in mind that different employees will have different learning styles. Try to include a variety of training methods to cater for the different styles. Some prefer to learn by watching, others by doing (see Figure 1 for Kolb’s Learning Styles). There has been a lot of emphasis


in recent times, and rightly so, on systems such as Lean, Six Sigma, Quality Management Systems and so on. In this article I tried to direct our attention to the people who make these systems work. Hopefully by referring the reader to some of the behavioral sciences and sharing my own experiences I managed to highlight at least some aspects of the human side of laboratory management. The science of doing medical laboratory work is an ongoing challenge with new technology steadily changing the way we practice medicine. The art of managing laboratory personnel is also a challenge. I trust that as laboratory managers continue to invest in state-of-the-art equipment, they will also go on investing in healthy relationships with their laboratory team members. ■


ML


 REFERENCES References available on request (magazine@informa.com)


 MORE INFO Part one of this article can be found on page 10 of Medlab magazine issue 2 2011, View the article here: http://content.yudu. com/A1t3dl/ISSUE2/resources/10.htm


LEARNMORE


Don’t miss out on the Laboratory Management track at The Medlab Congress! The Laboratory Management track is taking place place on January 23rd 2012 as part of the Arab Health Exhibition & Conference at the Dubai World Trade Centre 23-26th


January. Visit the website


www.arabhealthonline.com and click on the Medlab tab to find out more information about all the conference streams and how to register your place.


18 www.lifesciencesmagazines.com


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