The ability to make the right decisions is a key feature in work and in life in general. Laboratory managers (like any manager) have to make various decisions every day.
However, decision-making sometimes seems to be decided by intuition or personal opinion about a situation, which is not wrong but would be positive if the process was accompanied by data. The quality of the decision-making can be improved with a data-driven process. Generally there are different types of data that managers can use (Operational data, personnel data, financial data, etc.). Decisions often have to be made quickly, finding and clarifying the final goal is the basis on which to start the decision making process. The decision can be made by involving various collaborators or all staff. You can ask open or closed questions to shape the focus to follow, the data in this case are used to provide precise answers.
Data-based decisions can provide greater clarity, for example promotions can be guided by specific data (demonstration of growth of responsibility, satisfaction of expectations etc.), similarly the choices in which capital is invested must be taken on the basis of precise data. These are just some examples in which a data-driven decision-making process can be functional, moreover decisions taken in this way are more transparent and easy to communicate, in addition to the fact that the benefits are more easily verifiable, and it is not a trivial matter.
On this topic, we recommend reading the article “Data-Driven Decision Making” from Labmanager.