What Is a Corporate Philosophy and Why Do Forensic Laboratories Need One?
A corporate philosophy might sound like something only private companies or corporations need to have. In reality, however, forensic laboratories are businesses and they should operate as such. Below are only a few aspects of business operations that also apply to forensic laboratories.
Revenue Generation: Even though forensic laboratories are generally government-run, they must generate revenue through the provision of services for the governing agency and the public, such as a police department, sheriff’s office, or otherwise. Forensic laboratories can also secure funding from other sources, such as federal, state, or local grants.
Client Relationships: Like businesses, forensic laboratories do not operate in a vacuum, and leaders and workers must build and maintain positive relationships with the public and other agencies. Maintaining a good reputation and client satisfaction contributes significantly to a laboratory’s success.
Competition and Market Positioning: Even government agencies experience competitive pressures and must perform strong market positioning within their communities. Competition comes in the form of quality, speed, range, and reliability of services offered. Innovation and implementing proven technologies can also make a laboratory attractive to potential employees, which will help increase service capacity. This is important in large, urban or fast-growing communities.
Stakeholder Satisfaction: The primary stakeholder is the entity that provides capital and resources to establish and operate a forensic laboratory. Like businesses, they expect a return on their investment through positive reputation, service capacity, and measurable improvements in public safety metrics.
Employees are an important class of stakeholders, because their livelihoods depend on the laboratory’s success.
Clients include other law enforcement agencies, legal professionals, investigators and detectives, and any other individuals or entities who rely on the laboratory’s forensic services.
A final class of stakeholders that is often overlooked are regulatory bodies, such as accrediting bodies or other regulatory agencies. The laboratory must ensure that it adheres to quality operating standards and regulations, due to the high impact of forensic services on the public.
Operational Efficiency: Laboratories and businesses must operate efficiently to be successful. Resource management ensures cost-effective operations while maintaining high standards of quality and accuracy in their services. A lab might achieve this through implementation of new technologies, streamlining systems and processes, and investing in staff development.
Marketing and Business Development: This is a broad aspect, which can include public outreach, professional association networking, and other marketing and development activities in order to attract quality employees and grow a laboratory’s market presence.
Starting with the Basics: A Corporate Philosophy
With a dizzying number of plates that the lab director must balance, it can be difficult to ascertain where to start. A good first step is to determine a clear corporate philosophy and to communicate it well to all stakeholders, especially the employees.
Hence, the top leader of a laboratory must set a direction. A good corporate philosophy is a kind of a roadmap, which supplies a mission, a vision, and values to operate under. Even if the overseeing agency has its own corporate philosophy, a forensic leader would do well to create one specifically for the laboratory.
Coming up in Part II, we’ll cover the basics of creating a corporate philosophy.