INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH
A New PHL Workforce:
The Rise of the Next Generation
By: Andrea Wright, associate specialist, Institutional Research
The public health laboratory community
needs creative yet practical solutions
to attract, support and sustain the next
generation of laboratory scientists, with
a focus on those born between 1981 and
1996. Already, this generation comprises
nearly a third of the public health
laboratory workforce, and it will continue
to rise rapidly through the laboratory
ranks over the next decade.
To understand the complex factors
involved in attracting and sustaining this
younger generation of workers, APHL’s
Knowledge Management and Workforce
Development committees collaborated
to gather public health laboratory
recruitment and retention practices that
have and have not been successful. The
committees also developed a recruitment
and retention survey administered to
state and local laboratory directors,
and conducted a focus group of 12 next
generation scientists to better understand
their views and priorities.
Survey to PHL Lab Directors
The survey collected recruitment and
retention practices and barriers to
success. As of publication, 44 responses
had been received to this active survey.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents
identified salary scale as the biggest
barrier to recruiting a new generation.
Other recruitment barriers include a
lack of required experience, career path/
opportunity for promotion and required
certification or licensure. Similarly, when
survey takers were asked to select their
laboratory’s biggest barrier(s) to the
retention of high performers, 43% chose
salary scale, followed by lack of career
path/opportunity for promotion, the
complexity of administrative bureaucracy,
limited or lack of continuing education
opportunities and lack of workforce
engagement activities such as rewards,
recognition and social events.
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LAB MATTERS Summer 2019
Next Generation Focus Group
In May 2019, APHL asked public health
laboratories to nominate at least one
scientist to share his or her experiences
and sentiments. Laboratories were asked
to consider nominees in supervisory and
non-supervisory roles as well as different
scientific and technical positions. Of the
50+ nominations received, 12 scientists
were selected who represented a cross-
section of younger laboratory scientists
in the US. Members ranged in age from 25
to 38 years and were employed at a public
health laboratory from nine months to
almost 10 years. Seventy-five percent
were female and 25% held a supervisory
position.
Many had stumbled upon their positions
and were unaware of the existence
and positive impact of public health
laboratories until their employment. They
agreed that a public health laboratory
offered two benefits: a meaningful job
and networking. Although this generation
values knowledge sharing, learning and
opportunities to work on emerging issues
and diseases, the group identified salary
as a significant barrier to long-term
employment. They valued the benefits
package, job security and schedule
flexibility at their institutions but found
the lack of job mobility, low pay and
decreasing benefits as drivers to seek
employment elsewhere.
Next Generation Laboratorians participate in a one-day
focus group at APHL.
Next Generation Lab
Scientists:
• Work as a team to fulfill the public
health mission
• Appreciate independence in the workplace
• Show a passion for networking
• Prefer open door policies/transparent
communications
• Value meaningful work
• Function as skilled multi-taskers
• Don’t hesitate to be a change agent
• Share knowledge and expect the same
from others
Source: 2018 APHL Workforce Survey
At APHL 2019, a roundtable on this project
attracted a standing-room only crowd
of over 60 participants, further feeding
the national conversation. Focus group
participants indicated a strong interest
in continuing to support recruitment and
retention efforts. APHL looks forward
to fostering connections among all
generations of laboratory scientists. n
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