Research on job turnover typically focuses on how to prevent it. However, turnover of graduate students and research assistants (RAs) is a feature (not a bug) and is somewhat predictable (especially with graduate students). In fact, turnover might not even be the right term to use; perhaps it should be the RA/grad student cycle instead. There are (or will be), of course, subgroups within your research team which have different cycles and timelines: master’s students (2 years), PhD students (4 years), post-docs (1-2 years), research staff (contract/grant-based time frames), and out of sequence/taking longer than expected graduate students.
As a research supervisor, recruiting and training research trainees is an important part of your role but it is also one that can be onerous and time-consuming if you don’t have a plan. In this post I am going to share three key decisions that will help you attract the right people to your research team and make it easier to provide them with a rich and meaningful training experience.
Key Decision #1: Focus your Research
First, you need to decide what your program of research is going to be about. As a naturally curious person interested in learning and discovering new things, this may be difficult for you! I know personally that I had a really hard time with this after I started my tenure-track position. I was invited to work on a lot of different research projects that were super interesting but not necessarily in alignment with my own main area of research. At first I said yes to everything until I realized that saying yes to these opportunities meant saying no to other projects that were more in line with my research priorities/expertise. It also takes way more time and effort to supervise a student working on a project that is not within your direct area of expertise.
The fact is that clearly stating what your program of research IS about also defines what it is NOT about. That means that you will say no to grants, collaborations, and even students who do not align with your research program. Sounds harsh but it will ultimately help you produce high-quality, impactful research in your field and a mentorship experience that truly serves your research trainees.
Key Decision #2: Build your Research Team
Building a research team is a lot like building a varsity sports team – it takes time and as your reputation and research success grows you will find it easier to attract the best students and get research funding.
Before you start building your roster, decide who your ideal graduate student and research staff member is. You need to know this so you can assess the fit of potential students and research team members. This will be partially determined by the type of research you do, the types of programs offered by your faculty/department, your research training model (see below), and your research grants. Some people are not going to be a good fit for you and, lovely as they may be, you should encourage them to work with someone who is going to be.
You also need to be prepared to commit the time and energy each person you bring onto your team requires. Working with grad students is different from hiring an employee who already knows how to do everything you want them to do. Grad students are there to learn from you! Yes, they contribute and add value but you are also investing in them and helping them develop skills and expertise. A research coordinator on the other hand might be hired full time to take the lead on a specific project for a defined period and you might want to have them continue on for your next one.
Key Decision #3: Your research training model
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. One approach I have seen/experienced to maximizing research productivity is to create a sort of research pyramid whereby post docs or senior PhD students are responsible for training those behind them. If done intentionally this can be a valuable opportunity for developing leadership and teaching skills, but often it is done on the fly and can leave students feeling unsupported, undervalued, or resentful of being asked to do work they think their supervisor should be doing. Would you rather create a research training experience where all of your trainees and research staff get to learn from and work with you directly? What is your research training model? What would you like it to be? You may find it helpful to reflect on your experiences as a student and think about what you loved and what could have been better. How can you make the experience awesome for the people working with you?
So there you have it – 3 key decisions that will help you attract the right people to your research program and provide them with an awesome research training experience. Remember, you will need to be patient but if you focus on building a quality program you will attract quality people and success will follow.
Emily Read, PhD, RN 