Our senior research manager and blog contributor Rachel Barnes is celebrating working with LDA Research for a decade. Here she shares her secrets to successful project management
Rachel originally from London, started her career teaching RE, following a master’s degree in philosophy before moving into educational consultancy.
She left education to start her family and moved to Bedfordshire where she lives with her husband and two children. She and LDA Research CEO Lucy Doorbar were neighbours, and their friendship developed into a working relationship also.
‘I’ve learnt the ropes of project management from beginning to end and am now a senior research manager, overseeing multiple projects on any given day,’ she said.
‘Over the years I have grown to really love my job. I’m naturally an incredibly organised person (my son calls me a pedant, but I prefer efficient!) and I get immense satisfaction from the daily task of organising the logistics of a project, from recruitment through to scheduling to delivery of the output – there’s nothing more satisfying than a well-kept spreadsheet!
‘I think the key to good project management is communication. A good project manager is aware of the status of their projects at all times and can speak knowledgably about what efforts have already been made and which avenues are left to try to complete full sample. They liaise with the client on a regular basis and identify any issues as they arise so that problems can be solved proactively.
‘I enjoy the variety of projects I get to work on and find the topics for medical development that we cover fascinating. I’ve gained a real insight into the workings of the NHS, and I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with patients and HCPs from all walks of life. Sometimes it can be stressful – especially on the rare occasion that a project isn’t going to plan – but I find good communication and honest explanations of why these challenges have arisen really help with managing clients’ expectations and ensuring a good outcome.
‘The projects I most enjoy are those where we are working with patients to organise product testing or focus groups. I really enjoy speaking with patients and listening to their stories and experiences. Putting patients in touch with others who’ve had similar experiences is always rewarding. For one project earlier this year I was speaking with UK patients who are using peritoneal dialysis. I spoke with one lady who had years of experience and who runs a support group for other patients. I then spoke with another lady who had only started peritoneal dialysis 2 days previously. Putting these patients together for a focus group was very satisfying.
‘Working at LDA Research is the first time I’ve worked in a business where there is a real collegiate sense of teamwork. We are a very small company, but every single member of the team is available and ready to support if I ever need help on a project. No project manager is left with ‘their’ projects to manage independently – every project is a team effort!’
In her spare time Rachel enjoys reading all sorts of books. ‘I’m a bit of a magpie and collect anything I like the look of! My favourite genre is historical fiction and my favourite author there is Philippa Gregory. Other authors I enjoy are Christina Dalcher, whose dystopian fiction is wonderful; Stephen King, the horror master and Stuart Turton whose crime mysteries are unique.’
On a recent trip to Norway Rachel enjoyed seeing the glaciers and fjords. ‘The whole majesty of it was a nice reminder that we are small and insignificant – none of our worries or concerns matter in the grand scheme of things!’
