Why A Positive Site Culture Can Have A Huge Impact — And How To Spot It

By Amy Bland, CCO, Curo Research

A thriving workplace culture is essential to employee retention, productivity, and overall study success in clinical research. High turnover not only disrupts workflows but also increases costs, delays studies, and compromises data quality. For both clinical sites and sponsors, creating a positive and supportive work environment is key to ensuring long-term success. This article explores practical strategies that can help improve workplace culture in clinical research and how sponsors and sites can work together to enhance employee satisfaction and retention.

The Impact Of Employee Turnover In Clinical Research

Employee turnover is a persistent challenge across many industries, but in clinical research, it introduces unique hurdles. The loss of a CRA or CRC can result in:

• Loss of Institutional Knowledge: New employees must learn study protocols, site SOPs, software systems, and vendor relationships from scratch.
• Disruptions to Study Timelines: Delays in training and onboarding affect patient recruitment and protocol adherence.
• Regulatory and Compliance Risks: High turnover can lead to inconsistencies in documentation, data collection errors, and protocol deviations.
• Increased Costs: The NIH estimates that hiring and training a new research coordinator costs between $50,000 and $60,000 per employee.
• Weakened Relationships: Frequent staff changes disrupt established relationships between CRAs, site personnel, and study participants.

Given these challenges, both site leadership and sponsors must work to reduce turnover and create a culture that encourages engagement and long-term commitment.

Creating A Healthy Workplace Culture At Clinical Sites

Clinical sites play a crucial role in establishing a supportive environment for their employees. There are two main aspects to focus on: internal workplace culture and hiring processes.

Internal Workplace Culture: Building A Positive Environment

A strong workplace culture starts with ensuring employees feel valued, supported, and engaged. Strategies to achieve this include:

• Addressing Negative Workplace Behavior: One disengaged or toxic employee can significantly impact morale. Site leaders must take action to maintain a positive environment.
• Daily Team Huddles: Implementing short 15-minute check-ins, where employees share what they are grateful for, their stress level, and their workload ensures open communication and support.
• Recognizing and Rewarding Employees: Sites can establish recognition programs where employees receive small, personalized rewards based on a "favorite things" form filled out at hiring.
• Providing a Support System for Time Off: Ensuring clear hand-offs and cross-training allows employees to take leave without returning to overwhelming workloads.
• Creating Flexibility and Perks: Offering flexible work hours, remote work options, and occasional catered lunches can enhance job satisfaction without increasing salary costs.
• Investing in Professional Growth: Supporting attendance at conferences, providing career growth pathways, and offering training programs help employees see a future within the company.

The Importance Of Thoughtful Hiring Practices

A healthy workplace starts with hiring the right people. Poor hiring decisions can introduce negativity and instability into the team. Key strategies include:

• Screening for Cultural Fit: Utilizing Patrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Team Player framework can help assess candidates for humility, hunger, and people skills.
• Providing a Career Growth Pathway: Establishing a career pathway where employees move from general roles (research assistant) into specialized ones (e.g., research coordinator I to research coordinator II to senior research coordinator) gives employees clear advancement opportunities.
• Structured Onboarding and Training: New hires should receive structured training programs that set clear expectations and provide resources for success.

How Sponsors Can Evaluate And Support Site Workplace Culture

Sponsors rely on stable, well-managed research sites to ensure high-quality data collection and study execution. Here’s how sponsors can assess and support site culture:

Identifying Strong Workplace Culture At Sites

• Look for Low Turnover Rates: A site with staff members who have been employed for multiple years is a strong indicator of a positive workplace culture.
• Evaluate Responsiveness and Organization: Sites that promptly provide regulatory documents and respond efficiently to requests likely have well-organized teams and clear communication structures.
• Assess Team Engagement: Sites where employees proactively communicate and collaborate demonstrate a strong internal culture.
• Ask Direct Questions: During site visits, sponsors should ask employees, "Tell me about your work culture and how you contributed to it this week."

Improving Workplace Culture At Sites

• Recognizing Strong Performance: Sponsors should acknowledge and praise well-performing site staff, ensuring that site managers and principal investigators (PIs) are aware of standout employees.
• Providing Tools and Resources: Ensuring that sites have access to up-to-date training materials, study manuals, and easy-to-navigate systems can support smoother operations.
• Offering Assistance to Struggling Sites: If a site appears to be struggling with turnover or workflow issues, sponsors can offer mentorship connections or recommend useful books and training programs.
• Encourage Mutual Respect and Collaboration: Treating site staff as valued partners rather than just study executors enhances motivation and engagement.

Maintaining Long-Term Engagement And Continuous Improvement

Workplace culture is not a one-time initiative, but an ongoing effort. Effective leadership requires continuous investment in employee engagement, professional growth, and workplace satisfaction.

• Regular Employee Check-Ins: Leaders should schedule routine one-on-one meetings to provide feedback and address employee concerns.
• Encouraging Open Communication: Providing a safe space for employees to express challenges and ideas leads to ongoing improvements.
• Creating a Culture of Learning: Organizing book clubs, training workshops, and mentorship programs promote personal and professional development.

A strong workplace culture in clinical research benefits both sites and sponsors by reducing turnover and fostering strong professional relationships. Sites must create environments where employees feel valued and supported, while sponsors must actively recognize and encourage these efforts. By working together, sponsors and research sites can build sustainable, effective teams that lead to successful studies and better patient outcomes. Investing in workplace culture today ensures a more stable and productive future for clinical research.

About The Author:

Amy Bland is the chief operating officer of Curo Research, where she is committed to promoting quality data collection, ethical patient treatment, and mutually beneficial relationships in clinical research. With 13 years of experience — half spent launching research-naive sites — Amy has developed a well-rounded expertise in starting and growing research programs from the ground up. Her hands-on experience at the site level has given her unique insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by new research sites. As a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator, Amy has achieved top enrollment rankings while maintaining over 90% data accuracy and follow-up compliance. Her mission is to make clinical research accessible to any site motivated to learn, fostering an environment where research becomes a widespread and viable option for sites and patients alike.