Communication

Effective communication is critical for your success and the success of our team. As a general rule, err on the side of overcommunicating – with the differences in our responsibilities and goals (PI vs. postdoc vs. student), this will help us best function as a team and help me to best support you and your goals. Below are some guidelines for communicating with the various members of our team:

With Dr. Hebner:

• Email – This is my primary method of communication. I will do my best to respond to all emails within 24 hours, and I expect that you will do the same. If you need longer than this to adequately address a particular email, a brief response is still expected to indicate that you received it and, if asked to complete a task, provide an estimate of when you expect to complete the request.

• In person – I have an open door policy: if I am in my office and available for brief discussions, my door will remain open and you are welcome to drop in anytime. However, if you have a topic you’d like to discuss that would require >10 minutes, I would prefer that you schedule a more formal meeting to ensure I have an adequate amount of time to spend with you to address your questions/concerns.

• Slack – I will generally be active on slack if I am around my computer. This method of communication is good for quick and simple questions.

• Cell phone – If necessary for urgent matters, you can always contact me by text/phone call.

• Office phone – I am not even going to pretend that I will reliably answer this.

With the group/each other:

• Generally, this is up to you and your personal preferences. My only ask is that you DO communicate with one another – we are a team and will perform at our best when everyone is on the same page. This means sharing successes and failures, communicating concerns pertinent to you as researchers and as people, and doing your best to resolve conflict

• For communicating matters that pertain to the whole group, email is best for most things.

• For informal/quick updates or questions to the group, the group slack workspace can be used – I will check this regularly and ask that you do the same.

With collaborators/external contacts:

• I should be included in communication regarding the lab’s research with anyone external to our group. This includes other researchers at Purdue as well as those from outside institutions. If these communications occur over email, I should be cc’d. If they occur in person (ie at a conference, etc), I should be made generally aware as well.