Wanford Fieldwork Partnership LLP

1. Wanford Fieldwork Partnership LLP Recruiting hard to contact B2B respondents Prepared by Helen Wanford

2. Areas to be covered • Defining the task • General observations • What makes the task difficult • Ways to ease the task • Criteria for success

3. Definition • Enlist someone in the armed forces • Enrol someone as a member or worker in an organisation • Informal – persuade someone to do or help with something • A newly recruited person

4. The Task • Applies to qual and quant • Recruitment of groups / depths/ triads / OLFG etc. • In office / central location / facility /neutral business venue • Participation in other tasks e.g. material on the web, online interviews, diaries, taking photos, ethnography, site visits • Participation in telephone interviews • Most are recruited on the phone

5. General Observations • Correct recruitment is essential to robust research • IT IS DIFFICULT – refusals, wrong numbers, incorrect information, tight criteria and timescales • Task is not simply recruitment – it needs to deliver the correct number of interviews on time • Overlap with specialist B2C areas e.g. HNWI, luxury cars, new technology • Almost all recruitment can be achieved given- • Budget • Time • Client / Agency / Fieldwork co-operation • Flexibility

6. Difficulties and Solutions • Respondent Behaviour & Trends • Who are the hard to reach respondents? • Samples • Recruitment Numbers • Successful completion • Incentives • Client Role

7. Respondent Behaviour & Trends • Falling response rates • Time pressures • Sudden demands of business • Hiding behind Technology / voicemails • Gatekeepers • Company policy • No names policy

8. Action • Interviewers – persistent, tenacious, persuasive, confident, clear diction, polite • Timing of calls & understanding the audience • Leave messages • Work through gatekeepers • Introduction and information – study purpose, task, time required, MRS assurances, points of contact • Clear letters of information and appointment • Identification of survey sponsor • Challenge company policy • Find names on the web

9. Who are the hard to reach respondents? • Seniority • Size of organisation – very small or very large • Sectors - • Confidential / sensitive - military, defence, biotech, pharma • Over researched - IT / Telecoms, Finance • Media attention / In the news • Public figures • Working patterns • Obscure job roles or responsibilities • Target audience size • Respondent personality

10. Sample • Critical to speed and success of recruitment • Impact on interviewer morale • Quality of Client sample • Fieldwork Agency provision of sample • Finite nature of many B2B samples • Catchment areas – feasibility of yielding focus groups • Sample volume & strike rates

11. Dealing with sample • Check sample • Named sample • Contact details • Provide feedback on client sample • Augment sample • Desk research • Innovative sample creation – some examples… • Have sufficient sample • Creation and management of databases

12. Recruitment Numbers • Respondent reliability varies with type and sector • Achieving the required numbers • Over recruitment

13. Factors in successful completion • Sell the task – interesting, appealing, relevant • Nature and clarity of task • Screening questions should be kept to the essential minimum • Style and length of the interview • Location and timing should be to the convenience of respondents • Quality interviewers

14. Incentives • Well established in qualitative research • Necessary and increasing • Higher incentives usually encourage attendance • Incentives for telephone depths and quant need greater consideration • Summary reports • Charity donations - individual and overall • Prize draws • Administrative / handling expenses

15. Client Role – The Gripes Clients are rarely recruitment experts! • Restrictive or unrepresentative criteria • Tight or impractical timing • Insufficient budget • Recruitment criteria differ from original specifications • Understanding of sample – quality, volume and catchment areas • Interview scheduling • Clients may change their minds • Failure to read progress reports • Slow decision making Researching new areas is likely to result in surprises!

16. Manage the client • The quotation • Advise the client of feasibility / potential problems • Check the sample before fieldwork begins • Obtain schedules of availability • Regular progress reports to an agreed format • Be proactive • Build a relationship of trust and respect

17. Fieldwork Agency Role Do you make it difficult for yourself? • Do you agree to the impossible? • Do you advise clients? • Do you check the specification against the final documents? • Does the sample appear likely to support the required task? • Do you give clients adequate feedback? • Do you agree the reporting interval and format? • Do you charge realistic prices?

18. Successful Recruitment • Interviewers / Team Effort / Partnership • Client relationships – mutual understanding & respect • Information flow • Calm assessment leads to innovative solutions • Negotiation • Budgets

19. Wanford Fieldwork Partnership LLP Working in partnership with our clients Helen Wanford – 01959 575633 Chrissie Rogowska – 01959 561345 Glenda Richardson – 01892 824679 Jayne Curtis – 01634 715910 Email: (firstname)@wanfordfieldworkpartnership.com www.wanfordfieldworkpartnership.com Registered at:18 Alexandra Road, Biggin Hill, Kent. TN16 3NZ