Transcending Qualitative Recruiting: Be Like Casting Agents

Recruiting qualified, articulate participants that show up for the study is not easy.  This requires working hard and working smart.  In order to best serve our clients with our recruiting, we have institutionalized a set of standard operating procedures that virtually always results in successful studies.  Simply put, we have transcended the traditional modus operandi of focus group facility recruiting and, instead, perform casting services to find the right people who will play the role of a solid participant.

Just like casting agents, we begin by getting the background information of would-be participants vying for a part in the study.  While casting agents solicit résumés and head shots, we administer screeners, and this is where we begin our work.  Just as actors compete for various roles, prospective participants sometimes try to show themselves in the best light by answering questions in a way that will qualify them for the study.  But it is our job to weed out the fakers from the takers.  So our screeners are always designed to identify those who try to game the questions by making it impossible to figure out how to qualify. 

The next step also involves validation and verification.  Casting agents invite those actors that pass the first hurdle to audition.  During this step, they compare the headshot to actual appearance; they review the résumé against their behavior on the set, and they have the actor read for the part.  Likewise, we make phone calls to those in our pool of possible participants and probe on important criteria to ensure no faking or gaming gets past us.  We also impose the requirement of having all participants send us a recent photo of themselves.  Last, we insert and administer our “Articulation Ability” questions that aid in the final recruitment of participants who will readily and openly share their experiences and opinions. 

At Accelerant Research, we appreciate all that goes into planning and executing qualitative research.  But even with the most highly skilled moderator, in the most state-of-the-art facility, offering a handsome incentive, if recruitment fails to deliver “real participants” that show up and are candid, the study will fail.  Ever since we began our recruiting practice, we have strived to transcend the traditional recruiting processes and perform our jobs like casting agents.  And the results are seen in our ever-growing business and list of satisfied and loyal clients.

From the recruiting team at Accelerant Research…best regards and safe travels.

For more information about our services, please visit us at: www.accelerantresearch.com, or email us at info@accelerantresearch.com or call us at 704.206.8500