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Hire With Confidence: Finding The Right Market Research Talent

Remember the old days when you could just run an ad or place a job posting on a job board? While you’d get a lot of resumes, you would have to then spend several hours reading them to try to find anyone even remotely qualified to join your team. Today, the way companies hire has significantly changed; it is now a candidate’s market. Advancements in technology have allowed for one-click to apply sites, and potential employees now have a large pool of options to choose from. And while you can get plenty of potential candidates this way, it is certainly not the most efficient approach.

As a busy market researcher who’s always pressed for time, the idea of hiring new talent can be overwhelming. Even if you are confident in your skills, your team, and your ability in working with clients, the task of identifying and hiring the right talent for your growing insights team is daunting.

However, you can still hire with efficiency and confidence in today’s market.

In fact, finding and hiring quality talent can be quite easy if you work with the right market research recruitment agency. But in order to make it worth your time and money, you’re going to need a team of professionals who understand your business, your marketplace, and the criteria of your search.

Ask yourself a few preliminary questions:

  • Do they specialize in the market research and insights industry or are they generalists?
  • How long have they worked in your industry?
  • Do they know the same people you know?
  • Do they attend the same conferences as you?
  • Most importantly, do they have the processes in place to identify and screen the right candidates for you?

The Power of Hiring Through an Agency

Recruitment agencies have the ability to fish in the ponds where the professionals live – market research and insight professionals to be specific. From this large professional pool, recruitment agencies screen and identify the select few candidates that best meet your hiring criteria.

Your recruiter will also be able to accurately assess if candidates are in the price range you are willing to pay for. In addition, they’ll provide candidate CVs, resumes, cover letters, and personality profiles to help you determine if a candidate will be a good cultural fit.

An Interview Process You Can Be Confident In

With the recruiting agencies help, it’s now time for you to start with telephone interviews. Once you’ve had a chance to determine which of the candidates you want to pursue, schedule an on-site visit. It may also be beneficial to have an exercise for them to complete, whether that is to gauge their personality type or their base level skills for the position.

Other members of your team may need to join in this part of the process, giving you a chance to see how they will work with your team and fit your culture.

The key to this stage is to express your interest in the right candidate very clearly and move quickly to present them an offer. If you wait too long, you run the risk of losing their interest or worse – to one of your competitors. In this job market, even in a small industry like market research, the good candidates are getting multiple offers and the slower hiring manager is going to miss out on the good ones.

The good news is there are a lot of great candidates moving around for many different reasons. This is a great time to invest in adding talent to your team, but you must be efficient if you want to land the best catch. But by working with an experienced market research recruiting agency, and following the advice above, you can be confident in your next addition to your insights team.

Knowing how to hire is one thing, but who you should hire can be tough.
That’s why we took our market research expertise and created this short quiz.

Take the Quiz CTA

Who is going to make the biggest impact on your team? Take the quiz and find out today!

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10 Ways To Spend Your Time Rather Than Scouring LinkedIn For Talent

When it comes time to add someone new to your team, how much time do you spend searching? Probably a good amount. You are likely going to have some kind of time restraints that prevent you from searching too long, especially in the market research industry, but choose too quickly and you run the risk of hiring the wrong person for the job.

There is an appropriate amount of time that goes into finding qualified candidates for any position. Time that includes reviewing a person’s experience, skill sets, and overall qualifications for the job. While sites like LinkedIn can help you post job openings and expedite the process of hiring by filtering out unqualified candidates at the click of a button, it still takes time.

But all of this can be streamlined by working with a market research recruitment agency. They vet candidates and provide you with a list of individuals that are highly qualified to work in the exact position you are hiring for. This frees up time in your schedule to do… well, whatever you’d like really.

For us, there are an endless amount of things that we’d rather be doing. Some of those things involve getting more work done, and some are simply just for fun. Either way, it’s your time, so spend it how you wish.

Here is our shortlist of better ways to spend your time other than scouring LinkedIn for your next hire:

1.) Call One Of Your Best Customers

Checking-in, catching up, and building rapport with clients is so impactful – a much better way to spend a few hours over clicking through endless pages of linked in resumes.

2.) Work On Your Golf Swing

Work is hard. So is golf. Think about how much better you’ll be when you have all that extra time to practice your driving skills.

3.) Call One Of Your Prospects

All joking aside, this one is a money maker – literally. More time talking to prospects means more money in your pockets.

4.) Spend Time With Your Family

You spend enough time on the grind. Wouldn’t it be nice to have just a little it more time with the people you love? I mean, your grandchildren aren’t going to spoil themselves.

5.) Check-In On Other Operations

Okay, what other things have you been waiting to get to? Now you can finally start working down the list because of all the time you’ve freed up thanks to your recruiting agency.

6.) Read A Book

Some times it’s the little things. Now you can take a moment and get through a few chapters of that book you’ve been dying to read.

7.) Plan Your Next Big Trip

Work or pleasure? Doesn’t matter. The only thing you’ve got to decide now is who you’re taking with you and how long you’re going to stay.

8.) Check-In On Your Invoices

Money comes and goes. And now, thanks to all your extra time, you can keep a closer eye on when things are getting paid, and when it’s time to collect!

9.) Take Your Significant Other To Dinner

This is a big one for any busy professional. We all wish we had more time to spend time with our spouse. So, what are you waiting for? Make that reservation.

10.) Enjoy The Fresh Air

What’s better than being cooped up in your office? How about showing off that golf swing you’ve been practicing? Get outside! Seriously, you’ve got the time.

While some of these might seem a bit silly, we truly believe that there is unmeasurable value in them. You deserve time to yourself; time to do the things you have been too busy to get to.

We get it! You need to find that new employee fast, but it doesn’t have to cost you countless hours of work and stress. Finding the right person will certainly be more time consuming than you think, and by working with a trusted partner to bring you the right talent, you can get that valuable time back.

The only question is, how will you spend it?

In line with freeing up time, we took our market research expertise and created this short quiz.
So you can figure out exactly who it is you need to bring on to your team.

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Who is going to make the biggest impact on your team? Take the quiz and find out today!

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The Job Market in 2019 [Stats]

The job market is changing. Job openings are increasing, people are looking for new opportunities, and the workforce itself is starting to look younger. Employers need to pay attention to these changes. The available talent is looking for more than just money and the boundaries that once held some back from certain opportunities no longer exist.

If you want to hire and retain the best talent, you need to be aware of the state of the job market and make sure you are adapting to the changes. Capitalizing on the way people find new jobs and the things that influence them to accept will better your chances for hiring the right person for your company.

Here’s what you need to know:

2019 Job Market Stats

 

  • The Labor Department reported a record high of 6.6 million job openings earlier this year, an all-time high affecting 50% of U.S. employers.
  • Hiring is expected to become more competitive in the next 12 months for 74% of recruiters.

With more and more jobs becoming available, businesses are competing for the top talent more than ever. In order to keep your name at the top of that list, you need to actively consider what will make you stand out and cater to the needs and wants of potential employees.

Millennials are now the most important demographic when it comes to hiring. And they are specific about the things they are looking for in a job.

  • 58% of millennials said they plan to change jobs this year. What they are searching for is learning and growth opportunities, as well as work-life balance.
  • Today’s labor force is also much more mobile. 89% said they would move for the right company or role.
  • 85% of millennials said a company’s reputation is important or very important when they are considering working there.

Money isn’t the most important factor when choosing a job. With as many options as there are, many are looking for flexibility, professional development, and good culture. If you understand what makes potential employees want to work for a company, you can make a more compelling offer. Reviews, employee testimonials, and social media need to be part of your strategy for bringing in talent.

It’s also important to understand the growing number of freelance workers. It may be possible that the person you are looking for isn’t someone who you will hire to work for you full time.

And let’s not forget that the older generation is deciding to work longer in order to maintain their lifestyle in a time when retirement funds are dwindling.

This means that there is a possibility that these people with many years of experience will be available candidates. Their knowledge of your industry could be a real asset to your team.

All this is happening in an increasingly tight labor market, which puts the power in the hands of the job seekers. In 2019, your company has to have a clear message if you want to attract the best talent.

 

Knowing how to hire is one thing, but who you should hire can be tough.
That’s why we took our market research expertise and created this short quiz.

Take the Quiz CTA

Who is going to make the biggest impact on your team? Take the quiz and find out today!

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Quirk’s 2019 and The Undeniable Value of Attending Industry Events

The 2019 Quirk’s Event conferences have come and gone. While the excitement of these illustrious market research industry events begins to settle, the impact that the event made on the MR community will carry on through the rest of the year.

Every researcher that attended this year’s event (or any of the Quirk’s Events of the past) will tell you the same –  the environment that is created by Quirk’s is undeniably important to the industry.

The ideas discussed, networking opportunities, and learning experiences that the event provides help to drive the growth and development of our industry and allows us to stay connected in the busy world of MR.

In this blog, we will discuss the Quirk’s Event as a whole, as well as highlight some of this year’s key discussion points, to keep you in the know and (hopefully) influence you to attend one of the conferences next season.

The Importance of Attending Industry Events

These days, it’s hard to get an in-person meeting with just about anyone, let alone in an industry like market research where everything is moving at such a rapid pace.

Thanks to technology, you no longer have to physically meet with someone to have a meeting. Visual meeting apps such as Zoom, GoToMeeting, and Slack have bridged the gap, allowing us to meet at any time from any location.

The reality is face-to-face meetings just don’t happen anymore. While this is convenient for quickly passing information between two parties, it creates a problem that tends to go unnoticed—relationships are becoming less personal.

And yet, for many, attending industry events is the only way they get to see the people they work with on a daily basis.

Aside from seeing familiar faces, the other (and possibly more important) reason that you should attend conferences like Quirk’s is the opportunity to meet someone new – whether it’s a potential new client or someone to discuss new business ideas with. Networking is the name of the game when it comes to conferences.

While there are many ways to connect and meet new people, there is no denying that meeting someone for the first time is going to be more impactful and more memorable if it’s in person.

The Undeniable Value of The Quirk’s Event

There are hundreds of conferences that one can attend if they are trying to get the latest in the market research industry. So why choose The Quirk’s Event?

Here’s what Quirk’s has done that sets them apart from other similar conferences:

Quirk’s has two audiences – Researchers and Vendors – and they have done an excellent job of providing a balance that benefits both groups. While the vendors sponsor and fund the event, the cost of The Quirk’s Event is low enough that it remains valuable for them to do so.

The economical nature of Quirk’s is the biggest reason for it’s popularity. While other events provide similar information about the industry, Quirk’s provides the same information at a much lower cost –  making it accessible, driving a large audience, and providing greater networking opportunities.

Another thing that makes Quirk’s such an amazing event to attend is the quality of the content. Presentations are not sales pitches. This keeps the information more relevant and prevents anyone from being overly self-promoting.

At Quirk’s, if you want to sell, the best way to go about it is to get your client (a researcher) to tell your story to the public. The promotion of your business from your clients speaks volumes to other potential clients, and it provides a “sales pitch” that doesn’t feel like you are soliciting business from someone who is just trying to enjoy their time at the conference.

What We Learned at The 2019 Quirk’s Event

This year’s event covered a lot of information, and amongst all the emerging themes, there was one theme that stood out from the rest.

The industry is constantly moving, and the major shift that we are seeing now will have major implications on the future.

Big brands are starting to insource more. Instead of hiring a large company to do every part of a study, these enterprises are now breaking their research into pieces. They are doing the work in-house and bringing in the tools and consultants they need to get the insights they are looking for.

This is changing the dynamic of our industry very dramatically. The most valuable companies are the ones creating tools that allow for DIY research – it’s DIY with services if you will.

The second part of this change is the consolidation of the industry. Big companies such as Dynata have acquired dozens of smaller companies, allowing them to run more efficiently. However, while these big companies are focused on themselves, their customers feel like they’re being ignored.

It has created a vacuum. Companies that once used one of the acquired businesses that have been bought out are now looking for a replacement team, creating opportunities all over for new businesses to come in and meet their research needs.

And from a hiring perspective, the talent within the industry is moving around as well. This has created an influx in the gig economy with several talented researchers looking to be hired by the highest bidder.

Conclusion

Industry events help us stay connected and keep a pulse on the market research industry. Without them, relationships would become nothing more than an email thread and the occasional video chat. Aside from all of the professional advantages that come with attending events like Quirk’s, there’s one thing we’ve yet to mention…they are fun!

If you’ve never been we really hope that you consider attending in 2020. You won’t want to miss what’s in store for the next year of market research.

BONUS: If you are a first-time conference goer, here is our best piece of advice for getting the most out of the event.

If you are sitting with someone you know, you’re doing it wrong. These events are all about networking, and there are plenty of opportunities to talk to new people. Exhibit halls, seminars, cocktail events, and meal functions are all great places to begin creating new relationships. So don’t be shy, get out there and start connecting.

See you next year!

 

Knowing how to hire is one thing, but who you should hire can be tough.
That’s why we took our market research expertise and created this short quiz.

Take the Quiz CTA

Who is going to make the biggest impact on your team? Take the quiz and find out today!

/by

Insourcing Highly Specialized Candidates In A Changing Market Research Industry

Insourcing is one of the solutions being considered by many insights departments. When the pressure increases to deliver more innovative approaches, solve more complicated problems, and doing so with ever decreasing budgets, what is an insights leader to do?

Many companies are looking for ways to bring both the work and the newer research tools in-house. The alternative? Writing yet another traditional research brief, sending it out to the larger research agencies, and waiting weeks for a proposal with a large price tag.

Which brings us to the million dollar question. Can this problem be solved in-house?

Technology is Making Insourcing Possible

The DIY label is no longer a negative one. If the available tools are used by an experienced researcher, the need to send a brief to larger companies diminishes. Additionally, tech companies with an understanding of research methodologies are applying their knowledge of technology to develop tools that automate the process. As a result, the researcher can do much more in less time. AI, machine learning, templates, data visualization dashboards, and automated data processing tools have all changed the way traditional research is done and the time it takes to complete it.

If your stakeholders are expecting more insights out of your team in shorter time frames, you can now respond appropriately.

The Gig Economy is Freeing Up Talent

In addition to these new tools, you can now bring more research specialists onto your team that have experience using them.

You can bring consultants in on an as-needed-basis before hiring a person full-time, or before your new headcount is approved. An experienced consultant can learn your approaches and research strategies, and offer suggestions for improvements because they bring a wide range of experience from other assignments.

For example, if you want to access internal databases for customer data, and search external data sources, you may need a data scientist to wrangle the data into a manageable form.  This person would need to use SQL or Python or R to accomplish this task.  So, either ask one of your current team members to learn the new data languages or… you guessed it, bring in a consultant.

Has your company considered insourcing? There is no denying that doing so is now easier than ever before. If you do determine that insourcing is the right move for your company, the only thing left to consider is who you’re going to hire.

 

Knowing how to hire is one thing, but who you should hire can be tough.
That’s why we took our market research expertise and created this short quiz.

Take the Quiz CTA

Who is going to make the biggest impact on your team? Take the quiz and find out today!

/by

Understanding The Gig Economy And What It Means For Market Research

Understanding The Gig Economy And What It Means For Market Research

The gig economy is here, it’s growing, and it’s doing so unabated. Growth in freelance workers is nearly doubling year-over-year, and as a result, businesses are increasingly hiring freelance workers to meet changes in demand.

But what does that mean for the market research industry? And what do you need to know in order to adapt to the changes in the workforce?
Read more

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4 Reasons You Should ALWAYS Use A Recruiting Firm To Hire In MR

If there is one thing that people in the Insights Industry know, it’s that things move quickly. New technology, new best practices, and shifts in what information is the most important make staying ahead of the game all the more difficult.

It goes without saying, when it comes time to hire, you have to move fast.

For busy market researches, finding the right candidate is just as important as finding them quickly – making the process of hiring even more anxiety-inducing …as if it wasn’t stressful enough already.

So, where is the relief?

There are a lot of options at your disposal when it comes to recruiting for your market research team.  However, few compare to the convenience and effectiveness of using a market research executive recruiting firm.

Here are 4 reasons that you should always use a recruiting firm when hiring in the market research industry.

1) They Save You Time

It takes a lot of time to find the right talent for your growing team. An Executive Recruiter who specializes in finding, and placing, market research and data insight professionals can save you time, especially because they know your industry and the skills you are searching for.

An HR Generalist will consume a lot of your time by sending resumes and scheduling calls with candidates who aren’t qualified to do what you need them to do. They can’t be expected to understand the complexity of a highly technical discipline like Market Research and Data Science. But a recruiting firm, especially one that specializes in the MR industry, is designed to do just that.

2) They Have a Larger Network

Your personal network may not be not as big as you think it is. A Market Research Executive Recruiter can offer you a wider selection of better candidates then you can do by yourself.

Sure, you can network, and post job descriptions on job boards, and send emails to your friends.  But by doing so, you are going to get a much shorter list of candidates to sort through and out of the candidates on that list, chances are, not all of them are going to be screened and qualified in the way you expect.

With a recruiting firm, you know that your receiving candidates that can both do the job you’re hiring for, and are interested in working in that position.

3) They Understand the Role You’re Filling

A knowledgeable Executive Recruiter will understand your role, identify candidates, and screen those who will meet the criteria of your search. A recruiting firm that specializes in market research will have experience in the industry.

So, not only can they understand who you are looking for, but they can quickly identify and screen candidates to make sure they have the skills to fill your position.

4) They Help Sell Your Company

Since they understand the industry and your role in it, the other variable is that they will be able to help you sell your opportunity to the best candidates.

In a rapidly changing market place such as in market research (where the demand for talent exceeds supply) you will need help selling your opportunity to the well-qualified talent you want on your team.

The existing talent already has several great opportunities to choose from, and you may not even be on the list.

 

When it comes to finding the right talent for your MR team, there are a lot of factors to consider. But it’s clear that the best way to relieve the stress of this process is by bringing in some help from a good executive recruiting firm.

 

Knowing how to hire is one thing, but who you should hire can be tough.
That’s why we took our market research expertise and created this short quiz.

Take the Quiz CTA

Who is going to make the biggest impact on your team? Take the quiz and find out today!

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