Mike Tyson famously quipped that “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” While no researcher (that we know of) has ever been pummeled when finding participants for research, we have had our fair share of stalled out recruitment efforts that have threatened to push back timelines. Many design researchers would likely agree that recruiting participants can be a humbling lesson in trying to manage factors that are beyond your control.
Here at Craft, we’ve seen enough of the unexpected in our recruitment efforts across different clients and industries that we’ve learned not only to expect it, but to find creative ways to influence the factors at play so that we can deliver strong outcomes for our clients. It’s not just about having a good plan, but potentially multiple plans. We may need to take a few creative solutions out for a spin while simultaneously leaning on our client’s internal team to fill the gaps. For this to work, we foster open channels of communication with our clients so that we can tag in another contingency plan at a moment’s notice.
Needles in the Haystack
While recruitment presents a degree of risk to any research effort, some audiences are like needles in a haystack — considerably difficult to find and coax out into a research session. Are we looking to speak with folks in their late 20s/early 30s who are beginning the search for their first house, or do we need a technician that sells, installs, and supports networked video security systems? The more specific and niche recruiting criteria get, the smaller that needle in the haystack will be.
Having very specific recruiting criteria isn’t a bad thing! In fact, the more our clients have conviction about who they specifically want to serve, the more disciplined they can be about decisions involving their product. That said, we always want to understand which criteria is critical to the outcomes of our research vs. criteria that may simply be an inconsequential attribute that creates another constraint.
The fact remains that we may need to accept that finding a very specific type of person will take time, effort, and resources. In cases where it was our first time recruiting a specific audience, we have published a low-cost test screener through different recruiting platforms to determine the incidence rate of that audience within their panel. This has given us a read on whether or not we can rely on recruiting platforms or if we need to go in another direction.
Spreading Our Bets
There is no definitive way to recruit participants for research. Depending on the timeline, audience, budget flexibility, and relative access we have with our client, we have employed a mix of different approaches to get the audience that we need. In the table below, we’ve provided a handful of recruitment methods we have leveraged, ranging from the tried and true to the non-traditional and scrappy. Each of these approaches can be used exclusively or as a complement to one another that allows us to spread our bets across different options.
The Right Tools for the Job
Stick to the (Contingency) Plan(s)
Knowing that Plan A isn’t guaranteed to work out, it’s always good to have a Plan B and Plan C, if need be. When we plan for research, we think about where to insert decision points in the timeline that allow us to assess how recruitment is progressing and evaluate options with our client on how to proceed. It’s far better to walk into initial planning discussions with contingency plans front and center than to come back later with a contingency plan when things are already falling behind.
What do we mean when we say contingency plan? It can be a blend of options to kick into action based on where we are in the project timeline.
Contingencies We Think About
Once recruitment has kicked off, we’ll err on the side of over communicating. The more our clients are aware of potential blockers, the easier it will be to shift into contingency mode without material impact to the timeline.
Always Prepared & Always Learning
At Craft, we have taken a flexible approach to research and recruiting that allows us to adjust and adapt to the needs of our clients and their users. We’re also pragmatic about the time and effort required, so we’ll always default to over-communicating and being prepared to take a left turn when needed. All along the way, we’ll ensure our clients are plugged in so that everyone gets what they need.
Our goal when conducting research is to find actionable insights that help propel our clients’ product forward and that all starts with a thoughtful approach to recruiting the audiences they need to hear from. Are you ready to take your product to the next level? Craft can help with our unique approach to research-led design. Drop us a line at hello@madebycraft.co and let’s chat about how we can help you!
Written by Sean Sheehan & Lindsey Kerr. Sean is a Research Director at Craft and Lindsey is a Researcher at Craft. Special thanks to Jill Tracy for design strategy for this article.
