ROC2023 Preview: Relationship-building between Research and Ops — failure and recovery from it
By Kate Fisher and Julia Cowing
Current Reality
Research and Operations (Ops) teams play vital roles in driving innovation and growth. Researchers are responsible for gathering and analyzing data to understand user needs, while Ops teams are responsible for supporting the research process and ensuring that studies have the right participants and tools.
Despite their complementary roles, Research and Ops teams often face challenges in collaborating. This can lead to delays, frustration, and a diminished impact of research initiatives. However, by building strong relationships and working together as partners, Research and Ops teams can achieve more together.
We feel passionately about this topic because we’ve been in research and operations roles at different companies. We’ve also worked together at two companies with these different hats.
Common Problems and Pathways to Recover
Throughout the typical research study lifecycle, there are five common areas where tensions can arise between Research and Ops teams. In this article, we’ll explore these areas and provide strategies for Research and Ops teams to effectively navigate and resolve these challenges
Planning — Poorly designed screeners
Quickly created screeners are a common issue that can affect research projects. Screeners are used to filter out participants who are not eligible for a study. But if they’re poorly designed, they may exclude qualified participants or allow unqualified participants to participate. Because researchers sometimes rush through the process of developing a screener for Ops, responses can misrepresent the respondents, and then eventually undermine the quality of data collected during the research.
Designing Screeners Like Surveys for Accurate Participant Selection
👩🔬To address this issue, researchers should design screeners with the same rigor as any other survey. They can benefit from conducting a cognitive walkthrough with customers to see how they think through the questions. Taking the time to design effective screeners is critical to collecting valuable data.
👷♀️Ops can also play a crucial role in this process by allocating more time for co-creation with researchers. Having a question bank at hand, based on past screeners, can speed up the process and ensure that screeners are comprehensive and effective.
Example: Identifying Power Users from Screeners
At a company where Julia was in operations, the research team aimed to identify power users of certain product features and wrongly asked about workflows to identify them. However, users do not always label their workflows, nor do they always know what their workflow is called, making it challenging to recruit the right participants. In this case, Julia adopted a research-oriented approach and suggested that the interview questions should focus on specific tasks rather than the entire workflow. She also conducted brief phone screenings with candidates to ensure that they were high-usage users.
Execution — Low response rates
Poor response rates can be a major roadblock in research projects, leading to delays and creating tension between Researchers and Ops. Delayed recruitment reinforces the perception that research “slows things down,” which can damage the relationship between the two teams.
Maximizing Participant Engagement and Response Rates
👷♀️Ops teams can play a critical role in improving response rates by creating and tracking cohorts. By tracking response rates historically and learning what works and doesn’t work for different cohorts and study types, Ops can make recommendations on how to solve recruitment problems effectively. This involves creating a feedback loop with researchers to evaluate participants’ engagement and decide whether to include or exclude them in future research. This feedback loop feeds into cohort development and ensures that the right participants are selected.
👩🔬Researchers should provide feedback about participants after every study, enabling Ops to continuously improve the recruitment process and enhance response rates.
Example: Understanding Seasonal Movement of Financial Managers
Consider the example of the seasonal movement of financial managers, such as their summer trips. Kate strategically planned around these seasonal fluctuations, ensuring that research projects were not affected by factors like school holidays or “Earnings season.” By understanding and accommodating these movements, screener response rates were optimized.
Reporting — Poor stakeholder engagement
Stakeholder engagement is vital for the success of research projects, and Ops can play a significant role in making it happen. But, if Ops lacks a clear understanding of stakeholder needs and their context, it can be challenging to make smart communication decisions. If stakeholders are not engaged, they may be less likely to take action on the findings. This lack of engagement makes it difficult for Research and Ops to socialize research over time for greater impact.
Sustaining Stakeholder Interest in Insights
👩🔬Researchers should pilot test their share outs with Ops. This would then help Ops understand the topics of the study and know what stakeholders to invite. Research teams should invite Ops to report share-outs, ensuring that insights are not siloed.
👷♀️Ops can improve stakeholder engagement by inviting stakeholders to participate in the research process. This can include scheduling customer interviews on their calendars and including them in debrief discussions. Ops can also post videos and share takeaway snippets throughout the study to create buzz in communication channels. This proactive approach ensures that stakeholders are well-informed and engaged throughout the research process.
Example: Ops Curates a Theater-Like Experience
At one company, Kate in Ops took responsibility for the observer/note-taker experience, ensuring that stakeholders were set up for success. This approach is similar to the way a theater experience is curated to make it enjoyable. By building excitement, inviting stakeholders, and enhancing their experience, Ops can significantly improve stakeholder engagement.
Post-study — Short insights shelf life
One of the most significant challenges in research is the short shelf life of insights. Research and Ops teams need to have a system in place for storing and sharing research findings so that they can be accessed and used by stakeholders when needed. When researchers and Ops fail to store and share insights effectively, valuable knowledge can be lost, and stakeholders may not have the clarity needed to make informed decisions.
However, the difficulty in obtaining distilled research findings and metadata at the end of studies can exacerbate this issue. Without proper storage and sharing mechanisms, past insights may be lost, and research is more likely to be duplicated. Without a system in place, there is a greater chance for stakeholders to ask for research that has been done already.
Preserving and Sharing Insights Effectively
👷♀️To address this problem, Ops can play a pivotal role as a knowledge custodian. Ops can continuously create snackable, distributable insights that are constantly maintained and readily available. Ops can also standardize how information about studies is distributed and create an insights communication planning calendar similar to a Marketing content calendar.
👩🔬Researchers should provide research repository links and link out to other researchers’ findings at the end of report share-outs. Weekly or monthly insights reporting can also help in disseminating valuable information to various departments.
Example: A mega deck of insights
At one large company where the company was inundated with research insights, Julia created a mega-deck of insights. Each slide was an executive summary of a study. It proved to be a simple, effortless way to disseminate information in bite-sized format.
The Synergy of Research and Operations Teams
Imagine having research insights that are not only helpful but also easy to access at every step of the research process. This is the possibility when Research and Operations teams work together closely, using their different skills to help their organizations grow and improve.
But, there’s also a greater possibility!
The next level: Siloed data gets connected through Ops to articulate the holistic customer journey
Multiple ad hoc studies can often present a fragmented picture of the customer journey, especially in large companies where silos between different groups hinder a holistic understanding of customer needs.
We envision a remarkable transformation when Research and Operations teams form an effective partnership. Ops can serve as the central hub, a “clearing house of data,” connecting the dots and articulating the customer experience across ecosystems. This next level of collaboration paves the way for a comprehensive understanding of the customer journey and innovation opportunities.
Ops as a Partner, Not Just a Service
We hope this article has empowered you to bring this vision to life. If you take nothing else from this, remember to view Ops as equal partners, not service providers. When we invite them to the table, collaboration thrives, and the possibilities are endless.
Learn more at the ResearchOps Conference 2023
Join our talk at ReOps Conference to learn about more challenges and solutions for research and Ops collaboration!
Kate and Julia will be expanding on these ideas in their presentation at https://reopsconference.com/ on Thursday, 16 November 2023.
Connect with us!
If you’ve read this far, we’d love to connect with you. We’re curious to hear about your experiences in Research and Operations. Thank you!
