None of us is as smart as all of us. – Ken Blanchard
If there’s anything I’ve learned in my 10+ years of managing and conducting qualitative research projects, it’s that teamwork is a key contributor to project success. At Hemispheres, we believe research is a team effort.
Here are some ways we like to use teamwork in qualitative research studies to optimize our results.
We use each other’s strengths.
We like to work together with our fellow Hemispherians, brainstorming about the best methodology approach, and tapping in to all of our experiences. We listen in on our colleagues’ interviews to generate findings from different angles and contexts, and bounce ideas off of each other. All this helps us deliver more powerful insights.
The same project team from start to end.
When a new project comes in, we carefully compose the best team for the job. From the project kick-off, where we discuss the objectives with the client team, to the final presentation of our learnings, those team members including the moderators are part of the process and bring all that context into the focus group room (or online community, or in-depth interview). This helps us know when we hear something interesting that requires more probing, or when we can let something go. The same level of involvement applies to for report writing. As a result, we can focus on what really matters to our clients.
We consider the client part of the team, too.
Teamwork also means we like to collaborate with the client team. When we kick-off a project, or present our findings, we try to involve as many stakeholders from the client side as we can. This helps us understand the bigger picture that puts the research in its context, allowing us to tailor our findings to the needs of the organizations we serve.
We encourage our clients to come watch the interviews and leave room for them to ask questions. When doing focus groups, we like to engage the client team by offering them a backroom exercise while watching the groups. This helps the team focus on the objectives, shows where they put emphasis and what quotes stick with them, and why.
We build in lots of time to debrief – after the first (couple of) interviews, after each interview day, and after all the interviews are done. We regularly check in with our clients to ensure they are getting the information they need, and better understand how this information could serve their company goals. We aim to be a research partner to our clients, not just a vendor.
Would you like to experience how our teamwork approach gets you smarter research results? Send us an email at hello@hemispheresinsights.com, or email me directly at rwolfs@hemispheresinsights.com.
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay.