Joel Henkin is vice president, director of client service at R.H. Bruskin Associates, New Brunswick, N.J. Henkin, who has been involved in market research for over 20 years, was previously with The Gallup Organization and before that, research manager at Continental Can Co.

Along with the growth of telephone research in the U.S. has come the need to maintain the highest standards for the interviewing method, says Joel Henkin, vice president, director of client service at R.H. Bruskin Associates, New Brunswick, NJ. In this column, Henkin shares his insights to questions about telephone interviewing.

What kinds of challenges do market research firms and independent telephone facilities face in terms of telephone research?

Some of those challenges include developing a high quality interviewing staff; creating a staff of supervisors to recruit and train interviewers; utilizing WATS lines for cost efficiency; and utilizing state-of-the-art (CATI) computer assisted telephone interview equipment in order to improve interviewing procedures.

How does one provide a good interviewing staff?

The challenge of providing an excellent interviewing staff is achieved initially through an extensive training program. Potential new interviewers-must first call us by telephone for an appointment. If they 'pass' the telephone test they are then asked to come in and fill out an application. The next step requires the potential interviewer to conduct one or more interviews with our training coordinator. The interview contains rather complex skip patterns and subjects which some interviewers might feel uncomfortable asking. If the applicant passes this phase, then he or she will go to a one day training class, followed by one day of on-the-job training. For the first few weeks of employment, all of an interviewer's work is monitored very closely.

From where do you recruit your interviewers?

Since R.H. Bruskin Associates is located in downtown New Brunswick, just a few blocks from the campus of Rutgers University, many of our interviewers are undergraduates or graduate students. We find that most university students are high quality interviewers because they are 'verbal' and reliable.

Also, the challenge of developing a staff of supervisors to hire and train interviewers is becoming greater. Research facilities must compete with offices, fast-food restaurants, convenience stores, and even factories for the same student manpower. Therefore, today's supervisors must not only train but recruit interviewers as well.