As part of a Quirk’s-hosted and Deltek-sponsored Webinar in May, 2015, Joe Rydholm, Quirk’s editor, moderated a conversation with execs from three research firms that explored some of the issues they’re facing running their companies. Panelists were Jim Bryson, CEO of 20/20 Research, Nashville, Tenn.; Duncan Lawrence, CEO and president of Morpace, Farmington Hills, Mich.; and Scott Young, president of Perception Research Services, Teaneck, N.J.
While the panelists answered questions around many topics – business efficiencies and profitability; technology; winning new business – some of the Webinar’s main highlights came from conversations focused on gaining talent and creating a positive and sustainable organizational culture. The overall message: marketing research firms are having good luck finding good people.
For many, this message is a breath of fresh air after years of experiencing the struggle of attracting new people to the industry. “Marketing research has a challenge because a lot of other industries are looking for those same talents and skill sets and research can be at a disadvantage because it doesn’t come across as the most exciting career – until you’re on the inside,” Lawrence said. “But once we have a chance to get them on the inside and show them some of the things that are available to them, then it’s a different situation. We’ve had a good run in that area, bringing people in from different backgrounds, and we’ve found that some of our best recruiters are the people on our own staff.”
Panelists discussed their successes in finding the right candidates and the attributes that are the most important for new MR hires to possess. Unsurprisingly, each of the firms find a broad skill set, inquisitive mind, interest in consumers and people skills to be top qualities to consider when hiring. “We look for talents, of course,” Bryson said. “But we look more for personal attributes as well, who a person is more than just what they can do.”
Lawrence echoed this sentiment during the Webinar, highlighting the role curiosity plays in making a firm successful. “You can teach people a lot of things but if you are not curious, if you don’t want to learn, if you’re going to sit on the sidelines waiting for someone to tell you what to do, things aren’t going to happen,” Lawrence said.
Technical skills and a mind for data analysis where not overlooked during the conversation. Panelists made it clear that the ability to understand and take on the challenge of creating actionable information when handling data overload is what separates the strong candidates from the weak. “You are looking for someone who can take a sense of data overload and turn it into a compelling story tied to a set of recommendations and actions,” Young said. “That’s the kind of thing that separates the people who are quote-unquote doing their jobs from the people who are truly taking it to the next level. I think sometimes some of the younger workers may default to wanting to give the client everything, for fear of leaving something out, but the challenge is much more, ‘How do I take this information and turn it into something that is manageable and actionable?’”
To hear more on attracting applicants, weeding out candidates and other topics the panelists explored, check out the event recording at http://bit.ly/1KGbBd1.