Editor's note. Pam Bruns is president of Competitive Strategies, a Chicago based company providing marketing and consulting services to research firms.
As the 1980s trend of downsizing (or "right"-sizing as some prefer to call it) continues, end-users are looking for ways to get a better value from their research provider. While some still rally around "better, faster, cheaper" demands, others, realizing the limitations of this approach, are re-evaluating their needs and considering new alternatives to meet their research objectives.
These researchers understand that only so much can be accomplished in terms of "better, faster, cheaper" before the quality of the research begins to suffer. Given that corporate researchers are evaluated on the validity of the research on which their company's decisions and commitments are made, smart researchers are looking for ways to maximize their resources--both internal and external-- without sacrificing quality.
One area which has begun to come under scrutiny as more design and analytical functions have been internalized is the type of research assistance end-users seek. While standard operating procedure in the past might have been to turn over all projects to a full-service research provider or ad agency, researchers are now beginning to evaluate their level of involvement in the design and analytical functions. More and more researchers are beginning to realize that, on projects requiring only field and tab, it is not in their best interest financially to go through a full-service company and pay for design and analytical talent which they don't need on a particular project.
This is good news for data collectors who have seen the percentage of direct work from end-users increase steadily over the past few years. To capitalize on this trend, many have added some limited form of project coordination to their list of services. Other data collectors, DataSource and Survey Service of Western New York to name just two, have taken project coordination the next step by instituting field management departments within their companies.
Far from the stereotypical one-person, "kitchen table" independent field directors of old, companies that specialize in field management are springing up across the country. Most are headed up by a field director, corporate researcher, or full-service researcher who had the foresight to see a niche developing.
Field management companies such as QFact, On-Line Communications, and Direct Resource, generally provide questionnaire formatting, screener writing, development of instructional and peripheral materials, shipping departments, field auditing and all coordination of data collection, coding and tab services required for the project. Upon study completion, they typically provide a single, consolidated invoice for the project. Generally lean on staff, these companies are designed to provide the services clients need without attempting to compete with the design and analytical capabilities of full-service companies and ad agency research staffs.
In fact, a number of full-service companies and qualitative professionals have also discovered that field management can cost-effectively increase their productivity by allowing them to take on more projects using fewer of their internal resources.
One example of this is the newly formed business relationship between Heakin Research and M/A/R/C, which hired Heakin to handle field management on particular types of studies. Likewise, several qualitative researchers have developed ongoing relationships with field management companies who function as extensions of the consultant's staff, setting up projects and freeing up the researcher to conduct groups, write reports and consult with clients.
Of course, like any other segment of the research industry, field management does have its limitations. By definition, field management companies generally do not provide design and analytical capabilities. This means that their clients may, on occasion, need to seek other providers to meet their full-service needs. Additionally, as a relatively new segment of the industry, experience, services and standards vary tremendously from firm to firm. It's advisable to carefully screen prospective companies and check references.
These limitations notwithstanding, field management provides a way for researchers to increase their productivity while cost-effectively maintaining the quality of the information on which their company's decisions and commitments are made.