July Newsletter: Job Tips to Save You Time and Money
With the price of gas well over $4 per gallon and the feeling that there are never enough hours in the day to complete all client projects, we offer several tips to help employees regain control of their time and you control over your company's expenses.

Tip 1: Consider Telecommuting
Many companies are increasingly offering telecommuting as it enables their employees to be substantially more productive. In addition to helping employees avoid commuting fees (less gasoline, public transportation fees, etc.), employees can regain valuable hours in their day.

For the market research professional analyzing data, authoring reports, or speaking/emailing with clients, periodic telecommuting offers productivity increases. Consider your employee's ability to "dive deeper" into the data or provide an additional layer of insights during the time that would have been spent driving, commuting, or waiting in traffic - not to mention the heightened ability to focus without all of the office "distractions." Employees with a laptop, the necessary data, Internet access, and telephone/cell phone can be highly productive from a remote location - and you can benefit.

Consider extending trials to some of your "lead" employees. They will be happier, get more done, and save money; your company will have happier employees and experience increased productivity - avoiding future costs. Importantly, telecommuting may enable you to combat 2009 wage inflation by reducing your employees' expenses and providing them a great benefit - a flexible work structure. It's one of those rare win-win situations.

Tip 2: Explore Tele/Online Focus Groups and Web-Camera One-on-Ones
Not only is the fuel crunch hitting companies and market research professionals, it's also impacting focus group participants' ability/willingness to share their opinions - which impacts your bottom line. 

To help ensure you get the best quality data, why not consider using:

• Telephone focus groups
• Online focus groups
• Web-Camera one-on-one interviews

While these methods may not be appropriate for every research situation, they are more appropriate than you might think. In fact, all of these methods have the potential to heighten data quality as you can involve and obtain the opinions of people who live in any county, state, or country - as opposed to only those living within commuting distance from focus group facilities.

Tip 3: Hire the "Right" Research Professionals
Finding qualified market researchers has never been more challenging. However, locating a candidate with the appropriate skills and experience can save you countless dollars and enable you to efficiently service clients. As a rule of thumb, it's better to pay an additional 10% to 15% to get the right person as the economic return will be obtained through productivity.

 

Have a great July!

 

Mike Carroll
800-872-5401
mcarroll@marketresearchcareers.com
www.marketresearchcareers.com