I was asked to fill out an exceptionally badly designed customer satisfaction survey yesterday. From what I could gather (from the loaded questions, leading response options and multiple bias), the purpose of the survey was to provide the company with an empirical justification to get rid of their print brochures and rely more heavily on their website so they could indirectly save the world/environment (and reduce their print budget). Their findings will recommend just that because the wording and inherent bias of the questions will only elicit these findings. Which begs the question why didn't they spend the resources on a print run of the brochure or make a donation to an enviro-org?
There is a moral to this story:
The danger of outsourcing or even in-sourcing activities to people that do not have the appropriate skill set to carry it off.
What I would recommend is getting a professional researcher to work out with them what they want to find out, what is the most appropriate research method and then the same professional can design, collate and present the findings for approximately the same time and money.
In previous roles and throughout my professional life, I've been a contract researcher doing both academic and commercial projects. It's not a black art, it's not particularly difficult but it is an acquired taste or skill. However, unfortunately most people across all disciplines think they can just knock up a survey in 20 minutes and they probably could but I will guarantee you that it won't deliver any information, what you'll be left with is a huge amount of data and nothing to base meaningful decisions.

I don't know whether the person behind this survey was a member of staff or a hired-in researcher, but what I can assume is that the company in question did not get the best person for the project because they limited themselves to their own network.

Every company, large and small, has been a victim to this mindset - better the devil you know and it's prevalent across all disciplines - horrid graphic design, sub-optimal web design, IT etc. etc.
Today we can't afford mediocrity and it's time to start exacting the best possible value for our time and money. So instead I would recommend casting the net a little wider, tendering out to a group of skilled professionals and allow yourself be impressed by their knowledge and experience rather than their address book. There are lots of online and offline networks out there, Flexitimers is one of them, use us but if not use our competitors because I just can't bare to see companies paying (time and money) for poor product in these recessionary times (pardon the cliche).

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, FlexiTips, freelancing, Opportunties for contracting, Recession, Smart Work