Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
Marjorie Stainback I’m planning to talk about how COVID-19 shifted how we conduct research as well as our onboarding experience. We were used to using our in-house lab to speak to in-person participants and while we had the capabilities to go fully remote, we hadn’t built a process around it prior to the pandemic. Once we had that settled, we started hiring which led to an update of our onboarding process. Molly Fargotstein-Sanders Taking a step back at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, research leadership came together and decided to halt recruitment until we understood the landscape a bit better. Ops took that time to rethink the way we structure our recruitment communications (language, compensation, flexibility) & we worked with researchers to be more flexible with cancellations, no shows, and unwillingness to participate due to the climate (how to navigate deadlines and roadmap expectations). Because of the types of users and customers we have, we took this opportunity to really listen to them & meet them where they are. It really allowed for Ops to take a step back and understand that we can function as the "bleeding heart" of research when the opportunity arises. Stephanie Marsh The quickest decision to be made and supported by the whole organization was not to invite or to do research with scientists and health care professionals that we knew would be working directly on COVID-19. Which meant supporting the pivoting of research to understand new needs both temporary and potentially permanent to our users - Scientists and students. The Research Operations team then worked on recruitment messaging to reassure potential participants that we can be flexible. We have supported and enabled researchers to share lessons learned more widely, such as avoiding afternoon sessions in India because of heavy internet traffic and poor connections. The pandemic prompted us to do emergency planning and identify critical tasks - if all ReOps people weren’t available what would still need to happen, what to do if all research tools were broken etc. We’ve included metrics to track participants' cancellation to quantify impact if any, to understand if perception and reality are the same or different. Longer term we are enabling the wider team to proactively shape the new normal of remote and office working.
Key Insights
-
•
COVID-19 forced research teams to shift rapidly from primarily in-person to fully remote research without pause.
-
•
Updating recruitment scripts to be empathetic and sensitive to participants' changing contexts was critical.
-
•
Transitioning to electronic NDAs accelerated changes that had been previously delayed.
-
•
Remote research expanded participant diversity by overcoming geographic limitations of in-person labs.
-
•
Small research Ops teams must prioritize among multiple operational pillars to avoid burnout.
-
•
Self-service recruitment and research tools empower researchers and scale support.
-
•
Remote work flattened team dynamics, creating a more level playing field internationally and across locations.
-
•
Maintaining team morale requires intentional social activities, like virtual lunches and kudos boards.
-
•
Proactive internal workshops on defining the 'new normal' help teams adapt thoughtfully.
-
•
Prioritizing team health and flexibility enables sustainable cope with unexpected disruptions.
Notable Quotes
"COVID was kind of the mean person to push us into the pool—we had to sink or swim with remote research."
"It was okay to take a step back and pulse the research activity during market volatility."
"Remote research led to greater diversity in participants, which was a pleasant surprise."
"We flipped some onboarding traditions from physical notes to online kudos boards, keeping the welcoming spirit alive."
"In a team of two supporting 35 researchers, we planned a roadmap to focus on a few ops pillars at a time."
"If one person is remote, then everybody should be remote—it creates equality in collaboration."
"We iterated on recruitment messaging about 15 times to get the tone just right during COVID."
"Building an emergency backup process ensured research would continue even if key Ops people were unavailable."
"Prioritization came from engaging all stakeholders cross-functionally through an intake process."
"It’s not about speed or efficiency only—it’s about respect for the research participants."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Provoking and reframing perspective helps teams get unstuck by thinking in new and surprising ways."
Gina MendoliaTherapists, Coaches, and Grandmas: Techniques for Service Design in Complex Systems
December 3, 2024
"Are we bold enough to ditch the user interface in favor of a better experience, a transparent one?"
Dan WillisEnterprise Storytelling Sessions
May 13, 2015
"Companies really need to be approaching climate action in a much more holistic way beyond just reducing operational emissions."
Aiyana Bodi James Christie Marc O'Brien Louis RosenfeldThree Key Climate Initiatives and How You Can Help
September 11, 2024
"How we are at the small scale reflects the systemic patterns at the large scale. - Adrian Marie Brown"
Josina VinkNavigating the pitfalls of systems thinking in service design
December 4, 2024
"Sponsor-led sessions are not sales pitches but packed with great content from real all-star UX professionals."
Louis RosenfeldWelcome / Housekeeping
June 7, 2023
"I was able to connect the dots a lot for the UX team because I had those relationships from customer success."
Renee ReidBecoming a ResearchH.E.R (Highly Enterprise Ready)
June 3, 2019
"Empathy is so overused but it’s really important for us to understand we’re no longer designing for single experiences."
Kelly GotoEmotion Economy: Ethnography as Corporate Strategy
May 13, 2015
"There is no such thing as a self-organized community; they just don’t work and fall apart without leadership."
Kara KaneCommunities of Practice for Civic Design
April 7, 2022
"The pod system gave leads more credibility and leadership opportunities while supporting junior growth."
Sarah Kinkade Mariana Ortiz-ReyesDesign Management Models in the Face of Transformation
June 8, 2022
