Every week I receive many requests for assistance with research, be it a consultant employed by a government department or a university student who is looking for an interview or a survey to be completed.
We all understand the value of gathering intelligence and I acknowledge that we need to assist students with their research, but it is important for everyone to realise some fundamental truths.
First, business people’s core focus is running their businesses – completing a survey doesn’t feature high on their agenda.
In addition, the sector has been so inundated with these sorts of requests that business’s appetite for assisting in this way has somewhat waned.
I often sense frustration from consultants who are not able to gather the data they are seeking because of perceived apathy from business. Let’s take a moment to consider the validity of this assumption.
You can assume the government needs the information because it has appointed someone to gather it. It is easy to see the value in it for the consultants (they are being paid to gather the information), but any value for business is often far less obvious.
Often the information gathered is not made available to participating businesses after the research is concluded, so there is little motivation for business to take part. Perhaps some thought should go into making information gathering more valuable for business?
Some thought should also be given to the length of some of the surveys. I had a persistent woman on the phone recently, purporting to gather information on behalf of the Gates Foundation.
When I asked her how long her telephonic survey was likely to be, she replied “25 minutes”.
For most executives, this is an absurd amount of time to allocate to a survey that will have little, if any, effect on their business.
The insistent attitude of the caller, which was borderline rude, doesn’t help the cause of information gathering either.
I understand why she is probably frustrated. It must be difficult to get people to agree to take part in this type of survey.
To my mind, it is as unfair to ask someone to conduct this kind of research as it is to ask someone to take part in it.
The other challenge we face is assisting university students with their research.
I have always been willing to assist where I can, and I still am. It is often just not possible because of time constraints and the many requests received.
Most students and researchers I have encountered are polite and accommodating, but recently my receptionist and secretary were treated with lack of respect by a university student who demanded to see me. I was not available but this young man insisted that he needed to interview me.
He demanded to see me then and there, because, he said, “I have to help him – it’s my job”, and because “he has a deadline for his research”. I wasn’t in at the time, so there was little that my staff could do to help him.
I was quite taken aback by his attitude. While I understand his frustration, his behaviour is unlikely to result in a positive outcome for him.
My conclusion from these recent interactions is that managers and owners are more pressured for time than ever before because of the economic environment in which we operate.
It is simply not possible to help everyone with their research needs.
At the same time, people hoping to gather information need to adhere to some sort of research protocol if they hope to be successful.
If you need someone’s help, be respectful and considerate.
Succinctly explain the benefits to be gained from the research and keep the interviews short and to the point.
That is how you win over busy business people.
