Recruiting CATI Data Collectors and Field Locators for GuLF Study

Can you describe in three sentences or less what you job entails?

As a program manager for our Center for Operational and Recruitment Excellence, my job is to initially understand the needs of a new or existing client for any particular project that is being implemented. This entails discovery of what problems/issues the project is working to resolve, understand the profile of individuals that have been successful on similar projects in the past, and work to identify and assemble the best possible team to get the job done. From there, I work to ensure that all employees on the project have all of the tools necessary to get the job done on time and without fail.

What kind of individuals do you look for to fill these positions?

Often times experience level varies, folks that have experience in research specifically are always something we target whether their experience is academically based or in the field as a part of an ongoing study. Also, we have found that folks that have previous experience in records keeping, collections, or sales often have the skill set needed to be successful in a role that attention to detail, follow up, and handling rejection often plays a critical role.

What are your strategies for finding high-quality data collectors? (and do these strategies differ depending upon the nature of the project?)

The first place we always look when identifying talent, is our own proprietary database of millions of applicants and former employees. We have found a much higher success rate in terms of attrition and performance when recruiting people that have experience either working with us or applying with us in the past. From there, we use a robust approach to attract and recruit both active and passive candidates from Job boards, to DOLs and resume databases. Often times, we will also do some remote sourcing where we target local businesses to make connections and build our network.

What is the best part of the job for you?

Headway dedicates full service support teams for each and every project where we have the ability to ramp up and ramp down our team based on individual project needs as well as the difficulty of the projects. We work really hard to constantly improve our processes and the overall candidate experience. We have the opportunity to talk to hundreds and thousands of job seekers every day, and work to ensure that the experience in working with Headway is an enjoyable experience for both Clients and candidates alike. Hands down though, I must say, that my experiences connecting with our clients to understand and address their specific needs is the primary reason I come to work every day, with a smile on my face.