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HRchive Features May 2004: The rise of the Field-based Project Manager, from the forthcoming MRWho Opening Field A fundamental shift is taking place in the structure of research agencies - and no, it’s not the move towards more strategic partnerships with clients, or the trickling down of responsibility / ‘ownership’ to the more junior levels of exec. It’s in Field - or what used to be Field. Perhaps that’s a bit drastic - we are not about to witness the end of Field as we know it - but there are definite changes in the division of responsibilities between field and execs, and a new breed of researcher emerging on the border between the two. I notice the change in particular when going through a couple of dozen vacancy ads every night and coding them according to level and job function for registered candidates. It’s never been merely a question of looking at the job title, but the ‘Project Manager’ title in particular is less and less of a guide to job function. There have always been a few field jobs with this title but the number is growing, and job descriptions include more and more of the duties previously curtained off from field - project planning, analysis, even client meetings. Such roles are increasingly found not just in Field and Tab agencies, but in full service companies. A long term trend towards giving field personnel more responsibility has accelerated of late. According to Rebecca Seton at recruiters Personnel Resources, the profile of field and operations vacancies has been gradually changing over more than a decade. Emma Bensalhia, of SLS Services, says both job content and job titles have changed radically in the new century and particularly over the last 18 months. ‘Where four years ago, the majority of junior-middle level field roles would be titled 'field controller' and the bones of such a job would tend to consist of costing, scheduling, progress monitoring and adhering to IQCS standards, lately we are seeing titles such as 'Project Manager', 'and 'Research Executive' emerge when describing what is still essentially a field position’ says Emma. ‘These titles come with much more of a range of duties that include input to questionnaires, analysis (of field data), report writing, client liaison (internal and external) and business development’. A change in field roles encourages a change in the way Field staff work with executives. ‘A lot of the big agencies are now setting up project teams which include field and exec people working closely together, and sharing responsibilities’ says Price Jamieson’s Nicky Geen, adding that ‘The ‘in-between’ roles are mostly on the qual side - to an extent it has always happened with quant’. The changes open up ‘Field’ as a more definite career option for aspiring researchers. They may also find that it offers the much-longed-for ‘way-in’ to market research, as the barriers between field and exec positions are lowered - this follows fairly inevitably from the blurring of responsibilities, although not all those in the halfway house positions are using them as a stepping stone to the exec side, or indeed to the field side. Nicky Geen sees more candidates now with a definite preference for field - ‘it’s more and more of a career choice’. ‘Traditionally’ explains Emma Bensalhia, ‘the vast majority of field candidates would come up through the industry - often beginning life as telephone/face to face interviewers and progressing to supervisors, field controllers, etc. Recently there has been a marked increase in the number of graduates obtaining roles as field controllers, project managers, and so on. I would say the fact that many of these roles hold a much wider range of responsibilities is encouraging for those graduates that wish to obtain research positions but perhaps are not so keen on certain areas that most research executive positions entail. Areas like advanced analysis or undertaking presentations to clients’. According to Rebecca Seton, ‘the last year has seen a sharp increase in the number of such vacancies for those with under 5 years’ experience, and compared to a decade ago there is greater diversity in the opportunities and career paths available. This is the main factor behind individuals making field and operations a career choice’. Commensurate with this, there is increased interest in qualifications for field execs - ‘Big agencies are putting ops people through qualifications / allowing them to do quals - eg MRS courses’ says Nicky Geen. ‘It’s part of their becoming a more established role’. It’s possible that new data collection methods - with the Internet prominent among them - will actually contribute to the phenomenon, if they are not doing so already. RP Cushing’s Sinead Hasson explains: ‘for some projects, there’s a field role but one that doesn’t involve dealing with people - it’s more data collection management and progress monitoring, and less talking to interviewers. In such a study the ‘field’ function becomes more commercial, in other words closer to the client / exec side and it’s less logical to hive it off from the other exec functions’. Hence more ‘in-betweeners’. All of this is good news for candidates. Nicky Geen has noticed ‘an increased willingness by agencies to look at field people, including for RE jobs. When it’s so tough to get into the research exec side field can be a very good way into the industry - now more than ever’. Emma Bensalhia says making the jump from field side to exec side is not an impossibility, particularly with experience of project management, but points out that this is not the only qualification required: ‘it is ultimately still a prerequisite for research executives to be educated to degree level whereas for many of the field roles, this is not the case’. Graduates take note - and HR managers too - that ‘Field’ is now a serious career option attracting good people. Furthermore it is very busy at present, according to Nicky Geen. ‘Operations generally are booming but field even more than other areas. All the big agencies are recruiting’. If this means more respect for field within agencies, so much the better - of the many possible ways of improving our product and bringing fresh thinking into the MR industry, I can think of few better than removing some of the obstacles between the people writing the reports and the people answering the questions. Nick Thomas With thanks to:
Emma Bensalhia, SLS Services Contact details / Web sites for all these via MrWeb. | |||||||||||||||||
