Inclusion for deeper insight: reaching the right people and treating them well in research

At The Customer Closeness Company we believe that all voices matter, and that the best decisions are made when an organisation consults the widest spread of its customers or stakeholders.

In recent years we have noticed a distinct push from business and organisations to ensure that they get the thoughts of ‘vulnerable people’  but it’s very easy for this to become a token gesture or a box to tick. Real care needs to be taken to ensure both that those with vulnerabilities are treated fairly and accommodated like any other participant, and also that a full spread of the vulnerabilities that might be affected by a particular business, product or service are represented.

To reach the right people, we always first sit down with a blank piece of paper and a client’s brief and think about who might be impacted by the subject we’re talking about. A fully diverse and inclusive sample is then designed to fit that, in close collaboration with the client.

For example, if you’re talking about communications during a public transport journey, then ensuring that you speak to those with additional audio or visual needs might be important, as would people whose anxiety manifests in difficulties in crowded spaces, or those who use wheelchairs.

Once the research goals have helped to determine the sample, attention needs to turn to how to give those respondents the best experience possible. We would typically work down a checklist of considerations.

• Get the balance right between being open about what you want to talk about and why, and the potential for the screener itself to cause distress or anxiety

o   Avoid triggering language, eg ‘do you have any of the following impairments?’, and treat people as individuals, even in a tick-box recruitment process

• Work out a safeguarding plan for what to do in the event of respondent distress during a research session, and think through where to signpost them to get support

o   Have a full safeguarding document and consider sending/offering it to all research participants at the end of a session in order to avoid stigmatising

• Think carefully about the stimulus that you’re going to put in front of people – is it going to work for everyone, or what adjustments might you need to make?

o   Font size and clarity is obvious, but what about background colours, line and word spacing, or format?

Fundamentally, we believe that everyone is a stakeholder, and getting the experience right for those people with additional needs or vulnerabilities can unlock great insights and build better futures for all customers! Get in touch if you have a challenge that could benefit from truly diverse perspectives – let’s see if we can help you unlock a deeper understanding!