CONFIDENTIAL 1

Hiring and Keeping Amazing UX ResearchersPamela Walshe, AnswerLab Director of Research

Dan Clifford, Chief Experience Officer and Co-Founder

September 20, 2012

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Our Mission

ImprovingThe Digital World

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AnswerLab is the Market Leader

• Founded: 2004, San Francisco

• Opened New York Office in 2012

• Trusted by global market leaders

• Recommended by

• 500+ research projects

• Research across 5 continents, in over a dozen languages

• #1 research firm

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Today’s Presenters

Dan CliffordChief Experience Officer

and Co-Founder

Email: dan@answerlab.com

AnswerLab160 Spear Street, Suite 700San Francisco, CA 94105

Pamela WalsheDirector of User Experience

Research, AnswerLab

Email: pwalshe@answerlab.com

AnswerLab160 Spear Street, Suite 700San Francisco, CA 94105

• Manager of AnswerLab’s SF Research team

• Previously VP, UX Research, Wells Fargo

• 10+ years experience in User Experience

Research

• Masters degree from the iSchool and BA in

Anthropology, both from UC Berkeley

• 20 years experience in marketing and user

experience

• Career spent helping technology innovators

succeed

• MBA and degrees in Psychology and

Organizational Behavior

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Agenda

• The biggest challenge in hiring

• The importance of core values

• Defining a “Rock Star” UX Researcher

• Finding and attracting great candidates

• Making the right choice – your evaluation process is key!

• They’re hired, now what? How to keep great UX researchers on your team

• Questions

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Who Doesn’t Say This?

“We hire the best people”

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Core Values are an Important Recruiting Tool

• Build Trust

• Provide amazing service

• Jump in to help others

• Handle change with flexibility

• Embrace new technology

• Figure it out and get it done

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Hiring Someone Should Never Feel Like This

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A Rigorous Interviewing Process is Key to Identifying Rock Star UX Researchers

Find great candidates

Rigorously evaluate them

Hire the Rock Star!

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Define Your “Rock Star”

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So, What Makes a Rock Star?

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YOU are Part of the Formula

Great UXResearcher Attributes

Your Specific

Business Needs

Your Rock Star

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A Trusted ConfidantOprah Winfrey

Great UX Researcher Attributes

An Expert in the FieldMartin Scorsese

• Technical Expertise• Proven track record for outstanding work• Passion for the field• Active in the professional community• A great advocate and educator

• Non-Judgmental• Easily Builds Rapport• Cares Deeply about Affecting Change

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7 Important Questions to Ask Yourself

What are your core values?1

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What is the pace of the work environment?

Are you trying to build a practice or execute a project?

How much bandwidth do you have for mentorship or training?

Will they need to present findings to a project team or senior executives? Both?

Is your team more collaborative or do people work independently?

What kind of deliverables will the person need to create? What tools are required for the role?

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Finding and Attracting Great Candidates

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UX Talent Comes From a Variety of Disciplines

• Anthropology

• Business School

• Cognitive Science

• Communications

• Economics

• Human-computer Interaction (HCI)

• Information Science

• Psychology

• Sociology

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What Motivates Researchers to Make the Leap to a New Team?

• Seeing the impact of their work on the user experience

• Opportunities for collaboration with others

• Exposure to new tools and techniques

• Continued learning and professional development

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Show Your Stuff to Attract Great Talent

• What great people already work in your organization?

• What makes your opportunity unique?

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Making the right choice – your process is key!

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Remember the Milli Vanilli Lesson…Looking Like a Rock Star Does Not Make Someone a Rock Star!

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Process is Key, Interviews Aren’t Enough!

Find great candidates

Rigorously evaluate them

Hire the Rock Star!

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AnswerLab’s Process

Interviews

1

Writtenexercise

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Presentation SocialEvent

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MockResearchSession

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They’re Hired, Now What?Keeping Great UX Researchers

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Fostering a Career in UX Research

• The magical 30-day window

• Encouraging innovation

• Supporting participation in the larger professional community

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Quick Guide to Hiring Amazing UX Researchers

To help you ensure you’re hiring the best possible UX researchers for your team, we’ve assembled these best practices to share with you.

DOWNLOAD NOW >>

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Thank You.For follow-up questions about AnswerLab user experience research services, contact:

info@answerlab.com