That said (and with all due respect to Merrill) I haven’t a lot of sympathy for a CEO who is getting jerked around over a $100 incentive for an interview. As an independent data processing supplier, I have market research clients who haven’t paid their bills since spring (It is now July) for my company’s work on on-going trackers, and who have the chutzpa to send indignant emails if their files aren’t available RIGHT NOW, even if we just got raw data JUST NOW. I send email after email after email asking the status of payment, and the basic response is “Your invoices have gone to accounting”, as if accounting were some ethereal entity in an alternative dimension.

Five years ago I would go through my invoicing once a quarter and find two or three unpaid bills. I would contact the scofflaw and point out their tardiness, and inevitably receive an embarrassed response somewhere along the lines of “My bad,” followed by promise of (and actual) prompt payment. These days I call clients who are 180 days overdue or more, and they want to know what my point is.

There certainly are some payment problems in this industry, but they are not restricted to respondent incentives.

Very interesting topic, as a company that recruits over 500 Telephone Interviews, Web Enabled Telephone Interviews and web survey’s per month it is the never ending battle to keep on top of incentives due respondents. There was a time that we had let the client mail the incentives, however we found that respondents were having to wait up to three months to get paid in some instances. As well we were getting threatened with law suits by these respondents. How can I tell a respondent that it is the clients fault when we recruited them, and we are their main source of contact. Because of this we decided that we would now pay all respondent incentives and we also require the client to have the incentive advance to us at least one week prior to the completion of the study. As well we have hired a full time check writer who’s sole job is to write checks for these surveys.

Best,
Todd

In a way, we are banks with regard to incentives. Even if we receive the incentive the night of the group, or with the study materials at the onsite of an interviewing project we are still floating cash until that check clears. Often insisting you have it “in time to deposit it” can make a facility appear financially challenged; never a good position in the marketplace. Wire transfers are an option we’ve employed in the recent past, and that has helped a bit.

Unfortunately as the economy struggles and businesses with it, we may see more and more financial conversations like this come up. I only hope the bulk of smaller businesses - the ones most likely to get caught in the struggle - can find an eloquent way to navigate it and not allow their respondents to get caught up in it with them.

If you have a contract or letter of agreement with the client specifying who will be paid, then they legally owe you this reimbursement. If you need sample contracts check the MRA website as the qualitative ones are posted and quantitative ones will be posted shortly.

Incentives are here to stay. There is a great case on this with after school programs. In these programs you have either an explicit or implied agreement to pick up your child by a specified time. This social contract is mostly observed. But, when groups apply fines, they find more violators. When these same groups try to change back to the social contract violation rates stay up. Why, because it now is an economic contract. That is now the status of participating in research in most of the populaces’ minds.

So, if you know that incentives are here to stay with respondents, you must ensure this fixed cost is covered for your company via contract with your client.

If they don’t want to “be a bank” then they should demand an incentive deposit from their client before work commences.

Mike

It is sad when the sponsoring client does not pay their invoice or advance money needed for incentives. With that said, it is no excuse for those of us that are recruiting and interviewing respondents to not pay the respondents based upon this issue.

Thanks for your response - that helps alot. I have heard from many companies that require the incentive up front or they won’t take the job.

Good way to keep respondents happy.

Thanks.

Merrill