Hello hello! And welcome to Episode 17 already!

Today we'll explore the topic of profiling users for recruitment. Recruiting the right participants for your user research can make or break your insights.

But how do you know who to reach out to, how long it will take, or what it might cost? Creating a simple user profiling framework can transform this often challenging process into something more predictable and manageable.

Why Profile Your Users?

When planning research, understanding the different segments of your user base helps you:

  • Identify the most effective contact methods
  • Predict response times
  • Budget appropriate incentives
  • Set realistic timelines for stakeholders

The beauty of this approach is that it works whether you're in a mature research environment with established personas or you're the first researcher setting up foundations from scratch.

Creating Your Simple Profiling Framework

Start with a basic spreadsheet that you can refine over time. Here's how to structure it:

First, organize by product or vertical. If your company has multiple products, separate them within your framework.

Next, create a fundamental division between current customers and non-customers. Including non-customers is crucial for comparative research or understanding why people choose competitors.

Within these categories, identify different user types or roles. For example, in a B2B context like a project management tool, you might have:

  • Senior managers who need visibility and reports
  • Team leads who oversee functionality
  • Team members who use the tool daily

For each user type, document:

  1. Population size: How many of these users exist in your base? This affects availability.
  2. Contact method: How do you reach them? Senior management might require going through account managers, while team members might respond to direct emails.
  3. Recruitment timeline: Categorize as slow, medium, or fast based on your context. In some B2B environments, "slow" might mean two months, while in B2C it could be two weeks.
  4. Cost: What incentives are required? Senior executives might not show up for swag or token amounts, while team members might participate for moderate compensation.
  5. Overall difficulty: This summary rating combines all previous factors to help you quickly assess which user types are easier or harder to access.

Making It Work For You

This framework isn't static—it evolves with your needs. You might extend it to differentiate between research methods (surveys vs. usability tests) or modify it as your recruitment strategies change.

The real value comes when planning research projects. When a stakeholder asks for insights from senior executives by next week, you can reference your framework to set realistic expectations about timeline and budget. Or when deciding which user segments to include in a study with limited resources, you can make informed choices about which are most accessible.

Remember, start simple and build from there. Even a basic version of this framework will immediately improve your research planning and help you set the right expectations with your team and stakeholders.

Check out the full episode here:

Tagged in:

Podcast