Empathy, an ability to actively listen and the ability to facilitate would be somewhere near the top of any list of essential skills for qualitative researchers. These skills and characteristics equip qualitative researchers well for their job, which is fundamentally about gaining information and perspective from people who are not necessarily in the habit of giving it.

We also argue that these skills could be used for another, equally important, purpose - to build strategic relationships between researchers and clients. To illustrate this point, think about the fol¬lowing scenarios where the researcher has com¬pleted a ‘good group'. The group bonded, shared, debated and discussed.To help the group bond, the researcher had facilitated and listened - and had been empathetic, perhaps using that wonderful word ‘we' to create empathy saying, for example, ‘when we talk about ‘value' what do we mean?'

At the end of this group, the researcher walks into the viewing room. Three things can happen:

1. Viewing rooms are often quiet and the atmosphere can feel spiky. As the client passes judgment on the group, they might say ‘you spent too much time on the second concept', or ‘we are not getting what we need...' Some researchers may react bullishly to this news, defending their work. Others will beat a chastened retreat. All the researcher's empathy, listening and facilita¬tion skills have suddenly disappeared!
2. In the second scenario the researcher walks into the backroom saying - using that wonderful word - ‘I am not sure we are getting exactly what we need yet, but we seem to be making progress, don't we?' This researcher and client work collaboratively towards a shared understanding of the problem the researcher is helping the client to solve.
3. The third possibility is an empty viewing room. This sometimes feels like freedom, but it can also generate a feeling of lost opportunity - the opportunity to help the client understand customer sentiment or its intensity, perhaps. This brings us to our point: how important it is for researchers to build strategic relation¬ships with clients in which both parties work together to find the best solution to the client's business needs. True collaboration can only hap¬pen when the researcher has a comprehensive understanding of the client's business context. Researchers who invest in building collaborative relationships with their clients not only deliver on the brief but also contribute to the strategic agenda of the client.

This relationship building requires the kinds of skills that qual researchers typically possess: the ability to listen, empathise and ask the right questions. The question we are asking is: we work hard to perfect our listening/questioning skills with respondents - but do we practice these same skills with our clients?

The next stage of development for research¬ers and the next level of value-add for our clients could be to learn how to use these skills strategi¬cally, so scenario two happens more often.

Some people will argue that clients and re¬searchers shouldn't collaborate, saying instead that researchers should be left alone to draw their own, objective, conclusions. The counter argument is that objectivity is important but that impartiality and being close to the problem are not mutually exclusive.

By Sue Bell and Sue Cassanego. Sue Bell is a director of Susan Bell Research. Sue Cassanego is a director of Adjusted Perspective.

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