The AQR Field Hub, is designed to give Fieldies like myself the chance to meet our peers in a relaxed setting, share experiences and exchange new ideas on the diverse and everchanging sphere that is market research recruitment.
I have enjoyed attending several AQR parties previously, and the 2019 AQR Big Day Out Conference, which provided me with new learnings and perspectives from the researcher side of the industry, but I feel it is an excellent idea to have an initiative in the AQR focused exclusively towards field.
As I’m sure other Fieldies can appreciate, it can sometimes feel that fieldwork is the ‘forgotten craft’ and perhaps, on occasion, it is easy for the important role we play in the successful running of research to be overlooked. So, having a platform which raises the profile of field expertise within AQR is a very positive step.
The event on Wednesday 23 October marked the second Field Hub in 2019, which Sarah Hobley from QRS and Karen Beardon from Ardent Fieldwork have very kindly taken turns to sponsor through the buying of the first drinks round, providing a very warm welcome. The choice of venue, the Somers Town Coffee House, helpfully situated near Euston station for those with the longer commute home, was well selected, delivering a buzzy but cosy traditional pub atmosphere as our backdrop.
Among many tales of recruitment challenges, as well as much brain picking over new methods and approaches, a key hot topic of the night was that of the Recruiter Accreditation Scheme (RAS). We were all in general agreement of the value that the scheme will bring in its aims to raise overall recruitment standards, but there is much anticipation around what the level of uptake will be and whether this will hopefully look to encourage a new generation of people to train to become recruiters. Only time will tell, but it will certainly be an interesting development for us all in the coming months.
