MRIA Vue March 2011 Special Feature

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Career Development ‌

in Search of Happiness Drawing on the reflections of successful graduates, the former coordinator of the Research Analyst Program at Georgian College tells us about the dominant themes that recur in alumni’s conversations about the search for happiness in their research careers.

Robert A. G. Wong, MCIP, CMRP, FMRIA

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In the fall of 2008, just before the economic recession, Peggy (my life and work partner) and I were fortunate to be on professional development leave from Georgian College, where I was the coordinator of the post-graduate Research Analyst Program (RAP). Our goal during this leave was to explore the practice of research globally; and our three months of travel abroad – to Thailand, Australia, South Africa, Germany and Trinidad – provided a wonderful perspective. Our biggest

conclusions were that the research profession is universal and that the skills used are transferable, no matter the country, the language, or the people.

In Thailand, we were tasked by the senior management of an international research supplier to examine three issues for its office: how the supplier could build stronger teams, stimulate employee engagement, and improve the working environment. After interviewing thirteen of the supplier’s fifteen staff, conducting training workshops, and sharing many conversations over culinary delights, we offered our perspective. Specific suggestions were made by the staff, but it was the broader observation that was most interesting: We are all in search of happiness, and our careers play an important component in our happiness.

To add to this global peek into the practice of research, as a retired professor with 23 years of experience, I have a unique perspective from which to

contemplate career development. I also canvassed a small qualitative sample of ten out of the 400 RAP alumni who are working in the research industry.

The first great news was that RAP alumni, whom I have followed over the years, have found rewarding and enriching careers in research. Some have earned fulfilling careers in the social research sector in health, education, and public service, and some are advancing their careers on the marketing research side, both as suppliers and buyers.

Among those I canvassed were recent graduates in the early and critical years of the profession.

In Search of Happiness

Five themes recurred in the alumni’s conversations about career satisfaction, career development, and the pursuit of happiness in their careers. What follows are summaries of the recurring themes in their search for happiness – in their research careers and in what they are doing to further develop themselves and their chosen profession.

Build comfort: it’s a two-way conversation.

When a new cohort of students arrived at the college doorstep, the first thing we did was make them feel comfortable.

Because they had to be comfortable – with their decision to attend RAP at Georgian College and as a class – before we could teach them the fundamentals of research. The same reality exists in the

workplace. In fact, a comfort level works both ways: the employee has to come prepared, and the employer has to offer mentorship. One alumna, MM, says that what she brings to her job is “a positive attitude and willingness to try new things.” It is this fresh and eager approach to work that brings energy to the workplace.

In the other direction, employers need to offer employees opportunities – to be challenged, to be given the responsibility to dig into projects, and to be appreciated. As one alumnus, AB, remarks, “Knowing my opinion is sought and valued really boosts my confidence.” So when the conversation goes two ways, there is a sense of satisfaction. An alumnus who took a career change and entered this new profession only ten months ago says, “The experience so far has assured me I have made a great career choice.”

Find your passion and know what makes you tick. “Finding your passion” is a phrase I have used for years when counselling students about career choices.

Of course, that is easier said than finding the elusive passion. For some, passion comes from working in a specific sector, such as public affairs or health; for others, it derives from the nature of the work environment. In a Vue article of May 2005, a colleague at Erin Research, Kasia Seydegart, shared her passion for research eloquently: “People are what make me tick, what fascinate me. So work that centres on human behaviour and advances the human condition is what propels me, what brings a deep sense of meaning and purpose.”

It was a pleasure to hear that recent RAP alumni have caught the same infectious bug. As VF observes, “The most important thing for me and what really gets me going in to work every day is the thrill of digging through information to find an important piece of information for a client. Driving those insights, and knowing that the work my team and I have done has potentially grown my client’s business, is worth all of the hard work and long hours.”

Some have found that their passion is sharing knowledge. AM reflects, “I love vue March 2011

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the educational side of my work. Part of my job is to help other staff who’ve had limited experience with research. So I help in educating them about the ins and outs of actually doing the work. I also have a number of research assistants that I help. What I have realized over the past six years is that you never really stop learning.”

Build relationships and help connect the dots. Career satisfaction may be measured by the application of our research skills and by the analytical somersaults we perform, but the social and work relationships also bring happiness to a career. EN remarks, “I honestly think that if you want to find happiness in your career, it’s not enough to do what you love – that’s only half of it. You really need to combine what you love to do with people you really enjoy being around. A personality fit should not be underestimated.”

But again, how does this play out in the workplace? DR shares this: “I work in a very social environment, and for anyone that knows me, I am a very social person. I do many things with coworkers outside of work, including playing on an ultimate Frisbee team.

This certainly helps in workplace happiness. Imagine coming to work every day and seeing your friends!”

At the Thailand office, we observed opportunities to better align teams strategically in order to recognize and capitalize on the strengths of individual members within a team. In fact at Georgian College, we introduced personality/decision preference tools such as True Colors (by True Colors International) and 4Di (by OneSmartWorld) to help students understand and apply their strengths while improving on areas outside of their comfort zone.

Take calculated risks and be open to opportunities. For some alumni of RAP, career development involved the taking of calculated risks in broadening horizons, stretching the mind, and expanding opportunities. For these alumni, what was important was learning, learning and learning. GD, who works on a continuous quality 12

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improvement (CQI) team, notes, “I have had to work on some very challenging projects since I started. I see the way to develop my career is to continuously improve. Since starting, I have improved on a lot of the knowledge and skills I got from the RAP program, and have also picked up a lot of new skills. I attend training and courses to keep improving myself.”

Several RAP alumni have also earned their CMRP as a way to demonstrate their value to the industry. Although it was a risk to prepare for and write the seven-hour exam, success brought personal satisfaction and opened up future career opportunities. For alumni AS, EN and ES, the CMRP was a career development move that captured recognition from peers and management, and also built confidence in themselves as research professionals.

EN, who has just returned from a three-month exchange with an affiliated company in Germany, frames her thoughts this way: “I’m trying to get as much experience as possible. I think the more versatile you are, the more likely you are to go places and to grow.” Not all employees will have the chance to work internationally, but if you are open to such opportunities, they are more likely to come your way.

Balance work and life. Finally, happiness in your career can also be about a worklife balance. Deadlines, tighter budgets, and increased client demands can result in pressures that drive great research talent out of the industry. On the other hand, research companies are acting on their own research and assessing employee engagement, and they have built more employee-centred initiatives such as company socials, professional development leaves, team lunches, and flex hours. One alumna, JV, explains her work-life balance goal: “This is something that is so important to me – to be able to pursue passions outside of work.

My senior-level management understand that life does go on outside of the office and have shown an interest in getting to know what else we do. It’s the ‘so tell me about your weekend’ conversations and the genuine interest in getting to know

each member of the team that promotes a sense of self-worth.”

Seeking happiness in your career takes effort on your part. It is understanding who you are and finding your passion. It is bringing to the table openness and positive attitudes in order to build comfort with your peers and your mentors. It is the relationships you build and nurture every day – just imagine going to work to see your friends!

Finally, happiness in your career is finding that elusive work-life balance.

What Johanna Skibrub, author and 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner, said about wealth is a personal, not an absolute, observation. It applies to happiness as well: “Its attainment is a matter of prioritizing according to your own values” (“The Payoff,” in the February-March issue of MoneySense magazine).

The Canadian research industry has a unique opportunity to apply the insights from our own employee engagement and loyalty research – research that we conduct for other industry sectors – and to build the most innovative and creative practices, in order to attract the best minds and whole bodies, and to nurture loyalty to research careers.

Special thanks go to the Georgian RAP alumni, who continue to connect with me and share their career stories and opinions.

Great research talent can be found for internships or career positions at www.georgianc.on.ca/rap. Or contact Dan Phillips, RAP program coordinator at dphillips@georgianc.on.ca Robert Wong, MCIP, CMRP, FMRIA, is a loyal partner with his own firm, RMCG, in Barrie, Ontario. He has recently retired as coordinator of the Research Analyst Program at Georgian College, where he bridged the crevasses between academia and the applied world of social and marketing research. Robert can be reached at robert@rmcg.ca