Podcast: Jamin Brazil joins us to talk about the labor market and employee morale

We hosted Jamin Brazil on a recent episode of our “Now that’s significant” podcast. While he needs no introduction, here’s a bit about what he’s done during his tenure in the market research industry, along with what he's been up to recently. Jamin was the co-founder and CEO of Decipher, subsequently taking over CEO responsibilities of FocusVision once it was acquired. Today, Jamin is co-founder and Chairman of HubUX, a research operation platform for private panel management, qualitative automation including video audition questions, and surveys. Additionally, he is the host of the Happy Market Research podcast, which recently aired its 500th episode. 

Jamin spoke with us about how market research businesses can turn the tide on a tight labor market by investing in employee morale. He believes the single largest impediment to growth is talent, and companies are struggling with how to attract and engage employees. Because many people aren’t willing to return to the office full-time, and are seeking a new work model, this is affecting how businesses relate to employees as well as customers. 

He spoke with us about the monumental dent in employee morale that has ensued due to the pandemic, leading to the “Great Resignation.” Low morale makes it difficult to attract high-performing employees. The pandemic has had widespread effects on things like travel, destroying many industries, negating the value of entire datasets - like those related to tourism, and resulting in a total cessation of in-person meetings for business. This lack of personal connection has definitely affected the “mood in the room.” 

Ultimately, Jamin believes that this reality impacts the market researchers’ ability to add value to the organization in which they work. For insights professionals, whose ROI has always been hard to quantify directly to the success of the business, it is even harder to prove value. Jamin says, “this isn’t demotivating per se, but it definitely isn’t motivating.” 

Organizations are also struggling to support workers who are remote, in-office and hybrid all around the world. It’s become hard for managers to gauge productivity and, with remote teams, project management and communication have become critical - thus the rise of online collaboration tools, such as Slack and Notion. These can come with related headaches, and security issues, if not implemented and used properly as well. 

While many are thriving with a work-from-home model, losing a lengthy commute, the challenges are clear as people try to stay engaged and companies struggle to digitalize. Jamin provides some recommendations during the podcast to help increase engagement for staff, build relationships and build new company values. 

Subscribe to the podcast here.