Interview with Sarah Kim: Talent Acquisition Strategies in Telemedicine UX Research for International Women’s Day Campaigns

Who is Sarah Kim?

Sarah Kim is a UX research lead at MedConnect, a telemedicine company focusing on women’s health. With over six years of experience in healthcare UX research and talent acquisition, Sarah has helped multiple teams source and select top vendors for user research and recruitment—especially for projects connected to sensitive health campaigns like International Women’s Day.

Q1: When an entry-level UX researcher is tasked with talent acquisition for a campaign like International Women’s Day, what’s the first thing they should consider when evaluating vendors?

Sarah: Start by understanding the specific needs of the campaign. For International Women’s Day, you’re likely looking for vendors who can recruit diverse female participants, possibly across different age groups, ethnicities, or health conditions. So, ask vendors: “What’s your experience with recruiting women for healthcare studies?”

For example, one vendor might specialize in postpartum mothers while another excels in recruiting women with chronic illnesses. Their prior experience affects how quickly and accurately they can source participants matching your criteria.

Think of this like choosing a fishing net for a specific type of fish. You wouldn’t use a wide, generic net when you want sardines—you need a specialized net that catches what you want without too much bycatch.

Q2: That makes sense. What are the basic vendor-evaluation criteria an entry-level UX researcher should look for?

Sarah: Good question. Here are 5 easy-to-remember criteria:

1. Recruitment Reach: How many potential participants can the vendor access? In telemedicine, this often means national reach plus strong ties to online patient communities.

2. Screening Process: Do they have a well-defined method to screen participants? For example, verifying women’s health status or demographics.

3. Compliance & Privacy: Healthcare is sensitive. Ensure vendors understand HIPAA and GDPR rules. Missteps here can cost a company big fines.

4. Cost Transparency: Vendors should clearly outline fees—no surprise charges for extra interviews or screening.

5. Past Performance: Ask for case studies or references, ideally related to women’s health or telemedicine.

A 2024 Forrester report found that healthcare companies who used these criteria in vendor selection cut recruitment time by 30%.

Q3: How should someone new to this create a Request for Proposal (RFP) that attracts the right vendors?

Sarah: Imagine an RFP as a detailed job description but for vendors. It should clearly state:

• The campaign goal (e.g., “Recruit 100 women aged 25-45 with experience using telemedicine for gynecological care”)
• Participant criteria (age, gender, medical history)
• Timeline (e.g., “Recruitment to be completed within 6 weeks”)
• Data privacy requirements (e.g., HIPAA compliance)
• Budget constraints or expectations
• Deliverables expected (e.g., raw recruitment data, screening reports)

A tip for beginners: provide example questions or screening criteria to show you know what you want. This helps vendors tailor their proposals.

One team I worked with went from vague RFPs that attracted low-quality vendors to clear, targeted RFPs—and saw a 50% increase in vendor responsiveness.

Q4: After receiving vendor proposals, what’s the best way to evaluate and compare them?

Sarah: Create a simple comparison table with weighted criteria. For example:

This method helps you quantify subjective impressions.

Also, schedule follow-up calls to clarify any ambiguities—sometimes the written proposal doesn’t tell the whole story.

Q5: What about Proof of Concept (POC) projects? Should entry-level researchers push for these?

Sarah: Absolutely, but cautiously. A POC is like a “test drive” where you ask the vendor to recruit a smaller group first—say 10-20 participants—to prove they can meet your criteria.

For International Women’s Day campaigns, this means testing the vendor’s ability to reach and screen the right female participants with valid telehealth experience.

The upside? You can avoid committing your entire budget upfront.

However, the downside is that some vendors may treat POCs like an extended pitch and not invest fully, leading to slower or lower-quality results.

So, if you go this route, set clear success criteria for the POC—such as turnaround time, participant quality, and communication responsiveness.

Q6: How do you measure the quality of participants recruited, beyond just counting numbers?

Sarah: Great question. Quality is about fit and engagement.

For example, if your International Women’s Day campaign targets women using telemedicine for menopause care, recruiting 100 women is useless if only a few actually meet that criterion or if they drop out halfway through.

Improve quality by:

• Reviewing screening questionnaires carefully.
• Asking vendors to provide de-identified participant profiles.
• Using survey tools like Zigpoll, SurveyMonkey, or Qualtrics to gather initial participant feedback about recruitment experience.

One MedConnect project improved participant retention from 60% to 85% simply by refining screening questions and involving participants in quick pre-interviews.

Q7: Can you share an anecdote about a vendor selection that went well or poorly?

Sarah: Sure! One telemedicine team wanted to recruit women for a mental health teletherapy service in March for International Women’s Day. They issued a poorly detailed RFP, and the chosen vendor didn’t ask many questions upfront.

Result? They sent mostly older women not familiar with teletherapy platforms. The study had to scramble to find replacements, doubling the timeline and costs.

Contrast that with a team that used targeted RFPs and demanded POCs. They tested vendors on a smaller scale first, discovered one vendor had an excellent track record in recruiting diverse women using mobile health apps, and scaled up confidently from there.

They completed recruitment 3 weeks early and stayed under budget.

Q8: Are there any pitfalls an entry-level UX researcher should watch out for in vendor evaluation for such healthcare campaigns?

Sarah: Definitely. Here are some common traps:

• Over-focusing on cost: The cheapest vendor might not deliver participants with the right experience or compliance. In healthcare, this can risk data privacy or patient safety.

• Ignoring compliance details: If a vendor doesn’t clearly demonstrate understanding of healthcare privacy laws, avoid them. Mistakes here can lead to legal troubles.

• Relying solely on proposal documents: Always ask for references or examples of past work.

• Neglecting communication style: If a vendor is slow to respond or unclear, this usually signals future problems.

• Assuming one vendor can do everything: Sometimes splitting recruitment by demographic or condition between two vendors gives better results.

Q9: What final advice would you give to someone just starting to evaluate vendors for a campaign tied to International Women’s Day or other female-focused healthcare projects?

Sarah: Start with your campaign goals and participant needs. Be crystal clear in your RFPs, set measurable criteria for evaluation, and don’t shy away from asking vendors tough questions.

Remember, recruiting the right participants is like assembling a puzzle. If one piece is off, the whole picture looks blurry.

Make use of tools like Zigpoll to gather feedback during recruitment phases to make quick adjustments.

And finally, keep learning. Each vendor evaluation is a chance to get better at spotting red flags and recognizing best fits.

Summary Table: Vendor-Evaluation Steps for Entry-Level UX Researchers

Selecting the right vendor isn’t just a box-checking exercise. It’s about building trust, understanding your target population, and ensuring privacy and quality in a healthcare setting where research affects real people’s well-being.

With care and attention, even entry-level researchers can help their telemedicine teams succeed in campaigns that matter—like those celebrating and supporting women on International Women’s Day.