As part of Sun Life's Rotational Leadership Development Program, I had the opportunity to join the Global Experience Design (XD) team in August 2023. Coming from a Data Analyst role in Sun Life's Client Care Centre, I understood the importance of quantitative research when trying to understand the “what” and “how” of a business problem. Having spent 9 months as a member of the Global XD team, I have realized the role qualitative research plays in understanding the “why” of a business problem.

What are quantitative and qualitative research? How do they work together?

Before diving into how these research methods complement one another, I will briefly explain each and what they entail.

Quantitative research is the process of collecting numbers and stats to answer your research questions. Think things like survey responses with a rating scale, questionnaires or polls, and data you can collect from internal sources like sales records. By analyzing this data, you can get a sense of trends and patterns in the numbers that will (hopefully) tell you something about the wider problem you are looking at.

On the other end of the spectrum, qualitative data is collected through research methods like interviews or observations. The goal here is to understand human behaviour, opinions, attitudes, and experiences. The data is descriptive and includes things like direct quotes, detailed descriptions of experiences or events, and analysis of themes that emerge across interviews or observations. Qualitative research and data focus more on understanding perspectives to get a nuanced view of how and why people do the things they do.

When used together, these two methods provide a well-rounded and holistic view of the problem you are trying to solve. For example, qualitative research can help you develop hypotheses based on real user experiences that you can then test against quantitative methods. In this way, quantitative research can validate your qualitative findings and hypotheses. Oftentimes, either method can compensate for the limitations or shortcomings of the other.

Qualitative research and experience design

My previous experience as a Data Analyst gave me the opportunity to work with and better understand quantitative data. I completed activities like weekly, monthly, and quarterly reporting on Client Care Representative (CCR) metrics like Average Handle Time (AHT) and Total Calls Taken (TCT). Working so closely with quantitative data allowed me to identify and make sense of themes and trends that emerged. These trends were backed up by numbers that could then be extrapolated to represent the wider CCR population. I was able to present “what” these trends were and “how” they emerged - how AHT figures had fallen over the week or how TCT changed each month. Where this data fell flat was finding “why” these trends emerged - why did AHT figures fall? Why did TCT skyrocket? I could gain access to all the data we have, but this would not change the fact that the numbers would only tell me part of the story. Without speaking to any CCRs or having any context into their activities, I could only assume so much.

Joining the Global XD team and working with design practitioners, I quickly learned XD is so much more than just creating pleasurable experiences for a client. By working to understand the user's perspective and outlook, XD tries to learn their needs and pain points, as well as how to deliver a product or service that is usable, accessible, and engaging. This understanding is realized by speaking to users or using methods like social listening or interviews to reveal new insights that often help explain the “why” behind the quantitative data.

Qualitative research in action - Global XD engagement for Corporate Real Estate

One of my first projects with Global XD was an engagement for Corporate Real Estate (CRE). With COVID-19 related public health restrictions loosening in 2022 and into 2023, CRE was working on a Future of Work (FOW) project focused on the post Covid needs of employees making the return to office. We had quantitative data on office attendance which verified the hypothesis that, with COVID-19 restrictions lifted, fewer people than expected had made their way back to the office. However, this data gave no indication as to why this was - what was keeping people from the office?

These answers revealed themselves when we conducted qualitative interviews with Sun Life and Sun Life-affiliated employees. We gained insights that gave context to the quantitative office attendance data. By speaking to employees scattered around North America, trends and common themes emerged to reveal the return to office was a much more nuanced problem for CRE to solve.

Cultural shifts, awareness of the need to maintain a work-life balance, and tech and logistical constraints to coming into the office all contributed to people's desire to maintain their work from home (WFH) or hybrid arrangements. Rather than feeling forced to come back into the office, people wanted an arrangement that upheld a work/life balance while also helping them feel engaged with their work and their teams. WFH and hybrid arrangements offered a flexibility and boost to productivity, so our strategy shifted from asking ourselves “how do we make people come back into the office?” to asking ourselves “how do we best use our existing office space to make people want to come back into office?”

Initially, leaders assumed that using “Moments of Togetherness” and mandatory anchor days would be enough to reignite office attendance figures by reminding people why they loved the office. Instead, we found that people wanted to feel more engaged and connected with their colleagues and their work. The office needed to be more than just a space to do work; it needed to be a space where you could feel connected.

Quantitative data is an incredible resource, but it lacks insight into human behaviour and motivations. By combining quantitative data with qualitative insights, we can develop a well-rounded view of problems to then look for opportunities for improvement. While numbers alone can provide unique insights, it is through talking to and observing real people that we can ground our solutions in meaningful and impactful experiences that drive the outcomes we are seeking to achieve.