Having spent a large part of the last 3 years attracting would-be volunteers to take part in Phase I trials I collated a list of things that made life easier and cheaper.  After I had overhauled the volunteer recruitment strategy I had cut marketing spend by over half and ALL studies were filled every time.  That didn’t mean cutting corners when it came to getting Ethics approval. Far from it.  It just meant doing things differently – like cutting out newspaper advertising and bus-back signage and improving the volunteers’ experience so that they would spread the word.

First things first: listen to what your volunteers have to say.  When I did this, they pretty much came up with all the answers to making the entire process more efficient and cost-effective.  Keep talking to them.  Things change, both internal and external to your organisation.  You don’t want to hear it from the rumour mill.

1. Ask them what they do, where would be an effective place to put up adverts about clinical trials?  We found out that Facebook ads were the answer for our younger crew.  Cheap, effective, easy to track.
2. What motivates your volunteers? Use that in your ad campaigns.  For us, money was a big one, but so was altruism – helping to deliver new and better medical treatments.
3. Make sure the food is up to scratch. Some units use M&S food; others have their own chefs.  Just make sure the portions are decent enough and the food is…nice.  Not hard, but makes a big difference to whether your volunteers come back again or recommend their friends.
4. Pay your volunteers on time. Pay them for their out-of-pocket expenses on the day they arrive.  Pay them for their time/inconvenience for taking part in a trial (if applicable) within 15 days of finishing the trial, preferably on the final day.  They are critical to the success of your drug development programme.  This is the least they deserve.
5. Make sure your phones/contact system is watertight. If you go to the expense of a new ad campaign and the 24-hour contact number isn’t working/voicemail box is full/receptionist doesn’t know the key people then you’ve just wasted your money.
6. Make sure your website is capable of handling enquiries. Put up an easy to read and navigate application form.  For a fantastic example, see www.trials4u.com.
7. Once you have all the other things in place, initiate or re-vamp your Recommend-A-Friend Scheme. If you don’t have one already, get one.  Word of mouth is critical in clinical trials recruitment and volunteers happily pass on good things to say about taking part.  They also pass on the bad things – hence get your act in order
8. Use geo-targeted pay-per-click advertising. I set up a series of Google Adword campaigns with key words that would be used by people searching for part-time volunteer work and jobs seekers.  The result?  People who had time on their hands in the local area.  Bingo.
9. Handle the applications promptly. That’s a 24-hour turnaround.  If you have forked out on an ad campaign then you should do the decent thing and respond to people who have taken the time to apply.  You would expect it if it was the other way around.
10. Monitor, monitor, monitor… What were the response rates for each campaign? What’s your conversion rate from applications to people who actually make it to the panel? If it’s not great (ie <40%) then address it in a timely fashion – is your process to blame?  Are your applicants not suitable?  Stop wasting your money and people’s time.