Special Series: Why I Work Here by Andre Facey

It is always interesting when you exchange stories with other colleagues on how their Market Research careers began and you find those with similarities. For some of us, it wasn’t planned, you somehow found yourself either testing and doing quality assurance on surveys, pulling sample to deploy, or managing projects by running field reports with savvy software – at least that is how it felt at the time! For me, it was no different, but my market research christening came in the summer months while on college break. I was a call center interviewer calling households to see if they would be interested in participating in a survey. Our productivity was measured by a term called “flow rate” back then – I think it was the total amount of completes divided by total time spent on an hourly basis. Top performers were marked on a black board and the person with the best flow rate got a prize at the end of the shift. My supervisor at the time said I was a natural (eyeroll) and by the end of summer I found myself as a lead shift manager. I really had no clue what was instore for me within the industry as a career and to be quite honest, my priorities back then were pocket money for the summer, having fun and it was a bonus if I learned something new. However, I must confess, the concept of how responses from a simple phone survey could help shape business decisions kept me intrigued.

Fast forward to my time at Paradigm Sample, the start of my journey was a bit unique compared to others. Nearly two years ago, in the middle of the pandemic, something major happened in my career, for the first time ever I was a part of a merger with another organization. At the time, I felt excited, a bit anxious, and had some uncertainties. Judy, who always knows how to get me out of my head, assured me that it would all work out but I still wondered, how would I fit within the culture? What would the transition look like? And would there be any overlap with my skillset and expertise? I can remember clear as day speaking with Cyrus, Sima, and Judy. I wouldn’t call it exactly an interview, because of my tenure at Tellwut, it was more like a meet and greet. Technically speaking, I had the pleasure of meeting Cyrus once before in Toronto and admired the way Sima facilitated panel discussions at SampleCon in the past. During our conversation, the word ‘support’ came up quite often and it was at that point, I realized this wasn’t just your typical organization. It occurred to me that they’re building something special here, a family-oriented culture built on trust, excellence, and success. Immediately after, I had this feeling of ease that totally set the tone for the rest of the call and my journey here at Paradigm. As I reflect on that day and the opportunities given, I am extremely grateful to rep the Paradigm brand but most importantly, proud to say they’ve held up their end of the bargain and more.

So why do I work at Paradigm? It is simple, the PEOPLE (the Paradigm Family)! When you work with great minds, talented individuals that love to have fun while crushing goals, talking sneakers (Shout-out to all my sneakerheads you know who you are) it makes the journey more purposeful and rewarding. Thanks ‘Dimers for welcoming me and for all you do to make it a great place to grind!