Disposición final de los residuos

To ensure that adequate time is devoted to all components of the hiring process, including locating, interviewing and hiring high-quality candidates for PIAAC.

Rationale

The quality of the data collection staff significantly affects the quality of the data collected. Therefore, ample time must be devoted to thoughtful planning of the field staff resources required for PIAAC. Consideration must be given to a variety of issues, including the size of the field staff and their desired characteristics.

It is also important to ensure that the interviewers are assigned a manageable workload and that the remuneration method is not a deterrent to data quality. Levels of interviewer pay, as well as the pay structure, can affect interviewers’ motivation to work hard to enhance their response rates. If an interviewer is paid for the number of hours actually worked (e.g. hourly wage or weekly salary), s/he is more likely to devote time to other important aspects of data collection, such as refusal avoidance and refusal conversion. Payment on a piecework basis increases the risk that the quality of an interviewer’s work may suffer.

Standards, Guidelines and Recommendations

Standard 8.3.1 Several diverse factors must be considered when determining the number of field staff required for a successful PIAAC effort.

Guideline 8.3.1A Countries need to determine the number of interviewers needed to obtain the desired

number of completes by estimating the number of hours required per complete based on past experience in similar national surveys. Every country has different political, economic, social, and geographical "factors/environments" which impact survey participation.

For the main study, countries should use their field test experience along with other national data to estimate hours per complete. For the field test, countries should use experiences in other household surveys in the country. Countries which have little or no experience with household surveys should consult with PIAAC Round 1 or Round 2 countries with similar "environments."

For a 2 hour interview, the Consortium estimates that the range of hours per complete in a given country can vary between 6 and 14 hours if a country is expected to achieve a 70 percent response rate. Factors which can affect hours per complete include: (1) having a list sample versus the need to screen (screening could add about one hour to the estimate); (2) average travel time for each case, which is impacted by the size of the primary sampling unit and the clustering of the sample design; (3) typical number of contacts necessary to obtain a complete; (4) and management style of survey organisation ("tight" vs. "loose," focus on accountability of employees, etc.).

However, other factors may also impact the number of interviewers needed to conduct a successful survey. They can include: (1) number of hours the typical interviewer works each week on PIAAC (less than 20-25 will be problematic); (2) flexibility of interviewers to work evenings and weekends; (3) typical interviewer attrition; (4) wage structure (hourly pay vs. unit pay); and (5) the number of experienced vs. non experienced interviewers/supervisors hired.

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Guideline 8.3.1B Based on the survey institute’s staff retention experience, countries should plan to

over-hire by a large enough percentage to account for attrition during all stages of the data collection effort, including training and production.

Guideline 8.3.1C Countries should hire a minimum of two interviewers per staffing area, as this

ensures adequate coverage for an area and avoids the need to have interviewers travel in case of attrition, interviewer illness or vacation, or other factors.

Guideline 8.3.1D The final determination of the target number of field staff to be recruited and hired

should be made at least 12 weeks before the start of data collection.

Standard 8.3.2 Adequate time must be allotted for data collection staff recruiting and hiring.

Guideline 8.3.2A To ensure the availability of sufficient staff to conduct interviewer recruiting and

hiring, field managers and regional supervisory staff must be assigned to PIAAC at least 10 weeks before the start of data collection.

Guideline 8.3.2B Interviewer recruiting and hiring should commence at least 8 weeks before the start

of data collection to ensure sufficient lead time to conduct all steps of the process, including identifying, interviewing and hiring candidates.

Standard 8.3.3 Countries will be responsible for hiring the required number of interviewing staff with the desired characteristics.

Recommendation 8.3.3A Countries should attempt to hire interviewers with at least two years of

experience in conducting household surveys, as there is evidence that more experienced interviewers tend to achieve higher response rates. Similarly, countries should attempt to hire supervisors with interviewing experience and field managers with supervisory experience.

Recommendation 8.3.3B Other desirable interviewer characteristics include experience with literacy-

related surveys, experience with surveys involving computer-assisted interviewing, and computer or typing experience.

Recommendation 8.3.3C To improve cost efficiency, interviewers should live within close proximity

of the assignment location. Hiring interviewers indigenous to the area also appears to increase response rates, as local interviewers are more available to visit reluctant respondents and have a greater chance of building rapport by identifying with local interests.

Recommendation 8.3.3D In determining which language skills are appropriate for interviewers,

countries should consider the languages in which the interview will be administered, as well as the languages spoken by large numbers of special populations.

Recommendation 8.3.3E Countries should consider the racial and ethnic diversity of the population,

as hiring interviewers of various backgrounds may help to establish respondent rapport.

Standard 8.3.4 Countries will employ a sufficient number of interviewers so that the maximum assignment size for an interviewer is 40 completed assessments per month.

Guideline 8.3.4A Interviewers must be able to devote, on average, at least 20 hours per week to the

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The average duration of the PIAAC interview is approximately 90 to 105 minutes, excluding the time needed to identify the respondent, explain the survey and convince the respondent to participate. It is expected that an interviewer will be able to conduct no more than two interviews per day for 20 days per month. However, such a level of productivity should be considered exceptional, especially if sustained for a long period.

Guideline 8.3.4B Countries should specify a maximum assignment size per interviewer, as response

rates can be affected by the amount of work allocated to each interviewer. The interviewer must be given an assignment that is large enough to make it financially worthwhile but not so large that it is difficult to complete in a timely manner. The assignment size will affect the amount of effort an interviewer can apply to attempting contact and securing co-operation from each sampled individual. (Once an assignment has been completed, additional assignments can be made.)

Guideline 8.3.4C Beyond assignment size, countries should ensure that interviewers are not

overloaded with work from other surveys or jobs with other companies. Such competing obligations may lead interviewers to give one job priority over another, in terms of completing work on time or putting in the effort to maximise response rates.

Guideline 8.3.4D In determining assignment size, it is also important to consider the number of

interviews that will be required to reach the monthly targets for completed work. For example, the monthly targets for the field test may be 700 completed interviews in Month 1, 500 completed interviews in Month 2, and 300 completed interviews in Month 3. The monthly targets for the main study may be 2,300 completed interviews in the first 3 months, 1,700 completed interviews in Months 4 through 6, and 1,000 completed interviews in Months 7 and 8. Countries should plan for the fact that cases at the beginning of the field period are typically easier to work, while those at the end require additional locating and refusal conversion efforts.

Standard 8.3.5 The basis for remunerating interviewers for their work must be independent of the number of completed interviews. In other words, interviewers are not to be remunerated on a piecework basis.

Guideline 8.3.5A The pay rates for the study must be set in relation to the length and complexity of

the interview, the expected difficulties of obtaining co-operation and the amount of record keeping demanded of the interviewer.

Guideline 8.3.5B The pay rate must be attractive in relation to pay on other studies. Interviewers

should be paid for the number of hours worked, rather than being remunerated based on the number of completed interviews achieved. However, it may be acceptable to remunerate the interviewer on some other basis provided that steps are taken to ensure that the interviewer’s work meets a consistently high level of quality.

Recommendation 8.3.5 Interviewers can be offered incentives, on a piecework basis, for completing

assigned or additional cases or for completing cases on a more timely basis. If an incentive programme is implemented, countries must closely monitor both the effectiveness of the strategy in motivating the interviewers and the quality of the data collected as part of the bonus programme. The incentive plan should be in place at the start of data collection and discussed during the hiring process so that it has a positive influence on hiring, retention and production.

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Quality Control Procedures

As part of the National Survey Design and Planning Report process for the field test and the main study, countries will be required to document their interviewer employment conditions (e.g. pay type and assignment size) and interviewer characteristics (e.g. number of years of survey experience).

On a monthly basis during the survey planning and data collection period, countries will be required to complete quality control monitoring forms to report on the status of interviewer retention and attrition, as well as any changes to the remuneration strategy.

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8.4 RECRUITING AND HIRING DATA COLLECTION STAFF