Ebony Marketing Systems (EMS) approaches multicultural recruitment the same way it approaches research—by aligning recruiters with prospective respondents.
One of EMS’s recruiters illustrates this approach. A minority immigrant woman, her experiences with companies focused on product testing—which didn’t resonate with her—discovered EMS. It was a natural fit. The work isn’t easy, but it is deeply rewarding.
Recruitment begins with a thorough understanding of the project objectives and screener. The recruiter and Project Manager review the screener together until the recruiter fully grasps the purpose of each question: Why this question? What if the respondent answers a certain way? How can I best explain this?
The “secret sauce,” however, lies in adapting these questions for a multicultural audience. At EMS, recruiters are trained to understand the history and experiences of immigrant communities in order to speak authentically to their culture. Shared experiences—language, education, family, ethnicity, culture, food, music, even hair—often mark them as “other” in a majority population. Effective recruiting begins by establishing rapport, showing cultural respect, and affirming that their voice matters.
Of course, before building trust, you must first find respondents. Multicultural projects at EMS rarely come with preexisting contact lists. Recruiters often start from scratch—researching through social media, targeting specific zip codes, connecting with community-based organizations, churches, and even striking up conversations in public parks. Then comes the cold call. Beyond rapport-building and scheduling a Zoom call, recruiters also verify authenticity by checking U.S. area codes, researching the respondent’s location, and asking a location-based question. Recruiting also requires intuition; when something feels misaligned, skilled probing becomes essential.
Finally, trust must be earned before respondents will fully engage in the research. This means returning to cultural sensitivity—listening for potential barriers and motivators. Sometimes this requires rephrasing, reassurance, incentives, accommodations, safety considerations, or even giving permission to decline participation.
At EMS, we specialize in inclusive research that ensures multicultural voices are heard. For more insights, contact Ebony Marketing Systems at (718) 742-0006 or send us a message today.
