Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Most frequent questions and answers
CIFResearch is a company specialising in telephone surveys using the so-called CATI system – Computer Assisted Telephone Interview. We call both consumers (B2C) and companies (B2B) in order to find out their opinions on specific products or services. We have three offices, in Palermo (Italy), Ulm (Germany) and London (United Kingdom), and we make calls all over the world. Our clients are the most important market research agencies (Nielsen, GfK, Ipsos, etc.). We will never ask you to do telemarketing. You do not have to sell anything but only to conduct surveys.
Your shifts will be agreed with the person assigned to assist you in the course of your work according to your needs and those of the project. A time band of 9:00 to 17.00 is clearly preferable for B2B (business to business) projects, while 17:00 to 21:00 is best for B2C (business to consumer) projects. It is also possible that some projects (in countries in different time zones) will require availability at different times, sometimes even during the night – in these cases the rate of pay (from 22:00 to 6:00) will be 20% higher.
One of the most important abilities for our interviewers is their knowledge of the language in which they are to conduct the interview (they should be native speakers or have excellent linguistic skills). This is absolutely indispensable in order to be perfectly understood by the people they are interviewing. Remember that these are telephone interviews in which the interviewer must read a script directly from the computer. The interviewer must read allthe questions, listening to the respondent’s answers and filling in the questionnaire correctly. Remember that interviewers must never give their own opinion, to avoid influencing the respondents’ answers. This means reading the text of the interview word for word without interpreting it, even if the respondent asks for clarification of questions that he or she finds unclear.
At the start of the project we will mutually agree on a time band taking into account the project demands. It will of course be possible to cancel or increase the number hours to be worked, but obviously it is important to notify us in time to organise the other shifts accordingly.
Your compensation is based on the actual hours worked and not per call made or per interview achieved, but we naturally expect you to make the maximum effort.
During training you will be given some rules regarding the behavior that you must observe during interviews.
A. (for outside Italy) If you confirm that you are resident and pay taxes in a state outside Italy, your compensation will be paid gross and in proportion to your country’s living standards. Once you have received your compensation, therefore, you personally will need to pay the taxes expected in your country for this service. When your wire transfer is made you will sign a receipt of payment which also serves as your pledge to pay the taxes of the country in which you have tax residence.
(for Italy) You will sign an temporary service contract to work for the first 30 days. After 30 days we offer you a coordinated and continuous work contract. If you carry out a project speaking in Italian the compensation is 7.50 euros gross, whereas if you carry it out in a foreign language the pay will be 9.00 euros gross, from which tax on account will be deducted.
A domestic ADSL or fibre optic line (NO mobile connections via tethering, WiMAX, or networks shared with other users)
A PC (Windows or Linux) or Mac, both either desktop or laptop, and with the latest version of Google Chrome installed (there is no functionality with other browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Safari, etc.)
Headphones with microphone (earphones with microphone are also acceptable, but prolonged use may cause discomfort)
Your compensation will be paid after 30 days, and in all cases at the end of the month following the date on which you worked, via wire transfer to your bank account.
Your compensation is based on the actual hours worked and not per call made or per interview achieved, but we naturally expect you to make the maximum effort.
During training you will be given some rules regarding the behavior that you must observe during interviews.
A. (for outside Italy) If you confirm that you are resident and pay taxes in a state outside Italy, your compensation will be paid gross and in proportion to your country’s living standards. Once you have received your compensation, therefore, you personally will need to pay the taxes expected in your country for this service. When your wire transfer is made you will sign a receipt of payment which also serves as your pledge to pay the taxes of the country in which you have tax residence.
(for Italy) You will sign an temporary service contract to work for the first 30 days. After 30 days we offer you a coordinated and continuous work contract. If you carry out a project speaking in Italian the compensation is 7.50 euros gross, whereas if you carry it out in a foreign language the pay will be 9.00 euros gross, from which tax on account will be deducted.