Conducting user research with internal employees can be common, especially in B2B organizations. For example, a company that produces facility management monitoring software may interview its own facility managers to gather feedback. There are many pros and cons to this approach.

Here are some considerations. These slides were extracted from a private, team user research training last week. I hope you find them helpful and they inspire you to think about gathering feedback from internal employees in a more holistic way.

Building ongoing relationships with your customer service / support and sales teams will always pay off in the long run. I refer to these teams as “service staff.”

They have a wealth of knowledge as they are on the front lines with customers and prospects EVERY DAY. Nurture those relationships before, during, and after your studies! This should be an ONGOING relationship. And, whenever possible, ask if they have any questions about your study topics, or what you (as a UX researcher) can do to help THEM!

Pay it forward!! UX is a team sport - for reals! ;)