This is us: Sabrina Strelow
Many of the empirical questions researched at the Institute can only be answered with the support of dedicated study participants. Their first point of contact is Sabrina Strelow, who has been working in the telephone studio for 16 years with great sensitivity and passion. Over the years, she has developed a special relationship with the long-term study participants and is a familiar voice to many of them. In the interview, she provides fascinating insights into her daily work, talks about the tasks she particularly enjoys and how her work has changed over the years.
You work in the Telephone Studio of the institute. What are your tasks?
Sabrina Strelow: My main task is to support the study participants over the phone, e.g. registering them in the Castellum database, providing information about the study, checking their suitability and answering any questions they may have.
What does a typical working day look like for you?
Sabrina Strelow: Every morning, I check the answering machine and all the email accounts I am responsible for. If there are any changes, such as cancelled appointments or new information, I inform the study teams by email. Potential participants register via our website using the "Registration for study participation" form. I print out the new enrollments to make notes and appointments and then try to reach them by phone. During the conversation, they receive general information and I enter them into the Castellum database. The informed consent forms are then emailed and uploaded into the system upon receipt, always in compliance with privacy requirements. I also recruit participants already registered in Castellum for current studies by telephone.
Some of the studies require hundreds of participants. How do you manage this high recruitment demand?
Sabrina Strelow: If a study requires a large number of participants, let's say 200, we may have to contact over 2000 people to reach the required number. Some of this is done by email through our Castellum database, but many are also called directly by us. There are many reasons for refusal: some people may not be suitable for the study and therefore cannot take part. We have a specific questionnaire for each study. Others are simply not interested in the study, don't have the time, or no longer live in Berlin. In this case, I ask them if they are still interested in online studies and update the data. If people do not want to be contacted in general, this is also indicated in Castellum.
When we have reached the required number and the first appointments have been made, I am of course very happy, but sometimes participants do not turn up for the study or they drop out spontaneously. Then we have to recruit again quickly, which can be stressful.
How do you deal with difficult calls?
Sabrina Strelow: In general, telephone conversations with research participants are very pleasant. When there are difficult conversations, which can happen from time to time, it's important to remain calm, friendly and objective and to let the participant know that you understand. It's very important for me to build up trust with the institute. For example, if participants seem very worried during the phone call or express other doubts, I also inform the study team so that they can adapt to the situation. We also have regular team meetings to discuss how to deal with such cases.
What positive memories do you have from your 16 years of work? Were there any special moments?
Sabrina Strelow: I am still particularly impressed by our large BASE-II longitudinal study, in which I was involved from the very beginning. I always enjoyed calling the participants and inviting them to each survey - I know many of them quite well now. The large study was very well organised and we supported each other, with the emphasis on "we". Above all, it's nice to see how friendships develop among the participants. And of course I've met a lot of very nice colleagues over the years, who I really appreciate.
How has your job changed over the last 16 years?
Sabrina Strelow: Over the years, the workload in the telephone studio has increased and so has the responsibility. The studies have become more complex, especially MRI and long-term studies, some of which involve children. But above all, the introduction of our new participant database "Castellum" has expanded our range of tasks. Our new tasks include updating the contact details in Castellum and requesting consent for recruitment with all the information on data protection, searching for subjects via announcements and other channels (MPIB website, university announcements, newspaper advertisements, notices). We also register new participants in the database and provide them with brief information about the process.
You mentioned Castellum. This was used to set up a standardized database of study participants for the entire institute. This now contains more than 17,000 data sets from participants. What was your role?
Sabrina Strelow: I still remember the introduction of Castellum during the Corona pandemic. My colleagues and I were working from home and had the task of closing the old participant database of the Center for Lifespan Psychology and transferring all study participants to Castellum. If I remember correctly, there were about 40,000 people in the old database that we called to check their existing interest in the studies, update their details and transfer them to Castellum. In the beginning there were problems and uncertainties with the new database because many of us had never worked with Castellum before. But through online meetings and sharing information with each other, we were able to get up to speed quickly. Karolina Mader, as the project coordinator, was particularly helpful with advice and support. Based on my experience with the databases, I created a small manual.
To be honest, it was a laborious task to populate the Castellum subject database with people, as many of the participants were difficult to reach or did not keep appointments made by phone. The exchange with my colleagues was particularly important in terms of the current schedule, which probands were available and needed to be called, and the flow of information about the different projects.
We still meet regularly for Castellum today to continually optimize the database, particularly in the areas of recruitment, study procedures and study follow-up.
What do you particularly enjoy about your work? And what challenges are there?
Sabrina Strelow: I particularly enjoy discussing everything with my team and finding solutions together, as every day brings new challenges and surprises. It is sometimes a challenge to communicate my practical experience to others. I explain the background and how to use the Castellum database to colleagues who have little experience with it.
What is important for effective communication on the phone?
Sabrina Strelow: Effective telephone communication requires more than just friendliness. Being friendly and open with participants on the phone is very important in building trust. As a recruiter, you should have a good understanding of the studies you are discussing so that you can convey the information authentically and professionally and answer questions. At the same time, it is important to explain the complex details of the studies as simply and understandably as possible, using your own words and thoughts to make the information more tangible.
How did you start working in our telephone studio. What made you stay for so long?
Sabrina Strelow: I came to the MPIB through a temp agency when there was a big recruitment drive for the DA study (which later became BASE-II). This was new territory for me and I found it very exciting. Of course, there was a lot to learn and every day brought new tasks and impressions. Talking to strangers on the phone, interviewing them and entering their data into the database was a big challenge at first. I really enjoyed it and it was - and still is - a great experience where I continue to learn and experience new things, especially thanks to the support of my friendly and helpful colleagues. I still find the conversations with both the staff here at the Institute and the subjects very enriching.
