Leading a Market Research & Insights team in 2025 can feel like flying an airplane with uncertain fuel reserves and a constantly changing flight plan.
And adding to the stress, the crew wasn’t fully trained for this model of aircraft.
This isn’t just turbulence—for some teams, it’s a full-blown flexibility crisis. Market Research & Insights leaders are trying to deliver excellence while navigating the convergence of two disruptive factors.
Factor #1: Running Lean in an Uncertain Economy
Many Market Research & Insights teams are running lean—by necessity.
Budgets are tight. Hiring is paused. Full-time headcount requests are being parked in long-term holding patterns.
Running lean may be necessary, but it leaves no margin for error. If one key project expands—or a new request drops without warning—there’s no one available to step in. The team is already airborne, operating with just enough fuel to stay aloft.
Of course, this isn’t unique to Market Research & Insights. The signals are everywhere in corporate America. Many employers have paused hiring altogether while trade and economic uncertainty play out (“Corporate America Is Leaving More Jobs Unfilled”, The Wall Street Journal).
Factor #2: Skills That Don’t Match the Current Flight Plan
Even for teams with sufficient headcount, the mix of qualitative and quantitative research skills may not match current needs. The issues vary, a lot, but some of the most common issues we’re hearing from leaders:
- Too many project managers, not enough hands-on skills to “get sh*t done”
- Talented qual or quant researchers, but no one with stakeholder storytelling chops
- Strong customer insights experience, but not equipped to evaluate or pilot AI-based tools
- Not enough on-team talent for making current, informed methodology recommendations—especially for complex needs that require multiple data sources
This isn’t about capability—it’s about alignment. The skills that got us here aren’t necessarily the ones that will get us where we need to go next.
And this challenge goes far beyond the research world. In 2025, many U.S. companies are struggling to find people with the right capabilities. Tech companies, for example, are hiring more high-skill freelancers—especially in areas like AI and cybersecurity—to meet evolving demands without committing to full-time hires (High-Skill Tech Freelancers are Keeping the Wheels of Tech Turning, Wired).
There’s a reason why the gig economy is booming.
The Flexibility Crisis Is Real
These two factors—hiring uncertainty and skills mismatch—are creating a serious operational risk for Market Research and Insights teams. Especially for teams that are still structured, and staffed, for a world that no longer exists.
What’s needed now isn’t just more speed or efficiency. What’s needed is agility—in how we structure, scale, and supplement our teams.
Avoid Midair Emergencies: 2 Smart Moves to Regain Control
Changing a team’s structure or scope is never easy—especially when there’s loyalty to long-term team members and shared history. It’s normal to feel torn between that loyalty and the responsibility to evolve the team for what the business needs now. Loss aversion plays a real role here; the fear of disrupting what’s familiar can outweigh the potential benefits of necessary change. But leading through that tension with empathy and clarity is what sets great leaders apart. Here are two initial steps to gain that clarity:
- Audit the Crew
Start with a sharp inventory:
- What projects are expected through the end of the year?
- What mix of expertise do they precisely require?
- Given these inputs, on which skills is the current team over-indexed? Where are we under-indexed?
- Rethink Fixed vs. Flexible Roles
Challenge assumptions about the optimal mix of employees, agency partners, and contractors:
- Which capabilities are truly mission-critical to retain in-house, either for strategic continuity or stakeholder trust?
- Where have agency partners demonstrated consistent value—and where have they struggled to meet expectations?
- Are there skill gaps that experienced contractors could fill more efficiently, with lower overhead and stronger outcomes?
These two exercises provide a strong start for evaluating whether your current staffing model supports the range, coverage, and agility your team needs. Now is the time to ask these questions—because the pace of change isn’t slowing down. In 2025, priorities can shift fast. One month it’s demand for a major segmentation study, the next it’s an important AI pilot, and then, when you least expect it—perhaps a request to integrate a long-standing brand tracker with another team’s CX data. Trying to meet all of those demands with a fixed crew? That’s flying without a backup plan.
Your On-Demand Market Research & Insights Backup Crew
When your flight path changes midair, you don’t have time—or maybe even budget—for a full recruiting process. You need someone who’s flown that route before.
That’s where short-term staffing comes in.
At Research Rockstar, our Rent-a-Researcher service gives you just-in-time access to proven research talent—people who know how to jump into complex projects fast and deliver high-quality work.
We believe Market Research & Insights teams thrive when they have the right people—at the right time—for the right work.
Whether you’re launching a tracker, tackling a tricky segmentation study, crafting a complex methodology plan, or testing new AI-powered tools, we’re here to help you stay agile and fill the gaps—even when there’s turbulence.
→ Click here to see what skills we currently have available.
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