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Qualitative HR Research

2 min read
December 3, 2025
Qualitative HR Research

Turning data into profit. Also in HR, we love gaining insights by analyzing data. But People Analytics is not synonymous with quantitative research. Rather, People Analytics is about peeling off an issue in a structured way to attain the proper insights. Sometimes the answers are not to be found in the data, but rather in staff interviews, for example. In this event, qualitative research is much more valuable.

 

What is qualitative research?

In short, quantitative research involves collecting numerical data and using statistical analyses. Qualitative research, on the other hand, deals with non-numerical data such as text, audio, and images. It gathers information about people’s observations, beliefs, opinions, and experiences.

You use qualitative research to examine existing and new theories, to add depth to quantitative research, or when you have limited insights. In the latter case, it provides direction for further research, whether qualitative or quantitative.

What types of qualitative research are there?

There are various types of qualitative research. Within HR, these are the most commonly used:

Interview

During an interview, one or more respondents are questioned by one or more interviewers.

Focus Group

In a focus group, multiple participants discuss a predetermined topic.

Observation

Here, a researcher observes and listens to human behavior, specifically what people say and do. For example, a researcher might shadow an employee for a day.

Examples of qualitative research in HR

Which method you choose to answer which questions depends on your research objectives. Objectives might include increasing employee satisfaction, mapping what employees think about employment conditions and their effects, or retaining talented employees. But also examining internal mobility and career policy, offering equal opportunities for minority groups, or deepening quantitative research into organizational culture.

 

Applications include, for example:

  • Interviews to understand what employees consider good career development
  • Focus groups to map organizational culture and its effect on employees
  • A workshop for Employee journey mapping

Combining qualitative and quantitative research

At Highberg, we prefer to use a smart combination of qualitative and quantitative research to achieve the best results. This is also called mixed methods research, as you combine elements of quantitative and qualitative research.

An example is using qualitative research to determine direction. For instance, when you want to conduct an employee survey but want to avoid an endless questionnaire. By interviewing a number of employees, you can identify themes and adjust your quantitative questionnaire accordingly.

You also use qualitative research specifically to deepen quantitative findings. For example, we conducted quantitative research on equal opportunities for men and women in senior management. Due to the small number of women in the research population, no conclusive conclusion could be drawn from the data, so we followed up with qualitative research.

This is how we start qualitative research

When we conduct qualitative research, we follow several clear steps.

 

Step 1: Kick-off

We start the research with the goals we want to achieve. Then we formulate the research question and any sub-questions. During the kick-off, we also determine the scope and focus. Finally, we decide which research method we’ll use and how we’ll select the research participants.

 

Step 2: Data collection

During this step, we conduct interviews, hold focus group discussions, collect data if we want to combine it with quantitative research, or apply other selected research methods.

 

Step 3: Interpreting and presenting the results

Once we’ve collected all input, we start with interpretation. We formulate answers to our research questions and determine action points.

Then it’s important to communicate the findings to stakeholders and other interested parties. Don’t forget those who were interviewed or contributed to the result in other ways. This usually takes place through a presentation and a report.

 

Step 4: Determining next steps

Once the results are presented, we determine the next steps together with the audience. These could be organizational changes or improvements, further research, or a combination.

Benefits of qualitative research in HR

Using qualitative research to answer your research question has several advantages.

Qualitative research:

  • Provides deeper insights behind the numbers. It often answers the ‘why’ question
  • Provides direction when you’re not exactly sure what you’re looking for
  • Often generates new ideas. Because you work with open questions, you as a researcher discover new opportunities or questions
  • Is more flexible. Notice during a conversation that a certain topic that comes up is important? Then you can focus more on that
  • Is fast. After the kick-off, you can quickly start researching, analyzing, and presenting
  • Is visible. Employees often feel -literally- heard just by conducting the interviews
  • Is anonymous when Highberg conducts the research as an external party

 

What makes qualitative research with Highberg unique?

  • Depending on the question, we smartly combine qualitative with quantitative research, such as interviews and workshops with employees, and data
  • We use specialized qualitative researchers with experience in HR issues
  • We help you with every step of qualitative research, starting with thorough preparation
  • With a structured approach, we determine priorities and focus together
  • We support with the presentation of results and help with next steps

In short: we help you with comprehensive HR insights, enabling you to monitor and improve. This ensures an increasingly better employee experience, satisfied and loyal employees.

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BHP Billiton recently announced they aim for a 50% female workforce by 2025. This target is one of the boldest gender targets any global company has set, especially since mining is often regarded as a men’s world. The driver behind this decision is value creation. The miner says that a better gender balance in the workplace will improve performance and ultimately improve shareholder value. When I read this news, as a Data & Analytics professional, a number of questions immediately popped up in my mind. Let me share the four most relevant ones. Does diversity indeed improve performance? Should there be a 50/50 ratio, or could a similar performance impact be achieved at a different ratio? Is this ambition realistic? Will this decision indeed create shareholder value? Let’s have a closer look at these questions. Can they already be answered and/or how could HR Analytics help in answering them?

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