Work with a researcher who gets it
Moving from spreadsheets to a proper research ops system is more than a product switch. It's an organisational change. Ben Aldred, founder of Participant Kit and user researcher, personally onboards every customer, backed by a small but mighty team, to help make the transition successful.
The spreadsheet trap
You can go a long way with spreadsheets. They're flexible, familiar, and free. But at some point, the cracks start to show.
You're downloading the latest version of a form to check for new opt-ins. You're sending another form to ask about demographics. You're chasing people with multiple emails about booking and consent. When someone asks which participants have taken part in research this quarter, you're not entirely sure.
The messiness of jumping between tools means you're spending more time on admin than on research. And when a researcher leaves or switches teams, their knowledge goes with them, scattered across personal folders and email threads.
Good admin is the foundation of great research. But it shouldn't be where you spend all your time and energy.
Why a new tool isn't enough
Here's what most software vendors won't tell you: buying a tool doesn't fix a broken process. It just gives you a more expensive place to be disorganised.
The real challenge isn't technical, it's organisational. You need to think through how data flows between teams. How researchers will be onboarded. How you'll handle participants who sign up through different channels. What happens when someone needs to hand off a project mid-stream.
These aren't product questions. They're research operations questions. And they require someone who understands both the software and the reality of running research.
Meet Ben
Ben Aldred is the founder of Participant Kit and a user researcher himself. He built this product because he lived these problems. Managing consent forms that weren't accessible. Tracking participants across spreadsheets that got out of sync. Losing institutional knowledge every time a team member moved on.
He also believed research deserved better ethics. Proper informed consent. Participant rights built in, not bolted on.
When you work with Ben, you're not talking to a salesperson reading from a script. You're talking to someone who has run research, recruited participants, worried about GDPR compliance, and spent too many hours on admin that should have been automated.
He understands that the transition from spreadsheets to Participant Kit isn't just about moving data. It's about changing how your team works together. And that takes more than a product demo.
That's why Ben personally onboards every customer - from small three-person research teams to organisations like the BBC and UK government departments.
Ben's help and guidance has been invaluable. He's been incredibly generous with his time. If you're thinking about setting up a panel then I'd definitely get in touch!
What working with Ben looks like
A conversation, not a sales pitch
Ben will ask about how your team actually runs research. Not just what tools you use, but how data moves between people. Where things get stuck. What keeps you up at night. This isn't about ticking boxes, it's about understanding your specific situation.
Advice you can trust
Sometimes the honest answer is that Participant Kit isn't the right fit. Ben will tell you that. He'd rather help you find the right solution than sell you something that won't work. That's the benefit of talking to the founder, there's no commission to chase.
A plan that fits how you work
If Participant Kit is right for you, Ben will help you think through implementation in a way that respects your existing processes. You won't be forced to retrofit your team's workflow to match the software. Instead, the platform will be configured around how you already operate.
Support that doesn't disappear after you sign
The relationship doesn't end when you become a customer. Ben and the team stay involved, answering questions, helping you adapt as your research needs evolve, and making sure you're getting real value from the platform.
The support we've had has been fantastic. It doesn't feel like Participant Kit is this faceless company that we're dealing with.
Making the transition work
Switching from spreadsheets to a dedicated research ops platform is a significant change. Here's how Ben helps teams make it stick:
Workshop your process first. Before touching any software, you'll map out how research happens in your organisation. Where do participants come from? Who needs access to what? What data do you actually need to track?
Start with your existing data. Ben will help you bring over your spreadsheets in a way that makes sense, not just dumping data, but structuring it so your team can actually use it.
Get your team on board. A tool only works if people use it. Ben will walk your researchers through everything, so they're confident from day one. No digging through help docs.
Build for the long term. The goal isn't just to get you set up. It's to create a foundation that grows with your team and survives when people move on.
Why this matters
Research is about people. The participants who give their time. The researchers trying to understand them. The product teams waiting for insights.
Every hour spent wrestling with spreadsheets is an hour not spent doing the work that actually matters. Every participant who gets lost in a broken process is a voice that doesn't get heard.
Ben built Participant Kit because he believes researchers deserve better infrastructure. He and the team have made it their mission to help research teams build that infrastructure in a way that actually works.
We are an independent business by design, so we only have to answer to you, our customers.
Ready to talk?
If you're spending too much time on research admin and not enough time on research, let's have a conversation. No pressure, no hard sell, just an honest discussion about whether Participant Kit can help.
Book a call with Ben30 minutes. No commitment. Just a researcher talking to a researcher.