WHOOP, the innovative wearables brand dedicated to enhancing human performance, operates a fast-paced in-house research hub, WHOOP Labs. 

Each week, the team manages hundreds of participants in person—a task that once required juggling spreadsheets, Google Docs, and Calendar-based scheduling tools. The process was cumbersome and slowed down research until Dscout stepped in.

By streamlining operations and enhancing the participant experience, Dscout’s Private Panels transformed WHOOP Labs' workflow, freeing up time to focus on what matters most: groundbreaking research.

Tackling logistical complexity: The challenges before Private Panels 

Before Private Panels, WHOOP Labs faced a tangle of logistical hurdles. Recruitment and scheduling relied on disconnected tools, creating a fragmented and time-consuming process. 

"It was a cognitive load for our operations team," said Lauren Stern, Director of WHOOP Labs. With 100-300 participants coming through the lab each week, managing communications manually meant sending constant emails and completing repetitive demographic surveys, even for repeat participants.

The Calendar-based scheduling tool the team had been using had its limits, forcing awkward workarounds, such as using multiple email addresses for overlapping studies. Without a formal participant panel, tracking study history, demographics, or preferences was nearly impossible. "We didn’t have a centralized system," Lauren shared. "It felt like we were reinventing the wheel with every study."

A centralized and streamlined solution

When WHOOP Labs discovered Private Panels, everything changed. "With their Private Panels capability, Dscout was a clear frontrunner," Lauren said. "It had pretty much everything we were looking for, plus the ability to add custom features specific to our lab."

Dscout’s Private Panels provided a centralized platform to handle recruitment, scheduling, and communication. One of the biggest wins? The creation of the WHOOP Labs Research Collective—a formal participant panel that allowed WHOOP to build lasting relationships with its participants. 

Lauren noted, "Using Private Panels has been a major game changer for us. It unlocked the ability to have a formal participant panel, which we call the WHOOP Labs Research Collective."

Key benefits: Time saved, experience enhanced 

The results spoke for themselves. Scheduling efficiency improved by 75%, with study setup time dropping from 60 minutes to just 15. "It makes the whole process much faster for our recruiter," Lauren noted. "She can get everything set up quickly, giving her more time to focus on studies that need individualized attention."

Participant onboarding became a breeze, eliminating redundant surveys and freeing up valuable time during each visit. Centralized communication played a crucial role, too. 

"We try to handle all participant communications through Private Panels. It keeps everything in one place and gives us a record of every interaction," said Lauren. 

Engagement also soared. WHOOP Labs used Private Panels to offer perks like raffle tickets and discounts, enhancing the participant experience. "It made life a lot easier and let us give back to our participants in really nice ways," Lauren said.

What made the difference?

Key ways Private Panels helped WHOOP Labs simplify and scale their research:

• Streamlined scheduling across overlapping studies and multiple researchers
  
• Simplified communications with reusable templates
  
• Reduced manual steps by integrating with internal systems
  
• Improved visibility into recruitment and participant engagement to fine-tune processes
  

What’s next: Expanding the possibilities

Looking ahead, WHOOP Labs plans to expand its use of Private Panels, implementing a points-based compensation system to gamify incentives and tracking additional metrics like project fill times and cancellation rates. "Getting that through Private Panels has been really, really nice," Lauren added.

A partnership built on support 

Above all, WHOOP Labs values the ongoing partnership they’ve built with the Private Panels team. "They've been so great. Our experience with Private Panels has been defined by the team's ability to help us out. It’s been incredibly helpful to have that support as we get up and running with the platform."

Dscout’s Private Panel function has not only streamlined WHOOP Labs' operations but also empowered their researchers to focus on what matters most: conducting cutting-edge research that shapes the future of wearable technology. As WHOOP Labs continues to grow, Dscout remains a trusted partner in optimizing efficiency, enhancing participant engagement, and driving innovation.