Expert calls are one of the fastest ways to understand a market, a technology or a competitor's customers. They also carry real risk if they are run carelessly. An expert who shares confidential information from a current employer, or a call that drifts into territory the expert should not discuss, can create problems for everyone involved.

Most clients know this in principle. Fewer know which questions to ask their provider before the first call is booked. Here are the ones we think matter most.

Who is the expert, and how do you know?

Compliance starts with identity. If you cannot be confident that the person on the call is who they say they are, nothing else in the process holds up.

  • How is the expert's identity verified? Ask whether the provider checks employment history against independent sources, not just a self-completed profile.
  • Is the current employer disclosed? You should know whether the expert currently works for a company relevant to your question, and in what role.
  • When did they leave former employers? Dates matter. Someone who left a company last month is in a very different position from someone who left three years ago.

In our experience, a short, consistent vetting call before the expert is introduced catches most issues that a written profile would miss.

What has the expert agreed to?

Every expert should confirm, before each engagement, that they understand the rules. A one-off signature at registration is not enough, because circumstances change.

Questions worth asking:

  • Does the expert confirm, per project, that they are not bound by any agreement that prevents them from taking part?
  • Do they confirm they will not share confidential information or material non-public information?
  • Are they reminded that they can decline a question or end the call at any time?
  • Is there a check on whether their current employer requires approval for outside consulting?

The answers should be recorded and available to you if needed.

Which experts are excluded by default?

A sound compliance process does not rely only on judgement call by call. It sets clear exclusions up front. Typical examples include:

  • Current employees of the company that is the subject of the research, unless the client has specifically agreed otherwise and the expert's employer permits it.
  • Public officials and employees of government bodies, where rules on outside work are usually strict.
  • People in roles with direct access to sensitive financial information about listed companies, such as those close to results or major transactions.
  • Anyone involved in an active transaction relevant to the client's question.

Ask your provider for their exclusion list and how it is applied. If they cannot describe it clearly, that is a signal in itself.

What happens during and after the call?

Compliance does not stop once the call is booked. Clients should understand their own obligations too.

  1. Briefing the interviewer. Your team should know not to ask for confidential data, such as unpublished figures, pricing agreements or details of named customers.
  2. Chaperoning. For sensitive topics, some clients ask for a compliance chaperone to join or for calls to be recorded with consent. Check whether this is available.
  3. Stopping a call. Agree in advance what happens if the conversation moves into risky territory. The interviewer should feel able to redirect or end it.
  4. Records. Ask what is kept, for how long, and who can access it. Personal data held about experts should follow GDPR principles, including a clear lawful basis and sensible retention periods.

Surveys and group sessions

Compliance checks are sometimes lighter for surveys or group sessions than for 1:1 calls. They should not be. The same questions about identity, employer conflicts and confidential information apply, and group settings add another: experts should not be able to identify each other unless everyone has agreed.

For advisory panels that run over months, ask how often experts reconfirm their status. A panel member who changes jobs mid-project may no longer be eligible.

A short checklist for your next provider conversation

  • How do you verify identity and employment?
  • What does the expert confirm before each project?
  • Which categories of expert do you exclude by default?
  • What support do you offer during sensitive calls?
  • How do you handle expert data under GDPR?
  • Who do I contact if something goes wrong?

Your own compliance team may have additional requirements, and rules vary by sector and country, so it is worth involving them early rather than after the first call.

Working with xplr.ai

We run compliance checks on every expert before introduction and are happy to walk your compliance team through the process. If you have a project coming up, tell us the question and we will tell you how we would approach it.