What is I-O?

Community-Organizational Consulting

We realized the need community agencies have for assistance with human resource and other organizational issues when our clinical faculty received a large number of queries regarding I-O related issues that the community agencies were experiencing (e.g., turnover, low morale). These requests were forwarded to the I-O area. It soon became clear that our I-O graduate students were clamoring for such opportunities and were excited to be involved in these community organization projects, even though there was no (or very little) compensation attached (dispelling a commonly-held myth regarding I-O grad students!). At this point, we have conducted several such consulting projects with community agencies, some of which are described below. Indeed, we have recently devoted an entire course to these projects, given the interest from both community agencies and our graduate students.

In order to assist those who may consider incorporating similar projects into their graduate training, we offer several suggestions regarding our criteria for selecting such projects. First, although we select projects (on a low-cost or pro-bono basis) that are related to a problem the community site is experiencing, we privilege the students needs first. This emphasis (about which we are upfront from the beginning) allows the faculty to focus on the process of developing skills or teaching a concept. For example, we might substitute a different approach to a problem than the one first requested. Our focus on the needs of the students and teaching also gives us flexibility with regard to piggy-backing other student-generated research questions onto the project. Because many nonprofit organizations have public education and training as part of their mission statement, they have been receptive to our educational focus. In fact, we have found that community agencies have embraced the student focus, taking strides to invite students to board meetings at the organizations, and in a couple instances, even offering employment to the students. Without fail, the organizations have been pleased with their interaction with the students (and this has been true of those organizations paying for the consulting services as well).

Apart from the student focus, we also try to select projects that are not excessively time-demanding. For example, on some time-intensive projects, we have spent our time in training, supervising, and conducting the project, rather than preparing a final written report. Therefore, we negotiated up front that our results would be presented orally rather than in a written report. We also choose projects that are likely to lead to future projects, collaborations, or student internships. Thus far, we have selected projects in which faculty members have an interest or expertise. The structure of these projects is flexible, to allow using them in the classroom as a supplement to the curriculum (e.g., doing a selection project in a course on Personnel Selection), as an extracurricular project, or a class unto itself. 

Two Examples

One example of a recent project concerns a local community service organization that delivers care to persons with disabilities. This organization contacted a community psychologist at the University of Tulsa regarding their turnover problem (they were losing approximately 80% of their employees each year). Although they were unsure of their particular goals, they wanted help in creating a training program to combat the turnover. Hence, the project was referred to an I-O faculty team which recruited student volunteers to help with a needs assessment. The students learned such valuable skills as focus group facilitation, survey design and analysis, and presenting their findings in accessible ways at meetings with key stakeholders. Moreover, the organization was receptive to our suggestion that training was just one solution to their turnover problems, and we were able to enlarge the scope of this project to include a selection component. This provided an applied project for the personnel testing and selection course offered the following semester. Recently, this organization has asked us to help them develop a new performance appraisal system, a project that will be incorporated into our course on performance appraisal. Using a real organization for such class projects has further ensured that our I-O graduates are equipped with knowledge and practice to be sound professionals.

Although the above example concerns three very traditional areas of I-O consulting (i.e., training, selection, and performance appraisal), many of our opportunities have come from more unexpected settings, some of which may not appear at first glance to be I-O concerns. For example, one successful project evolved when a clinical faculty member was consulting at a local domestic violence intervention agency that offered clinical services to both perpetrators and victims of family violence. The staff of this organization considered modifying the types of clinical services offered and realized that they had not solicited the opinions of these consumers and had discounted specific feedback when offered. Although the faculty member considered asking clinical students to conduct focus groups to evaluate clients experience of services, she recognized that this would be an ideal opportunity to train I-O students about focus group methodology, family violence and the workplace, as well as illustrate ways in which clinical and I-O psychologists can engage in responsible collaboration. Hence, an I-O and clinical faculty member met with a team of volunteer students to describe the project, aims, focus group methodology, and issues in domestic violence. The time investment for students was minimal; in addition to the time spent running the focus groups, students attended a total of three 2-hour meetings for instruction and feedback. Students remarked that they not only learned focus group methodology, but became aware of (a) important ways that family violence might affect the workplace; (b) methods to safely and competently engage with potentially challenging participants; and (c) faulty assumptions about perpetrators and victims of domestic violence.

Clearly such collaboration broadens the I-O students experience with related issues in clinical psychology. In particular, in the course of professional work, I-O psychologists need to learn how to work with individuals facing personally stressful situations or mental problems that can impact work. Such experiences illustrate how I-O psychologists may work in management of organizations with a clinical focus. With more opportunities in health care for I-O psychologists, this is especially relevant. 

Benefits

These collaborative projects help multiple constituents. The advantages to the nonprofit clinical and community service agencies are obvious. They receive high quality but low-cost (or free) assistance with solving their human resources and other organizational problems. For our students, such a model (a) provides them with critical applied experiences and instruction; (b) facilitates the development of organizational problem-solving skills in ways that are not constrained by an organizations fiscal resources; (c) instills values regarding the importance of civic participation; (d) establishes an early record of community-oriented service that is impressive to future hiring organizations, many of which are actively trying to build their community service image; (e) provides them with supplemental instruction about psychological issues outside the traditional I-O curriculum; and (f) fosters a creative entrepreneurial approach to consultation. In addition, these projects allow the faculty opportunities to provide technical assistance to worthy organizations, fulfill the professional mission of training and supervising, and foster community-academic collaboration that may result in future research or consulting opportunities. Finally, the university benefits in the sense that such partnerships help to fulfill their civic mission of contributing (i.e., giving back) to the community.

In summary, nonprofit organizations in every community need expertise on organizational matters. We would like to encourage graduate programs in I-O psychology to view these organizations as real-life laboratories where students, faculty, universities, and organizations can engage in meaningful collaborations. According to the dodo bird in Alice in Wonderland, Everyone has won and all must have prizes. Indeed, this model provides an opportunity for all to win.