Spotlight on Local I-O Organizations
Michelle A. Donovan
Intel Corporation
In this
Spotlight column we focus on a relatively new I-O group, the Portland Industrial-Organizational Psychology Association (PIOPA). Although this group began little more than a year ago, they are a great example of how a few dedicated I-O professionals can turn an idea for networking into a full-fledged organization with over 70 members. Read on for more details
Portland Industrial-Organizational Psychology Association (PIOPA)Expanding The I-O Network
Jeff Johnson
Principal Partner, SHAPE Consulting
PIOPA Coordinator
|
|
The Portland Industrial-Organizational Psychology Association (PIOPA) was founded in the summer of 2003 by Jeff Johnson and
Rainer Seitz. PIOPA serves as a social and professional group for people in the Oregon and southwest Washington region with backgrounds, professional experience, and education in industrial, organizational, and work psychology. The association strives to (a) foster a community for professionals involved in the scientific application of psychology to the workplace, (b) promote the practice and awareness of industrial-organizational psychology in the greater Portland/Vancouver region, (c) provide learning opportunities and an exchange of ideas for participants, and (d) serve as an open forum where participants may meet and discuss topics of mutual interest and concern.
The idea to form the group started when we found it difficult to coordinate get-togethers with other I-O professionals scattered throughout the Portland area. We also realized that I-O professionals in the region were interested in keeping in touch with each other and that we needed a better way to keep connected. We heard about local I-O groups in other cities, and after attending a meeting of the Puget Sound Association of I-O Psychologists (PSAIOP), we decided to start one in Portland. We collected names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers from all the I-O professionals we knew in the area. We also consulted the SIOP directory for contact information and identified additional people by simply asking around. For the first ever PIOPA lunch meeting in September 2003, we sent e-mail invitations describing our vision for the group to 39 potential members. The response was great19 enthusiastic I-O professionals attended and PIOPA was officially launched!
After only a little over 1 year in existence, PIOPA has experienced fast-paced growth. We now have over 70 members including a mix of academics and graduate students from local universities, as well as internal practitioners and external consultants. PIOPA includes a broad network of professionals who are involved in the research and/or application of the science of psychology to issues in organizations. For example, several members have backgrounds in organizational development and human resource management. In an effort to encourage access and the continued growth of PIOPA, we have a Web site
(www.piopa.org) that includes a description of the association, a membership listing, and useful links.
Our mix of academics and consulting practitioners has created a great forum for lively discussions about issues in I-O psychology. PIOPA is fortunate to have the regular participation of distinguished researchers and academics such as
Donald Truxillo, Leslie Hammer, and Robert Sinclair from the expanding I-O PhD program at Portland State University (PSU).
Tahira Probst and Tom Tripp from the human resources management program at the new campus of Washington State UniversityVancouver have also taken time to contribute to PIOPA. In addition, David Foster from Western Oregon University has brought some undergraduate students to meetings, giving them opportunities to learn more about I-O psychology. Some of the organizations represented in PIOPA include Unicru, Xerox, Pacificorp, NW Natural Gas, Legacy Health Systems, Mentor Graphics, and Johnstone Supply. Local consulting firms represented in PIOPA include American Tescor and SHAPE Consulting.
PIOPA gathers for lunch once every quarter. To minimize scheduling conflicts with holiday weekends and establish a predictable pattern, we always meet on the second Friday of the month in March, June, September, and December. Invitations are sent to all members via e-mail a few weeks prior to the meeting. To help keep everyone informed, follow-up summaries are also sent to the entire membership within a week after the meeting. The venue rotates among swanky (but affordable) restaurants. We choose places that are centrally located (people come from north, south, east, and west), have adequate parking (Oregonians are intriguingly attached to their cars), and offer an acceptable meeting area that is conducive to a presentation-discussion format. We average around 20 attendees at each luncheon to date. These luncheons serve as opportunities to socialize and network with other I-O professionals and typically include a presentation by either a member or a guest. These meetings also serve as opportunities for PIOPA updates and planning.
We have had a variety of lively presentations at our quarterly lunch meetings. At the December 2003 meeting,
Steve Hunt presented The Current State of Online Staffing Assessment. Captivating the audience like a daytime talk show host, Steve reviewed trends and innovations in online staffing assessment based on interviews with staffing practitioners and reviews of selection tools and systems offered by over 50 staffing assessment vendors. His talk ended with predictions about future developments in the use of online staffing assessment tools and suggestions for additional research to support the use of these tools. At the June 2004 meeting, Leslie Hammer and Bob Sinclair shared information about the Portland State University Occupational Health Psychology graduate program. For our December 2004 meeting,
Susan M. Burroughs (Washington State UniversityVancouver) discussed the assessment of aggression through the use of conditional reasoning-based personality measures. Finally, each meeting ends with group discussions concerning PIOPA goals and actions for pursuing the vision for the association, such as increasing I-O exposure in the community.
In addition to formal presentations and association planning, we include at least a half hour of networking and socializing time at the beginning of each meeting. This gives members the chance to make new connections, learn about others projects, share their ideas, and just simply catch up with old friends. For some of our members, this is one of the few times they interact with other I-O psychologists during the quarter. The meeting therefore creates precious opportunities to meet others who work in the Portland area but who have lacked a professional network until now. To better accommodate some peoples schedules and to add variety, we are currently considering alternating between after-hours/dinner meetings and the conventional lunch meetings.
PIOPA continues to grow with a prospering economy and the business communitys increasing awareness of the benefits of applying psychology to issues in the workplace. Consistent with SIOP efforts, PIOPA has made it a goal to expand awareness of I-O in the greater PortlandVancouver region. To facilitate this, we encourage guest attendance and participation by non-I-O professionals at all functions. The association also seeks to gain publicity through the local press. One example includes PIOPAs recent recognition in the
Portland Business Journal as part of an article about consulting in I-O psychology and what the field has to offer. In addition, announcements and brief descriptions of each meeting are published in both the
Portland Business Journal and Portlands only daily major newspaper, The Oregonian. To continue building community awareness of I-O psychology, the association is considering sponsorship of forums to the business community. We are also currently facing dilemmas regarding whether to increase membership formalities (such as nominal dues, committees, officers, etc.) to improve participation, coordinate efforts, and fulfill the basic goals of the association. We are surveying the entire PIOPA group through a discussion list in order to give everyone in the association an opportunity to express their interests, ideas, and concerns to help guide the process of directing PIOPA growth and focusing our efforts.
PIOPA always welcomes new members and guests if you are ever in the Portland area. Please visit our Web site at
www.piopa.org or contact Jeff Johnson at (503) 380-5167 or
jeff@shapeconsulting.com for more information about PIOPA or the regions proliferating points of attraction or simply to introduce yourself or offer advice for our neophyte association.
Future Spotlights on Local Organizations
Stay tuned for the April issue of TIP when we profile the Personnel Testing Council of Southern California (PTC-SC). This group will share their similarities and differences with other traditional I-O local groups and might even include a few tips for sightseeing in Southern Californiajust in time for the SIOP conference in Los Angeles!
To learn more about local I-O organizations, see http://www.siop.org/IOGroups.aspx
for a list of Web sites. If you have questions about this article or are interested in including your local I-O psychology group in a future
Spotlight column, please e-mail Michelle Donovan at michelle.a.donovan@intel.com.
January 2005 Table
of Contents | TIP Home
| SIOP Home