What is I-O?

Continuous Quality Improvement and SIOP

My final President’s Column is also the easiest one to write, because there are so many exciting and interesting things to report. In particular, I want to tell you a bit about SIOP’s strategic planning activities, and then talk about some changes in the SIOP conference that exemplify the idea of continuing improvement and quality enhancement, and finally acknowledge the hard work of the many people who are involved in the activities of the Society.

In the January issue of TIP and in a posting on the SIOP Web site, I described the process that led to SIOP’s structured strategic planning effort. In a nutshell, SIOP has been a very successful organization (e.g., a great conference, high involvement among members, influential reports); our strategic planning activities have focused on things that we can do to take SIOP to the next level of activity and success. We used the Winter meeting of the Executive Committee for facilitated strategic planning (Hank Jonas and Sue Hammond performed admirably as facilitators). In addition to the Executive Committee members and Committee Chairs, 11 past presidents (Wally Borman, Mike Campion, Wayne Cascio, Jim Farr, Irv Goldstein, Milt Hakel, Rich Klimoski, Paul Sackett, Neal Schmitt, Ben Schneider, and Shelly Zedeck) participated. We used methods of "Appreciative Inquiry" to help identify what is best about SIOP, and develop visions for the future of Society

We generated over 75 sets of suggestions for the future, with additional specific proposals under several of these sets. Six general areas were identified as having highest priority/interest. They are

1. Clarifying Our Identity. The planning group saw a need to develop a concise but complete answer to the question "What is an I-O psychologist?". This will help us communicate to others, and provide a focal point for describing what we mean by I-O psychology.

2. Education and Professional Development Initiatives. There was considerable interest in the idea that SIOP should become a "preferred provider" for continuing education and professional development. Target audiences might include I-O psychologists, psychologists in other areas seeking structured exposure to I-O expertise, and doctoral students, as well as managers and HR professionals. Methods of training will include workshops, study tours, and other continuing education activities. This initiative grows out of the recognition that SIOP has underutilized its members’ expertise and experience in this area, and the belief that we can become a leader in providing education in areas related to I-O psychology.

3. Public Policy Initiatives. There was consensus that SIOP should become a highly visible source for input in forming public policy. Mechanisms that were discussed included creating the position of "SIOP Senior Fellow" to represent our interests and expertise and lobby Congress, Department of Labor, NSF, NAS, and so forth. The goal of this initiative is to make the statement "When SIOP talks, CNN (Congress, Department of Labor, etc. ) listens" a reality.

4. Visibility to Educators and Students. There should be a chapter on I-O psychology in every introductory psychology textbook, and every educated person should know what an I-O psychologist does and what he or she can do. I-O Education modules should be made available to all publishers, and SIOP should lobby for including this material everywhere possible.

5. Visibility to Business Leaders. SIOP’s name and identity should become highly visible to the business community, and business leaders should think of I-O psychology as a valuable resource for understanding and improving their organizations.

6. Globalization of I-O psychology. SIOP should be the world leader and the most frequently consulted I-O psychology organization, and should have an active and ongoing interaction with other I-O associations throughout the world. SIOP should take a leading role in developing international conferences and cross-cultural exchanges in I-O psychology.

Action plans for implementing each of the initiatives outlined above are currently being developed by the Executive Committee, standing committees and task forces created to examine specific issues in implementation. Several of these initiatives are already moving along, and we believe that these ideas represent exciting opportunities to build on the current success of SIOP, and to improve an already-excellent organization. Progress on several initiatives will be discussed at the Society Conference in Dallas.

Carrying along the theme of improving on all of our products and services, the SIOP Conference Committee has proposed some changes in the conference that will be pilot-tested in Dallas. I think these changes will make a great conference even better.

First, we have dropped the luncheon. What started out years ago as a cozy gathering has become a nightmare of rubber chicken, overcrowded ballrooms (assuming you could get a seat at all), announcements nobody could hear and Fellow and award presentations that were barely noticed by most of those in the room. Dropping the luncheon frees huge blocks of program time (in previous years, our ballroom was tied up for most of Saturday, with setup, the luncheon, and take-down), allowing us to add several sessions to the conference program. We have worked closely with the hotel to make sure that lunch will be available in a number of forms throughout the hotel, making it possible for those coming to the conference to plan the lunch time that works best for them. We have also reduced the cost of conference registration to offset the fact that most of you will have to purchase one additional meal at the conference.

The luncheon was a place where we tried, with limited success, to showcase new Fellows and award winners. This year, we will announce new Fellows and awards at the most widely-attended session of the conference—the presidential address. Rather than a hurried and half-heard announcement at lunch, we will announce the new Fellows and award winners at the opening session, and will distribute brochures recording their citations. This new procedure is especially appropriate this year because we will be giving two new awards, the M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace and the William A. Owens Scholarly Contribution Award. This procedure not only provides a more appropriate forum for recognizing the achievements of many of our members and Fellows, it also means that the presidential address will be shorter! (This has been a high priority of mine ever since I realized that I would have to write one.) We know that these changes will disappoint fans of overcooked chicken and of interminable presidential addresses, but we are betting that most of you will find the new format a distinct improvement. Please make sure to attend the presidential address so that we can honor the new Fellows and the recipients of SIOP awards.

The service of its members is the lifeblood of SIOP. About 500 SIOP members serve on one or more committees, and their hard work is what keeps the Society going. Special thanks go to the members of the SIOP Executive Committee (Jim Farr; Past President; Elaine Pulakos, President-Elect; Bill Macey, Secretary; Jeff McHenry, Financial Officer; Irv Goldstein, Angelo DeNisi, Wayne Camara, and Georgia Chao, APA Council Representatives; and Dick Jeanneret, Nancy Tippins and Jan Cleveland, Members-at-Large) and the Committee Chairs (Adrienne Colella, Awards Committee; Bernardo Ferdman, Committee on Committees; Angie McDermott, Continuing Education and Workshop Committee; Debbie Major, Education and Training Committee; Bob Dipboye, Fellowship Committee; Shelly Zedeck, Frontiers Series; Karen Paul, Membership Committee; Catherine Higgs, Professional Practice Committee; Manny London, Professional Practice Series; Tim Judge, SIOP Program Committee; Mike Burke, APA Program Committee; Ann Marie Ryan, Scientific Affairs Committee; Irv Goldstein, SIOP Foundation Committee; Katherine Klein, Society Conference Committee; Greg Gormanous, State Affairs Committee; and Mike Coovert, TIP Editor), who put in tremendous time and effort to make SIOP an effective professional society.

In addition to standing committees, there are numerous task forces and special committees, including the Task Force on Ethnic Minorities (Bob Ramos, Chair), the Task Force for Initial Review of SIOP’s Principles for Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures (3rd Edition) (Neal Schmitt), the Task Force on Job Analysis and Competency Models (Jeff Shippman, Chair), Electronic Communication (Phil Craiger, Chair), as well as special assignments undertaken by individuals (e.g., Advance Conference Planning–Kurt Kraiger; SIOP Historian–Laura Koppes) that are critical to the success of SIOP. Finally, there is the hardest-working and most effective group of all—the SIOP Administrative Office. Lee Hakel and her staff continue to work miracles on a daily basis, many of which are made possible by tapping the energy and programming expertise of Milt Hakel.

On behalf of the Members, Fellows, Associate Members, Student Affiliates and Foreign Affiliates of SIOP, I want to offer thanks to all of those individuals who have served the Society during my term as SIOP president. It has indeed been an honor and a privilege to serve this Society.