SHRM and SIOP
Mission Focused: Serving HR and I-O Professionals
Deb Cohen, Chief Knowledge Officer
Society for Human Resource Management
SIOP Note: This article has been submitted, by request, to The Industrial-
Organizational Psychologist (TIP) for publication. (November 2008)
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. The Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interest of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 250,000 members in over 142 countries, and more than 575 affiliated professional chapters and 400 student chapters. SHRM is the largest association dedicated to the HR profession in the world. SHRM serves the needs of the human resource profession by providing thought leadership to executive-level HR professionals and comprehensive HR and business learning resources designed for professionals at all stages of their careers. In addition, the society is committed to advancing the HR profession by ensuring it is recognized among business leaders, executives, academicians, and thought leaders as an essential and strategic partner in developing and executing organizational strategy.
“The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is a Division within APA that is also an organizational affiliate of APS. The Society’s mission is to enhance human well-being and performance in organizational and work settings by promoting the science, practice, and teaching of industrial-organizational psychology.”1
1 Quoted directly from the SIOP Web site.
Common Goals
Toward this end and according to the SIOP Web site, SIOP supports SIOP members in their efforts to study, apply, and teach the principles, findings, and methods of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology; provides forums for I-O psychologists to exchange research, insights, and information related to the science, practice, and teaching of I-O psychology; identifies opportunities for expanding and developing the science and practice of I-O psychology; monitors and addresses challenges to the understanding and practice of I-O psychology in organizational and work settings; promotes the education of current and future I-O psychologists; and promotes public awareness of the field of I-O psychology.
SHRM’s strategy is driven by its mission and operationalized into five strategic objectives. These objectives form the framework within which all of SHRM’s work is organized. Specifically, the goals focus on advancing the profession (ATP), and serving the professional (STP).
In order to advance the human resource profession, SHRM will (a) set the agenda for the HR profession and (b) ensure HR is recognized for its contribution to business success. In order to serve the needs of the human resource management professional, the Society will (c) provide comprehensive information and tools to HR professionals to enable them to make informed decisions; (d) help HR professionals develop their knowledge, skills, and careers; and (e) be the recognized community for exchanging ideas, developing professional relationships, and increasing HR knowledge.
The two organizations, both guided by mission, have a like-minded focus on outcomes that benefit the profession. Consequently, working together on certain initiatives makes sense and provides myriad opportunities for collaboration.
Working Together for the Benefit of All
So why are SHRM and SIOP working together on some joint initiatives? Why do our two organizations think that forging strong relations will help our two professions? What are our differences and what are our similarities?
SHRM and SIOP share a common goal of wanting to positively impact the workplace and of believing that our professions add strategic value to organizations. SIOP, based on discussions with folks like Gary Latham, believes that the science behind what I-O psychologists do can add value to the practice of HR. It is SIOP’s desire to work more closely with SHRM and HR professionals to find ways to practically apply I-O science to business. Based on my more than 8 years of working with SHRM (and more than 20+ years of membership), I believe SHRM and its members will benefit from understanding the practical application of I-O drivers behind HR practices. This common belief in the value of science for practice has created a number of positive dynamics over the past several years.
The value of evidence and its influence on practice. SIOP and SHRM both believe that in these challenging economic times, there is an even greater need to be strategic in our decisions and in the execution of our organizational strategies. Business success hinges on the successful application of human resource initiatives and can be further enhanced by I-O research and science. Given that SIOP and its members seek opportunities to better integrate their research in the business and HR communities and that HR professionals are among those who develop and execute strategy within organizations, it makes sense that our two organizations would combine efforts to support one another.
Raising awareness. Visibility of SIOP members to a 1.3 million plus HR professional population is as important to SIOP as understanding the scientific value of research to practice is for SHRM’s ¼ million members. And visibility of SIOP members to a 1.3 million plus HR professional population is as important to SIOP as HR having access to new HR thinking and practices, which they can integrate in their existing strategies.
The question remains: How do we hope to raise awareness for I-O science and make it relevant to HR and business?
Through Gary Latham’s leadership—and persuasion—a group of SIOP members has been formed to accomplish the following objectives, organized and guided under the tutelage of Nancy Tippins, who chairs the group:
- Make the science of I-O psychology accessible to SHRM members
- Seek methods to make I-O psychology relevant and applicable to the HR and business communities
- Guide SHRM members in evidence-based HR practice
- Enhance the visibility of I-O psychology as a profession
In inviting participants to join the “SIOP Science for HR Board,” Nancy stated that “SIOP will develop materials about a topic that will be published and distributed by SHRM to its membership. We hope to produce four articles per year that address what we know and how what we know is relevant to the practice of HR. The articles will be easy to read and highly accessible to HR professionals.” SHRM has the capacity to get these articles in front of a huge audience, and our expectation is that SIOP has the capacity to prepare the articles in a user-friendly and meaningful way for practitioners to understand and apply key themes in the workplace. The group has already begun identifying topics, and once the list is prepared, SHRM will prioritize the topics to reflect current needs indicated by market research with the SHRM membership.
Next Steps
In addition to the group chaired by Nancy Tippins, Gary Latham has also tasked me with chairing the Professional Practice Committee of SIOP, and I am working with a dedicated committee of folks who are pursuing a variety of initiatives that will enhance the practice side of SIOP and bring SHRM and SIOP closer together. For example, there is a group that is exploring the creation of a presentation focusing on the value of science to practice. The presentation can then be made available to a cadre of presenters and made available to groups such as local SHRM chapters, chambers of commerce, and other public-facing organizations that may be interested in highlighting how I-O science can be better integrated with HR and business.
SHRM has exhibited at the annual SIOP conference for the past 3 years, offering content and teaching materials and discounted memberships; we intend to continue this practice. The SHRM Foundation has reached out to SIOP members offering funding opportunities as well as content and teaching resources. The society believes that HR is a critical part of business strategy and that every HR professional must possess business acumen. More effectively linking science with business and HR practice will be helpful in supporting HR’s strategic contribution to organizational excellence.
Helpful too, especially to SIOP members, may be an opportunity to meet and interact with SHRM’s members. Many opportunities exist, but perhaps the best two places to converse with HR professionals about this would be SHRM’s annual conference held in June and SHRM’s Strategy Conference held in the fall. We welcome SIOP members to join us, not only for professional development sessions and the opportunity to engage with practitioners, but also to connect with content developers and service providers in the exhibit hall. Many of these organizations influence the future of HR practice and strategy via the products and services they provide. They too can benefit from the science and evidence I-O psychologists bring to the practice of HR.
Lastly, through SHRM’s Academic Initiative, we seek to create content in the form of cases and learning modules to be used in HR classrooms. We are developing cases that provide an opportunity to infuse the outcomes of science into the practice of HR—and in so doing, acquaint future HR practitioners early in their career with the benefits of evidence-based management. These cases may also be used by consultants working with HR professionals and line managers within organizations.
The future is bright, and many opportunities exist to get involved.