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Professional Practice Committees Are Working for You

Rob Silzer, Lynn Collins, Ben Porr, Mark Nagy, & Mark Morris

1 HR Assessment and Development, Inc./Baruch, Graduate Center CUNY;  2 BTS;  3 Haver, Inc.; 4 Xavier University; 5 Amazon

Over the last 3 years, the SIOP Professional Practice Portfolio (under then SIOP Officer Rob Silzer) has been actively engaged in developing and implementing programs and new initiatives for SIOP practitioners that address their needs and support their professional interests. Here’s an update on our many activities.

​Under the SIOP Professional Practice Portfolio (current Officer Tracy Kantrowitz) there are four Professional Practice Committees (PPC):

  • Career and Professional Development for Practitioners Committee (Chair: Lynn Collins)
  • Engagement and Communications for Practitioners Committee (Chair: Ben Porr)
  • Learning Resources for Practitioners Committee (Past Chair: Mark Morris; Chair: Kimberly Adams)
  • Licensing, Certification, and Credentialing Committee (Chair: Mark Nagy)

Each committee has dedicated members working on shared goals and objectives. In recent years we have had a surge in committee volunteers and have tried to integrate them into the committees and give them opportunities to make their own contributions. The four chairs have done an exceptional job in leading their sizeable committees and delivering many new programs.

During this time, we have introduced 16 new programs and initiatives for practitioners and have maintained and expanded another 15 existing programs for practitioners. Our committees and chairs deserve great appreciation for the work they have done for I-O practitioners. The chairs included Lynn Collins, Ben Porr, Mark Nagy, and Mark Morris, as well as Will Shepherd, who acted in an advisory role.

Major Activities

Each committee has separate mandates, objectives, and programs, as well as separate members. Committee chairs and members are volunteers, and each committee identifies and delivers programs and initiatives to meet their objectives. The programs and initiatives are listed below. There were several major initiatives that involved collaboration from various committees. These programs and initiatives included:

  • Completed a major reorganization of SIOP Professional Practice portfolio with the addition of the four new Professional Practice Committees discussed above.
  • Provided oversight for three successful Leading Edge Consortia (LECs).
    • Managed the annual ad hoc LEC Topic Selection committee.
    • Selected topics and chairs for three highly successful LECs:
    • 2017: Innovations in Executive Coaching: Deepening Your Expertise in a Dynamic World, Chair: Sandra Davis
    • 2018: High Potentials: Identifying, Developing and Retaining Future Leaders, Chairs: Rob Silzer and Allan Church
    • 2019: Advancing the Edge: Assessment for the 2020s, Chairs: John Scott and Doug Reynolds (early indicators point to a highly successful LEC)
  • Managed and integrated a record number of over 100 new committee volunteers.
  • Advocated for including I-O practitioners in SIOP Fellowships, SIOP elections, and organizational appointments. Advocated for revised Fellowship guidelines that are more appropriate for practitioners.
  • Established and provided the Practitioner Digest, a quarterly practitioner newsletter.
  • Developed and implemented the Advanced Professional Development Program, starting with the Individual Assessment course offered in Chicago 2018 and Austin 2020.
  • Developed and implemented the Early Career Practitioner Consortium (ECPC) for I-O practitioners in their first 5 years of practice.
  • Established and executed quarterly meetings of the Chief Human Resources Advisory (CHRO) Advisory Board.
  • Completed the I-O Graduate Program Survey to determine the extent to which graduate programs in I-O psychology are meeting the SIOP Education & Training (E&T) competency guidelines.
  • Implemented the 2019 Practitioner Needs Survey (see related article in this TIP issue).
     

Committees

Career and Professional Development for Practitioners Committee

Chair: Lynn Collins (Lynn.Collins@bts.com)

Committee goals.

  • To support the career development of I-O psychologists.
  • To make SIOP the most valuable resource for the ongoing career development of practitioners as evidenced by career long utilization of SIOP career resources, high participation, and utilization of programs.

Programs and initiatives.

  • Speed-mentoring programs for practitioners
  • Group-mentoring programs for practitioners
  • I-O Psychology Career Study and career path models development
  • I-O psychology business acumen model development
  • SIOP Early Career Practitioner Consortium
  • SIOP Income and Employment Survey
  • Practitioner reviewer database
  • Speed-Benchmarking Program
  • Practitioner Career Exploration Program
  • I-O Practice Entrepreneurs Initiative (IOPE)
  • Advanced Professional Development Program (currently offering course on Individual Assessment)
  • SIOP conference sessions on professional and career development for I-O practitioners
  • Investigation of the future-oriented skills and the fundamental shifts needed to ensure relevance of our profession

Success metrics.

  • High participation and utilization of professional and career development programs/resources
  • Favorable Practitioner Survey responses
  • Frequent requests for additional career and professional development support
  • Increasing involvement and engagement of SIOP practitioners in the PPC and SIOP

 

Engagement and Communications for Practitioners Committee

Chair: Ben Porr (walter.porr@gmail.com)

Committee goal.

  • To promote and gain greater practitioner engagement and commitment to SIOP.

Programs and initiatives.

  • Practitioner Digest newsletter
  • SIOP Professional Practice home page
  • Social media initiatives for practitioners
  • Practitioner Networking Reception at the SIOP conference
  • Health and well-being community of practice
  • Practitioner Needs Survey
  • Advocates for practitioners to be appointed to APA, APS, AOP, SIOP roles and awards
  • SIOP conference sessions on learning resources for I-O practitioners

Success metrics.

  • Practitioners increasingly identify with SIOP
  • Career-long practitioner membership, attendance in SIOP, and lower member turnover
  • Greater practitioner participation at SIOP conferences
  • Increased PPC committee volunteers
  • More favorable satisfaction ratings on Practitioner Needs Survey
  • Greater SIOP recognition of practitioners for Fellow status and professional contributions
  • Greater opportunity for practitioners to influence SIOP decisions and its future direction and to get elected to the Executive Board
  • Greater SIOP understanding of key practice issues
  • Increasing involvement and engagement of SIOP practitioners in the PPC and SIOP

 

Learning Resources for Practitioners Committee.

Past Chair: Mark Morris (mark_morris@yahoo.com); Current Chair: Kim Adams (kadams6006@gmail.com)

Committee goal.

  • To develop and provide a range of learning resources for I-O practitioners

Programs and initiatives.

  • Professional Practice webinars: See current offerings on the SIOP YouTube channel
  • SIOP-SHRM White Papers
  • The "Bridge" TIP column
  • Research access program for practitioners
  • EEOC white papers
  • CHRO Advisory Board
  • SIOP conference sessions on learning resources for I-O practitioners
  • Other learning resource programs for I-O practitioners

Success metrics.

  • Practitioners seek out and utilize SIOP resources more often
  • More favorable responses to Practitioner Needs Survey
  • Increasing requests for additional learning resources
  • Increasing involvement and engagement of SIOP practitioners in the PPC and SIOP

 

Licensing, Certification, and Credentialing Committee.

Chair: Mark Nagy (nagyms@xavier.edu)

Committee goals.

  • To promote the interests of SIOP and its members by concerning itself with matters affecting the practice of psychology as governed by state laws and licensing boards.
  • To stay current on any certification and/or credentialing issues that may impact the practice of I-O psychology.

Initiatives and activities.

  • Staying current on all issues raised in regulatory bodies concerning the licensing of I-O psychologists and psychologists in general
  • Keeping SIOP and Professional Practice informed about any noteworthy licensing/certification changes or events.
  • Serving on the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Board Task Force on Licensure of Consulting and Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
  • Reviewing graduate programs in I-O psychology for meeting the SIOP E&T competency guidelines
  • Conducting the I-O Graduate Program Survey
  • Researching I-O practitioner services and activities to determine which are licensable or not licensable professional psychologist activities

Success metrics.

  • Addressing all licensing and certification issues and responding to all member requests
  • Keeping SIOP and SIOP members informed of all relevant professional issues
  • Influencing regulatory bodies and professional organizations in support of SIOP interests


Practitioner Satisfaction

Over the last 3 years, we have received significant support and very positive feedback from SIOP practitioners. Almost all of our programs are completely full when we offer them in person.

Our recent Practitioner Needs Survey asked SIOP practitioners how much they value current programs and future possible programs; see this article in this issue of TIP for an extended summary of results.  Some of the findings include the following:

  • Among the most valued programs are the Salary Survey, the LEC, the SIOP-SHRM White papers (now being rebooted with new topics), research access, Professional Practice webpage, and the Early Career Practitioner Consortium.
  • The highest rated possible future programs and initiatives included relevant research update, Advanced Professional Development Program, training resources, practitioner conference content, regional workshops, website tools, in-depth learning opportunities, and advocacy of practitioners for increased representation for SIOP elections, the Executive Board, and appointments.
  • Increased ratings on nine measures of practitioner satisfaction with SIOP (which is particularly encouraging).

In the previous 5 years, practitioner satisfaction ratings have increased on 9 of the 10 measures. The increases are modest and the absolute level of satisfaction is still in the 3.0 to 3.5 range on a 5-point scale. However the trend is encouraging! It suggests that we are engaging and serving SIOP practitioners.

The one satisfaction measure that is still declining over the last 11 years is practitioner satisfaction with “representation of practitioners on the SIOP Executive Board.” Practitioners are still limited to about 37.5% of the Board even though they are now a clear majority among SIOP membership (academic members are now only 38% of the professional membership).

Conclusions

During the last 3 years the Professional Practice Committees and chairs have worked extraordinarily hard to develop and deliver a wide range of practitioner programs and initiatives. We have focused on pursuing initiatives that meet practitioner-expressed needs and interests.

We believe that we have successfully delivered these programs and met some practitioner needs. The very positive feedback we have been getting, the high attendance at these programs, and the high value ratings from practitioners all suggest we are on the right track. But we are an agile team and never stop evolving these products and services to meet the changing needs of our members.

We want to encourage all SIOP practitioners to continue to let us know your professional needs and your views on what best meets those needs. The new Practice Officer, Tracy Kantrowitz, and the committee chairs are fully committed to serving you, the SIOP practitioners.

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