2022 Membership Survey Summary

SIOP Membership Committee Survey Subcommittee: Victoria Stage, Victoria Hendrickson, Harry Kohn, Stephen King, Brett Guidry, Erik Zito, and Duncan Jackson

SIOP regularly conducts a membership survey in order to understand the experience of all members and identify areas for improvement. Prior to 2021, the survey was conducted on a triennial cadence; this is now an annual cadence. This change in cadence was made to have more current data in order to respond to membership and take action in a timely fashion. The most recent survey was sent to membership from mid-January to early February of 2022. Approximately 13% of members participated (1,160), steady with 2021’s response rate of 13%. Participants included 531 Members, 110 Associates, 185 Student Affiliates, 103 Fellows, and 33 Retired members. The detailed results of the 2022 Membership Survey can be found on the SIOP Survey website. This survey is the “voice of our membership,” and the SIOP leadership team will continue to review and analyze the results to identify areas for action and improvement over the coming year. An executive summary is provided below.

Overall Findings

• Membership satisfaction, a key component to engagement, is strong objectively (75%), though down four points from 2021. SIOP has committed to investigating member engagement over the next year, including areas of volunteering, conference attendance, and other opportunities for individuals to connect.
• Commitment to maintain SIOP membership is high, at 89%, which has not wavered from last year’s survey.
• Drivers of engagement suggest the importance of maintaining an inclusive environment while still promoting I-O psychology more broadly. There is an additional need for SIOP to focus on and promote the resources that are available to members.
• Although improvements have been made to the SIOP website, this topic continues to be the lowest scoring item on the survey. Additional focus should be given to the navigation, search functionality, look/feel, and continuous updates around the I-O community. Since the last survey, SIOP’s Administrative Office has been working with an IT consultancy to evaluate the needs of our internal and external data storage and presentation systems. The findings of this work will support an RFP for new vendors and, ultimately, a new website that is in direct response to this sentiment.
• Although SIOP members value the connection within surrounding communities, participation in local I-O events remains very low.
• A majority (80%) of members are willing to recommend a SIOP membership to a colleague. However, this has dropped slightly since last year’s survey (86%).

Connection to SIOP’s Strategic Goals

Goal 1: Collaborate with organization leaders, communities, and policymakers to understand and confront relevant real-world problems and translate scientific knowledge to promote individual and organizational health and effectiveness.

• Scores suggest an opportunity to provide resources to better communicate the impact I-O can have in business settings.
• Comments suggest a need for more opportunities to connect with communities of interest and community development.
• Action since previous survey: SIOP is continuing ongoing work with advocacy firm Lewis-Burke Associates LLC. The firm works to influence legislation to benefit I-O and ensure I-O expertise is included in legislation impacting the workplace or the research enterprise. See PPT here for more information.

Goal 2: Build a diverse, inclusive, and agile SIOP that maximizes our impact through effective people, process, technology, and data infrastructure.

• Scores on technology resources (including the website) are lower compared to previous years, identifying room for much improvement.
• Comments suggest that SIOP can be more active in connecting different groups and including practitioners and academic professionals.
• Action since previous survey: As described above, SIOP has been working with an IT consultancy to characterize needs and identify possible resources to support a new website.

Goal 3: Use and strengthen our ability to gather, energize, and align all those invested in understanding and improving work and workplace issues in ways that inspire action and inclusive dialogue.

• Results show that the Annual SIOP Conference is the most favorable way members connect with the community. Outside the conference, SIOP could do more to support greater interaction and connection between all levels of members.

Goal 4: Create an ecosystem that generates future I-O psychology capabilities to advance and advocate for both science and practice by guiding education and lifelong learning.

• Comments suggest that SIOP could support educational programs (undergraduate and graduate) to build a stronger, more diverse pipeline.
• Comments also discuss a need for developmental resources, designed for both academic and practitioner audiences.
• Action since previous survey: The DIP recently completed its first year, with the mission to increase diversity within the field of I-O psychology, and ultimately SIOP, by increasing the diversity of students who are applying to and accepted into funded I-O doctoral programs. Additionally, the CARMA (Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis) Affiliate Programs are a set of free programs offered in partnership with professional associations and groups from fields of management. Although their focus is educating faculty and graduate students on discipline appropriate research methods, they are available to all SIOP members through August 31, 2022.

SIOP’s Reputation

Survey results suggest that respondents believe that I-O may need some marketing or public relations outside of I-O.  Being a member of SIOP is highly regarded as follows:

• Other psychologists (70%)
• Professional setting (56%)
• Outside of I-O (22%)

Additional Results

• 59% of respondents are satisfied with the resources that are given to them as a part of their membership with SIOP.
• 77% of respondents agree that SIOP supports an environment where everyone is welcomed, respected, supported, and valued.
• 89% of respondents intend to renew their SIOP membership before the next conference.
• 81% of respondents are proud to be a part of SIOP.
• 66% of respondents are practitioners.
• 63% of respondents are satisfied with SIOP’s effort in promoting I-O psychology.

We truly appreciate and thank all who participated in this year’s survey! We ask all SIOP members and leaders to review the full results.