2023 Membership Survey

Survey Subcommittee of the SIOP Membership Committee: Katye Griswold, Cameron Klein, Victoria Hendrickson, Harry Kohn, Kelsey Byerly, Brett Guidry, Kat Defilippi, Erik Zito, Amy Wester, and Will Thai

The SIOP Membership Survey is conducted annually to maintain awareness of member satisfaction, as well as identify areas for improvement to enhance the membership experience. In a targeted effort to improve the operational efficiency and user experience of the survey, a confidential approach was taken this year. That is, instead of an anonymous link, each member received a unique link to access the survey. This change prevents people from taking the survey multiple times, which improves the accuracy of the results.

This year, the membership survey was administered by new partner, Talent Metrics Consulting, and was live from February 7–21, 2023, via links sent to all members. Approximately 10% of members participated (n = 779 of 7,974 invitations that were sent), compared to 13% in 2022. Participants included 396 Members, 143 Students, 76 Fellows, 70 Associates, 18 Retired members, and 10 Affiliates (65 members did not indicate their membership status).

Our focus in this article is to share a high-level overview of the results. A more detailed report of the results can be found on the SIOP Survey Website. Throughout the coming year, the SIOP Membership Committee, in conjunction with SIOP staff, will continue to review the membership survey results to identify additional opportunities for action. Further, the committee is dedicated to investigating and enhancing member engagement over the next year, including areas of volunteering, conference attendance, and creating more opportunities for members to connect.

Overall Findings

• Overall member engagement, which measures satisfaction, advocacy, pride, and commitment, is 82%, which is slightly higher than the 81% seen in 2022.
• Consistent with 2022 results, membership satisfaction is objectively strong (75%, no change). Moreover, 82% of members are willing to recommend joining SIOP to a colleague.
• There is a strong and growing level of pride in affiliation with SIOP (83% compared to 81% in 2022).
• Commitment to maintain SIOP membership is high at 88%, which is on par with last year’s results.
• The top three factors that led respondents to join or renew their membership included attending the SIOP Annual Conference, connecting with the broader I-O community, and having access to publications.
• The top three drivers of engagement include membership benefits, the importance of SIOP to practicing I-O psychology, and resources available to members.
• Satisfaction with resources made available to members has significantly increased since last year’s survey at 63% (up from 59% in 2022), but it remains one of the lowest scoring drivers of engagement, indicating a need for further improvements. Although SIOP members value the opportunity to connect with others in the I-O community, regular participation in local I-O events remains low (21%).

Connections 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.

• Although the value of I-O psychologists and practitioners is recognized in the workplace, scores suggest an opportunity to provide increased awareness and understanding of such professionals to those outside the field. With 25% agreeing, only a quarter of respondents feel that others outside the field understand what they do as an I-O psychologist/practitioner.

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

• Scores regarding inclusivity items are slightly lower compared to previous years on average, with 69% of SIOP members believing that SIOP creates an environment where differences of opinion are valued (down 3% from 2022) and 77% believing that everyone is respected and valued (no change from 2022).
• Responses suggest room to better connect with communities of interest (currently only 59% agree), as well as ample room to participate in local events (21% report participating in local events, up 3% from 2022).

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.

• When asked the question, “What is the most valuable aspect of SIOP membership?” qualitative comments suggested members find value in being able to connect and network with others, specifically by attending the SIOP Annual Conference.
• Given the importance of connecting as emphasized by respondents, SIOP could consider opportunities to bring members together beyond the annual conference.
• In fall of 2022, SIOP introduced the Affiliate membership status. Currently, there are 200 individuals registered as Affiliate members who can learn from our scientist—practitioner best practices, and SIOP, in turn, can learn how to best communicate and offer services to support different industries.

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.

• Scores have increased regarding satisfaction with resources made available to members (up to 63% from 59%).
• Qualitative comments in response to the question “What can SIOP do to improve the promotion of I-O psychology?” give several suggestions to increase awareness of I-O and SIOP in the workplace and education system, including greater involvement in mainstream media, creating resources around the impact of I-O, and inserting I-O as a topic in introductory psychology classes, including at the high school level.

SIOP Visibility

Interestingly, only 54% of respondents claimed their expertise as an I-O psychologist or practitioner is highly regarded within their organization. Only 38% of respondents’ current employers provide financial support for membership dues. This likely reflects a reluctance to provide financial support for external professional development more broadly (including APA, AMA, SHRM, etc.). In any event, these results suggest a continued need for SIOP to support the advancement and awareness building of the field of industrial-organizational psychology.

Thank you to all who participated in this year’s membership survey! We encourage you to review the full results on the SIOP Survey Website. We’d also like to thank Talent Metrics Consulting for the support provided throughout the administration of the survey. Specifically, we’d like to recognize Sy Islam and Mike Chetta for coordinating this effort.