July 11, 2014

Greetings again all,

As part of an ongoing project I'm doing this summer in the OD Department at T. Rowe Price, I’ve been asked to build-out our “organizational assessment” process. What we’re really after is a sequence we can put on paper and tools which we can utilize for each of the various stages.  I'm curious if anyone on this list has any ideas as to a starting point? I'm not looking for anything too detailed—a diagnostic survey would be helpful, as would a sequential model of process. Thanks very much.

Additionally, I stumbled across an article on the SHRM site that, even though it’s 7 years old, I found incredibly relevant. It links a graduate degree in I/O Psychology to work in strategic HR. It’s worth a quick read; I've attached it here:

Though Atypical, HR Is a Career Path for Industrial Psychologists

By Pamela Babcock

5/1/2007

NEW YORK—While human resource management isn’t usually the first career choice for professionals with industrial or organizational (IO) psychology backgrounds, those who find their way to the profession bring a unique perspective to the job, according to three panelists who spoke here April 27 at the 2007 conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Inc.

“Having an IO background has helped shape our HR function so that we are really looking at more proactive ways we can lead the business,” said Linda S. Simon, Ph.D., senior vice president of HR for Marriott Vacation Club International in Orlando. “And then there are the analytical skills you can bring to the table.”

Speakers said the technical background IO psychologists get during their training helps them make a unique impact in HR, particularly in strategic problem solving with senior management.

“The key difference is [evident] when we approach a business problem,” said V. Michael Ferdinandi, senior vice president of HR for CVS/Caremark Corp. in Woonsocket, R.I. “I think, many times, the tendency for HR generalists is to rush to the solution. But we have a vision for the diagnosis before the problem solving.”

How They Ended Up in HR

Why did these IO psychologists decide to lead HR rather than work in talent management, teach or become consultants?

“I never had any intention to be head of HR,” Ferdinandi said. “I never had it as a career goal.” But when he joined CVS in 1999, the company was going through a lot of organizational development. “The conclusion I came to was [that] what was on the list of things to do for the head of HR at the time—nearly all resides in what we do in IO.”

Ferdinandi cited work his company has done around employee engagement to drive customer satisfaction and to address turnover, which at one point hovered around 30 percent at its pharmacy superstores.

“As we went to look at that problem, one of the first steps was to pull research on first-line supervisors, and then we went to a needs assessment,” Ferdinandi said of tackling turnover. “The background we bring is setting a standard about how we are going to solve a business problem.”

Simon concurred, saying, “I was a generalist early in my career, and it opened my eyes to the practice. What attracted me to the role is sitting at the table with business leaders.”

Meanwhile, Peter M. Leddy, senior vice president of HR for Invitrogen in Carlsbad, Calif., said he got into the field “by accident” when he did an internship in benefits and later in human resource information systems while in graduate school.

“I started to realize early on that I thought differently than some of the HR generalists and even specialists,” Leddy explained. “Not necessarily better, just differently. The people at the top of HR were driving change, and I wanted it all—from soup to nuts. I wanted to impact the business, the culture, and to help young people get better.”

What These IO Pros Look For in Job Candidates

Panelists offered several tips for hiring talent for an HR department.

Ferdinandi said he looks for people with experience at one or two companies that have “good practices in place around organizational development.” Second, he looks at the value they will add to the organization. “Are they a good fit for CVS/Caremark and its fast-moving culture?

“Also, can they demonstrate an end-to-end perspective and look at the business problem, do the right diagnostic work, and [determine] the business results?” he said. “Can they demonstrate the science piece and the practitioner piece, and can they put their training to use in a way that’s useful to us?”

Leddy said he looks for smarts. “They have to have an intellectual curiosity and not think they know it all,” he said. “I love to hire people who have failed and learned from their failures. I tease it out of them in interviews. The ability to learn from failures is critical.”

Tips for Future Practitioners

Panelists offered the following advice for IO psychologists still in school, those who want to make the leap to head HR or those who already have.

“You can’t use psychobabble in a business setting,” Leddy said. “You have to show your business face when interacting with people. Also, we don’t get education around change management, and it’s a core capability that I try to get my people to focus on.”

“Every company has talent management and development on the list of things they need to do,” added Ferdinandi. “You need to get really razor sharp on assessing kills of managers.”

Said Simon, “If you’re still in school, look at whether you’re getting skills in an applied setting. Although it may not be in your comfort zone to understand a P&L [profit and loss statement], it is the most important thing today.”

Leddy recommended that anyone in IO who wants to head HR should work as an HR generalist first because “you will call on those experiences down the road.” He recommended getting global experience and looking for a top HR department at a company well versed in the capabilities of those with IO psychology backgrounds.

“The petri dish you go and work in HR in is critical,” Leddy said. “It comes down to: Do you want to swim with the current or against it? You want to go somewhere where you don’t have to fight the battle. You want to pick where you practice very carefully.”

Pamela Babcock is a freelance writer based in the New York City area.