Psychology at Work

Hosted in the birthplace of Shakespeare, the Division of Occupational Psychology’s flagship conference is fast approaching, and the conference committee are working overtime to match, and exceed the quality of previous years. Our goal is to deliver more and better content and build on the steady year-on-year increase in delegate numbers that makes us the largest and most successful member network conference in the BPS.

Our theme for the DOP 2020 Annual Conference is ‘The Practice of Science: Occupational Psychologists at Work’. Pertinent to every area of occupational psychology, the theme celebrates a core characteristic of our profession that unifies academia and practice.

The strong reputation of the conference has resulted in offers to contribute and collaborate from both national and international communities united by our interests. Programming so much content into three days is a year-long challenge for the committee resulting in an extensive and growing list of reasons to attend. With this in mind, we’ve picked just nine aspects.

1. Keynotes

The DOP 2020 annual conference has assembled a selection of internationally renowned experts to provide engaging keynotes across the three days. United by both their relevance to Occupational Psychology and the overarching theme of the conference, each speaker will give thought provoking presentations in key areas of importance.

Professor Frederik Anseel – King’s College London Frederik Anseel is Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Vice Dean at King’s College London. He serves as the President of EAWOP (the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology) and is a Fellow of the International Association of Applied Psychology. His work has been published in journals such as Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, and Psychological Science. Given that the DOP has taken on the challenge of organising the next EAWOP congress in May 2021, to be hosted in Glasgow, we look forward to welcoming this important keynote.

Professor Gillian Symon – Royal Holloway, University of London Gillian Symon is Professor of Organization Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Co-Founder and Co-Director of RHUL’s interdisciplinary Digital Organisation and Society Research Centre. Gillian has been a leading voice on the best practice of qualitative methods, and has written numerous publications that have guided academics, practitioners and student alike. Gillian has used her research expertise and fostered inter-disciplinary working practices to further our understanding into important and contemporary issues facing our profession, including work-life boundaries, technical development and change in organisations.

Professor Brian Nosek – Center for Open Science Brian Nosek is co-Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Open Science that operates the OSF, a collaborative management service for registering studies and archiving and sharing research materials and data. Given how much our science has been suffering from the replication crisis and from serious deficiencies in our evidence base, this is a fascinating opportunity to hear from one of the world leaders in the Open Science movement. Brian’s session will be our first ‘Open Lecture’ and we look forward to welcoming academics across a range of disciplines.

Professor Gabriele Oettingen – New York University Gabriele Oettingen is a Professor of Psychology at New York University. She is the author of more than a 150 articles and book chapters on thinking about the future and the control of cognition, emotion, and behaviour. She received her Ph.D. from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Seewiesen, Germany. She also just happens to be a German Princess, which we assume must be a BPS first.

Professor Mark van Vugt – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Mark van Vugt is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology, Work and Organizational Psychology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Director of the Amsterdam Leadership Lab (amsleadershiplab.com). He is also a Research Associate at the University of Oxford. We rarely hear enough about evolutionary factors influencing occupational psychology so Mark’s contributions will be very helpful indeed.

2. Programmed Sessions

The conference will be crammed with sessions on a breadth of topics reflecting the diversity of our industry. This variety also extends to session formats. Delegates will experience high-energy Impact papers, more focussed Standard papers, multi-presenter Symposiums, and visual Poster displays. We are also developing and expanding the Careers support stream in a range of ways and introducing joint sessions pairing academics and practitioners.

Every submission has been assessed using a rigorous double-blind two-reviewer process to ensure quality. Reviewing criteria include originality and methodological thoroughness, in addition to the submission’s contribution to both science and practice. Dozens of reviewers from academia and practice have provided their expertise to help ensure the conference is able to present the very best of Occupational Psychology. Visit our website to see the conference programme.

3. CPD Workshops

Running on Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon, these 3-hour skills-developing CPD workshops will provide an invaluable opportunity to develop your knowledge, add to your skills and potentially gain accreditation that would otherwise only be available at commercial rates. Yes, workshop places are free, but also limited, so you must sign up at the time of registration in order to attend. Check the website for available workshops and booking instructions.

4. New extended and extensive Careers Stream

Due to the popularity of the 45-minute careers session last year, we’ve increased this to a whole diverse stream running across Wednesday and Thursday. This includes speakers talking about their own, often varied, careers, information about job roles, and also development workshops that will benefit delegates at various stages of their careers. In addition, we have scheduled additional short in-programme workshops running over the three days. These will be run by national and international thought leaders and experts and will develop skills designed to give delegates an edge in their careers. For example, our Keynote Gabriele Oettingen will offer a student-focussed workshop based around her iPhone and Android App called ‘Woop’.

5. Networking and Support Programme

What was previously titled the Ambassador programme has been revamped and re-energised for 2020! Your new Networking and Support Programme (NSP) will offer real benefits, especially for those of you who are new to our events.

However, whether an experienced veteran or relative newcomer, the NSP can increase your conference enjoyment and enhance your professional network. The NSP will use information garnered from a brief questionnaire to pair delegates to ‘Conference Champions’ who can be a valuable source of information, reassurance and networking contacts. The conference will also provide several opportunities for NSP participants to meetup and engage.

What is in it for you if you become a Champion? How about the enjoyment of new contacts and the warm glow of giving something back to your society and your profession? You might even get a special badge. What’s not to like?

Getting involved in the NSP is easy! Just indicate your agreement to take part as either a Champion or Delegate when you register or drop the conference team an email (dopconf@bps.org.uk). Visit the website for more details.

6. DOP Awards Dinner

Keeping abreast of the valuable contributions made by psychologists in our industry is no easy task. Luckily the DOP Awards Committee is here to help!

Adjudicated by a panel of expert judges, winners from nine categories will be announced and receive their prizes during Thursday night’s Awards Dinner. This glitzy event will involve plenty of food and drink and conclude with a live band.

Presentation slots have also been allocated to 2019 and 2020 award winners, providing delegates with the chance to experience the work of DOP award-winning presenters first-hand.

7. Location, Location, Location

After receiving very positive ratings from our post-conference feedback, we have decided to return to the highly popular venue that hosted us in 2018. Situated in the heart of Shakespeare country, the Crowne Plaza will provide a welcoming atmosphere that is just a short walk from the historic town of Stratford Upon Avon. Should you be able to come along in time for Tuesday afternoon or evening, we will be arranging a guided tour of Shakespeare’s town by a local actor. Following this, you can enjoy Psychology-in-the-Pub with a highly interactive format.

8. Networking Dinner

Be it touching base with an old friend or building bridges with new contacts, Wednesday night’s Networking Dinner will provide you with food and drink in a relaxed and friendly setting. We have been lucky to secure a very entertaining and informative after-dinner talk from Matthew Syed who when not writing books and running a very successful consultancy also contributes to The Times on leadership and on performance in sport.

9. Posters

Striking a balance between informative and visually striking, posters offer presenters a distinctive format to communicate their research. The A0-sized posters are visible for the entirety of the three days, enabling delegates to peruse the displays at multiple points during the conference. There will also be a more formal Poster Viewing session during Thursday lunchtime, where presenters will be able to receive questions from delegates.

Each poster presenter also gets the chance to speak for one minute about their research in the pulsating Poster Snapshot session immediately following Thursday morning’s Keynote. Prizes for the best posters will be judged by a panel that includes BPS President Elect Dr Hazel McLaughlin, with winners receiving their prizes at the Awards Dinner.

The reasons to attend are too numerous to do justice here, so we’ll be posting frequent updates on social media over the coming weeks. Follow our DOP ‘company’ and group pages on LinkedIn, along with the hashtag #dopconf on twitter to avoid missing out. Given its impending hiatus in 2021 to make way for EAWOP, the DOP 2020 Annual Conference will be an unmissable highlight of 2020! We look forward to meeting up with conference regulars, returners and newcomers to the warm, friendly and engaging event that is our annual conference.

About the Authors

Dr Simon Toms is Co-Chair of the DOP Conference Committee and Principal Research Psychologist at Psychological Consultancy Ltd

Dr Ian Bushnell is Co-Chair of the DOP Conference Committee, former Chair of the DOP, and Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow

Recent weeks have been hectic for MSc Course Directors. Tasked not only with assessing final dissertations submitted by students from the previous year, they have also been putting plans in place to welcome and induct new students into their MSc programmes for the 2019/20 academic year.

From the student perspective, a fresh cohort of MSc graduates has been released on the job market, keen to begin recuperating the investment of their education. Yet for some, the feeling of elation experienced by graduating may soon be replaced with a sense of disappointment as the exciting range of employment opportunities they expected fails to materialise. This is a situation I am all too familiar with; the gap between graduation to early career placement can feel like a chasm.

After starting work for Psychological Consultancy Ltd (PCL) over 4 years ago, we began considering ways in which I could help graduates minimise some of the difficulties I faced when breaking into the industry. These methods benefited from hindsight, and not only included things I had done, but things I had not. Any actions not only needed to help future graduates, but also to provide a return on investment for PCL.

As an assessment publisher, we have an ongoing responsibility to demonstrate the validity of our tools. Research cuts to the core of this. The insight we generate serves to inform product development and improve the education and training of our test users. Reflecting on ways of generating this insight led me to consider the work students engage in during their courses. The dissertations of MSc students not only form a key component of programmes; they represent a potential conduit for obtaining essential validation data.

This led me to conclude that our goal was to create and develop a process that facilitated a win-win outcome for both students and PCL, and the MSc dissertation represented the best vehicle for this.

The Role of the Dissertation

A dissertation is likely to be a student’s greatest academic achievement for a single piece of work. The culmination of months of effort, it encompasses a range of skills including (but not limited to) review of the evidence base, writing proficiency, research methodology and project management. It also provides insight into a student’s interests and the directions they may want to take in navigating the profession. In short, it represents a foundation stone of the personal brand students will cultivate over the course of their professional career.

To some, a dissertation is viewed solely as a constituent part of their overarching MSc. The goal of completing it is to receive a score that combines with those of other modules to create an overall grade. Whilst this is true, an MSc dissertation can represent so much more than that. The goal of our involvement with students was to help them consider untapped opportunities generated by their MSc dissertations in a manner that justified PCL’s support. The result of our efforts to achieve this led to the creation of the PCL ‘Student Sponsorship Programme’ (SSP).

PCL’s Student Sponsorship Programme

The SSP is a competitive process involving approximately 20 UK-based universities running MSc courses in occupational psychology and related fields. Students interested in taking part are invited to submit a short 500-word application by the 11^th November. The lynchpin of the SSP is the MSc dissertation, so students’ applications must demonstrate consideration for how PCL products could play a role in their research.

Applicants are informed of the status of their application several days after the deadline, and unsuccessful applicants are offered the chance to have a Skype or phone call with a consultant to discuss their research projects.

Our support starts in mid-December when we welcome successful applicants to our offices in Tunbridge Wells. This ‘Professional Skills Event’ is crammed with content that includes introductions to our assessments and sessions on consultancy, research skills and marketing.

The following months involve ongoing remote contact where we help the students pinpoint and flesh out their research ideas into actionable projects. Once these are identified, the next step is data collection. A significant obstacle for all students, PCL can provide support through our professional contacts and social media presence. Our help extends through to the analysis and write-up stages, with PCL staff on hand to respond to any questions the students may have.

Students have frequently noted the benefits of the programme. PCL staff represent an accessible source of expertise that can respond to students’ questions and concerns, thereby supplementing the support provided by academics. Working with a test publisher also provides the added benefit of enabling students to remotely and automatically deliver bespoke feedback reports to their participants.

Working with a consultancy can also provide opportunities for professional development. This relationship helps the student develop a practitioner mindset that encourages them to think about how academic research can be applied to the client-focussed services offered by consultancies. PCL represents another stakeholder in their project, and the student must reciprocate the support they receive by providing us with the insight resulting from their research.

Submission deadline day for dissertations typically represents the culmination of a student’s MSc journey. However, this is not the case for our SSP students!

Beyond Submission

After a well-earned break from their efforts, communications with the new graduates resume with discussions about next steps. The former students will have developed a range of skills and knowledge during their MSc, so the next goal is to make these as visible as possible. Networking and engagement forms part of this visibility, with the former students encouraged to continue applying the lessons introduced during the professional skills event.

This leads to the most significant next step in the context of the SSP: content dissemination. Students are strongly encouraged to make the most of their research beyond the dissertation. Luckily, disseminating content from dissertations is easier than ever! There are various platforms capable of hosting and distributing content that can be seen by peers, the wider public and potential employers. The SSP graduates can also benefit from uploading to PCL’s online ‘Knowledge Bank’, which hosts a range of freely accessible content.

Outputs emerging from the SSP include white papers, industry publications, blog pieces, video content and conference presentations. Translating an MSc dissertation into each of these formats requires the student to develop a more diverse skillset and cements the benefits of ongoing learning that all psychologists should engage in throughout their careers.

Lessons from the SSP

We have learned a great deal as facilitators of the SSP but feel many of these lessons are equally applicable to students, recent graduates, and academics. Recommendations include:

Do not view your dissertation as a single piece of work. Instead, look to break it up and disseminate it across various platforms using different formats.
Consider approaching your research as a consultancy project in and of itself. Engage with organisations and offer feedback on what you find, even if it’s for free!
Create and foster habits that improve your personal brand. Engage with posts and thought leaders relevant to your interests during and after your research.
Aim to use your research as a vehicle for engaging with the industry and community. You’ve developed MSc-level knowledge on a specific topic, so use it!

The list of achievements by SSP alumni is extensive and growing year on year. For students, we believe the SSP provides unique insight into the industry that enriches their knowledge and increases their employability. For consultancies, we believe the SSP represents a replicable framework that bridges the academic-practitioner divide and generates win-win outcomes for all involved.

Call for Applicants

Are you or someone you know completing an MSc in Occupational Psychology (or related field) during the 2019/20 academic year?

You can find more information about the SSP on the PCL website, including the SSP brochure, previous outputs, contact details and testimonials.

The deadline for applications to the next intake of the SSP is Monday 11^th November 2019.

About the Author

Dr Simon Toms is a Principal Research Psychologist with Psychological Consultancy Ltd, and a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.