HR Chally representatives participate in 2009 SIOP Conference

HR Chally was once again well represented at the 2009 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) in New Orleans which was held April 2-4. Chally team members Megan Leasher, PhD., James Killian, PhD., and Suzanne Dean, M.S. shared leading edge organizational practices in several in-depth and informative presentations relevant to major topics on talent management and changes in business.

The first presentation in which Dr. Killian led was a panel discussion entitled ìThe I/O Psychologist as a Change Agentî in which panelists identified large-scale change initiatives and discussed challenges, wins and losses. ìIt is often said that the only constant is changeî stated Dr. Killian. ìEach organization must effectively manage change if it is to continue to grow and prosper. But there are a myriad of challenges to managing change, particularly if you are the person responsible. Organizations and people of power who are set in their ways often make the role of a change agent difficult. I/O psychologists often fill this role. Yet, few have experience influencing the right groups, managing politics, people, resources, and showing value.î The panelists discussed personal and professional experiences that may help others positively affect change in their company.

Dr. Killian also served as panelist relating to another topic of culture change entitled ìThink Big, Act Small: Driving Culture Change from the Trenches,î in which panelists from four different industries discussed lessons learned from driving culture change initiatives. Panelists addressed (a) applied change models (b) knowing when to change (c) engaging different levels of the workforce (d) identifying and addressing resistance (e) creating ownership and establishing accountability, and (f) maintaining momentum and integrating change. The rapid pace at which business moves compounded with the rate of globalization has made it necessary for organizations to change quickly. The rate of change for many organizations can occur at a dizzying pace which necessitates the need for grounded, practical approaches for driving successful change initiatives. Theoretical approaches for change abound from a variety of independent researchers to large consulting firms. This panel discusse! d actual applied change techniques and methods for establishing accountability used in four different industries (consulting, financial services, utilities, and biotechnology) and the lessons learned from practitioners who stand at ground zero.

Dr. Leasher and Suzanne Dean, M.S., led a poster presentation entitled, ìIs the Glass Ceiling Broken? An Analysis of Exit Interview Dataî. Research on the ìglass ceilingî effect has suggested that women in the workplace are limited in advancement opportunities. But does the glass ceiling also make women leave jobs? Whereas most glass ceiling research focuses on the hiring spectrum, little research tackles why women voluntarily turn over in their jobs. As opposed to a hypothetical focus on turnover intentions, this study focused on actual exit interview data across more than 2,000 former employees. ìResults suggest that although the glass ceiling may be breaking, notes Dr. Leasher, it has not yet fully shattered.î

Chally representatives Suzanne Dean, Jason Culbertson and Corey Miller, PhD., as well as Jenna Filipkowski from Wright State University, also participated in a poster session entitled ìExtraversion, Customer Ratings and Sales Performance: A Multilevel Analysisî. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between antecedents and outcomes of sales performance in B2B sales from a hierarchical framework. Through the application of Random Coefficient Modeling (RCM), the relationship was explored between extraversion, specific sales behaviors, and customer ratings of sales performance.