Investing in Human Capital – Elizabeth Anglis

“I was looking to make the move from Raleigh to the West Coast, so I focused my job search to the San Francisco Bay Area. I knew from the program that I wanted a role with a focus on training and development. When I came across my current role as Training Coordinator at Cepheid, it felt like a perfect fit in terms of my interests and the skills that I had gained from the I-O psychology program. The program prepared me for this opportunity by teaching me the fundamentals of what makes an effective training program, the importance of investing in human capital, and gave me practice in critical thinking while keeping people at the forefront.

The pandemic has given I-O psychologists the opportunity to explore new ways to ensure employees stay engaged, even in remote work environments. With so many companies making the decision to keep many of their employees working remotely, employee engagement will continue to be something that will need extra effort. I/O psychologists also play a role in guiding workplace culture, educating employees about work-life balance, and acting as consultants to the decision-makers at organizations to help them make decisions that will benefit both their employees and the company going forward.

I think every company can benefit from having an I-O psychologist as a part of their organization. As I/O psychology becomes more widely known in the next few years, I see I/O psychologists being instrumental in developing training programs, leading diversity and inclusion initiatives, and being a voice for all employees within the organization they are working for.

Workplaces can benefit in countless ways from hiring I-O psychologists, the main one being that I-O psychologists are trained with the understanding that the people are what give every organization its value. Without the people putting hard work and passion behind the company’s mission, the company could not accomplish anything. Having I-O psychologists on staff at any organization ensures that at least one person in the company is making all decisions with people in mind.”