Chartered Occupational Psychologists
Chartered Occupational Psychologists apply psychological knowledge, theory and practice to the world of work. They aim to help an organisation get the best performance from their employees and also to improve employees’ own job satisfaction.
Occupational psychologists carry out a range of work according to the needs of their clients or employing organisation. The British Psychological Society (BPS) divides this work into eight key knowledge areas:
- human-machine interaction;
- design of environments and work: ergonomics, health & safety & well-being;
- personnel selection and assessment, incl. test & exercise design;
- performance appraisal and career development;
- personal development and counselling;
- training (identification of needs, training design and evaluation);
- employee relations and motivation;
- organisational development & change.
Occupational psychologists apply expert knowledge to all levels of working and may work on organisational issues, such as culture and change, as well as issues at an individual or team level. They may work in a consultancy role or in-house as an employee of an organisation, in collaboration with management, human resources and training specialists, trade union representatives, and staff in teams and individually.
Chartered Occupational Psychologists are the only professional group to have a minimum of six years degree and postgraduate training specifically on how people behave individually and in organisations.
