The Key Benefits of Incorporating Psychological Expertise in Your HR Department

Businesses are necessarily complex organisms, constituting a variety of departments and teams that collaborate and coordinate toward their central service or goal.

Growth-forward companies commonly make the mistake of focusing investment outwardly, on new sales avenues and expansion. However, many cogs within a business make it a profitable one – and human resources is a key one.

HR is more important than ever, as workers in the UK face unique pressures from the state of the economy. Rising living costs impact millions at home, while the onset of a national recession creates downward pressure on businesses – increasing workplace stress.

HR departments are essential for effectively managing staff, whether logistically, administratively, or emotionally. One new measure that could have an overwhelmingly positive impact on a business and its trajectory is the inclusion of psychological expertise on staff, in the form of an organizational psychologist.

Professional Recommendation

Indeed, the benefits of utilizing psychological expertise are espoused and promoted by international consulting firms that advise on business structure and equitable growth strategy.

Elizángela Bonomi is the Chief Human Resources Officer at the Brazil branch of RSM Global, and had the following to say about the prospect of creating a psychologist role within an HR department:

“An organizational psychologist works strongly on welcoming the individual, which in a certain way is reflected in the collective. When an employee has difficulties, whether, of personal or professional origin, the psychologist can help to understand the conflict, leading to internal reflections that help find the best path for that situation.

This also applies for entire teams, proposing activities, and conversation circles so that behaviors can be mapped and, if necessary, improvements can be proposed.”

Here, Bonomi describes the essential function of psychological counsel in professional environments. But on a more tangible level, what can the addition of a psychologist to your HR team do for your business?

Conflict Resolution

As stated in Bonomi’s example, psychology can be an extremely useful tool in getting to the bottom of workplace conflicts.

Where there is friction between employees or departments, there is the possibility of bottlenecking and slowdown. Psychological approaches can help find harmonious solutions, and keep the business ticking.

Employee Satisfaction

Not only can organization psychology positively impact the team and individual interrelationships, but also individual employees altogether. By identifying the main concerns behind staff members on an individual level, HR can provide individually catered solutions – and improve employee satisfaction in the process.

Company Culture

This improvement in employee satisfaction will have a knock-on impact on the business’ overall company culture. Happier employees who are properly catered for within their role and department are more likely to stay and foster meaningful relationships with one another.

This creates a warm, friendly and equitable environment in which to work, improving staff retention and business reputation together.