Essentials Series #09-6 18th May

Conducting HR Research Projects

Dr Wendy Hirsh

This workshop was designed for HR practitioners who are required to conduct applied research or evaluation projects as part of their work in organisations. It would also be of value to those who commission researchers or consultants to undertake projects on their behalf.

The discussion contrasted examples of research projects and invited delegates to discuss projects they have been involved in or topics they may wish to research.

In terms of content, the workshop included:

· Understanding the need - Stakeholders, purposes, issues, scale, outputs

· Turning muddle to focus - Framing clear project questions

· Choosing the right approach to information collection - using what's already there, personnel data, questionnaires, interviews and focus groups

· Getting yourself organised - Planning activities, timing, money, people

· The fun of the chase - effective information collection

· The neglected step - data analysis

· Turning research into something useful - reporting, messages, tools

The Speaker

Dr Wendy Hirsh is an independent researcher and consultant in a number of areas of HR including employee and management development, career development, and strategic human resource planning. She works with many leading employers and employer consortia, both private and public sector, to help them examine their changing needs for people and how they might best be met.

Doing research projects is a major part of Wendy's working life - as is responding to confused tender documents and baling out HR professionals who start research projects and then get stuck.
Wendy works closely with a number of centres of expertise in the UK. She is Principal Associate of the Institute for Employment Studies, Research Associate of Roffey Park Institute, Fellow of the National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling, and Visiting Professor at Kingston University.

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