About Our Solutions
Our solutions are evidence-based for maximum impact.
We focus on what is real and important in valid models of organizational behaviour.
We focus on positive mindsets and positive workplaces as catalysts for organizational transformation.
Employees are full partners in what we do. Empowerment and experiential learning are vital for deep change.
Workshops
Coaching
We offer several coaching programs to managers and executives, varying in purpose, length, and involvement of the client’s network. How we’re unique:
Holistic. Clients are understood as whole persons that extend beyond their work identity, in accordance with expansive models of personality.
Evidence-Based. Our coaching is centered on real psychological variables, sound measurement, and research on successful behaviour change. Our coaches have formal behavioural science training.
Assessment-Based. Testing is a critical input to coaching. We use only psychometrically validated tools. Sixty years of research show that testing outperforms subjective perceptions for understanding people – even those of coaches and psychologists.
Balanced. We leverage our clients’ strengths while addressing developmental needs that are too critical to merely manage or ignore.
Self-Directed. Clients are active agents in their development, on- and off-the-job. The act of doing, with all of its mistakes and frustration, is critical for lifelong learning.
Realistic. Expectations for development are realistic and honest. Research shows that people typically overestimate the speed, amount, and ease of successful self-change.
Results-Driven. When feasible, client changes will be measured using external, before and after measures of behaviour and performance.
Ethical. Our programs are conducted in accordance with the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.
Speaking
We offer speaking events on things that matter most to people and organizations. Things that create meaning for teams and success for their employers. We touch on topics like leadership, culture, meaningful work, engagement, and positive mindsets that create agility and resilience.
Our speaking events have been called thought-provoking, contrarian, humorous, and myth-busting. Paul Fairlie, Founder/CEO, is a regular speaker in large sessions for the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).
More about our speaking events…
Evidence-Based. Our events focus only on ideas and actions that are evidence-based in having impacts on people and organizations.
Bespoke. Our events are customized. We talk about the kinds of workplaces that enable your organization to realize your vision and strategy. We spark conversations about mindsets and behaviours that are known to address your specific challenges and opportunities.
Experiential. Our events are interactive, with active learning for generating homegrown ideas and solutions.
Actionable. Takeaways include specific actions inspired by both research and cases studies to improve employee and organizational performance.
Speaking Testimonials
“…the best presentation I have seen in a long time and I go to a lot of them!”
“…I attended your session at…HRPA 2018…and enjoyed it very much.”
“Great presentation!”
“…an excellent presentation @ the recent HRPA event…Such a relevant topic…Your knowledge, insights & generous spirit are appreciated!”
“I enjoyed your talk at HRPA!”
“I very much enjoyed your talk at the conference.”
“I had the privilege of attending a 2018 HRPA conference session facilitated by Dr. Paul Fairlie. I was very impressed by his approach to organizational success, presenting analytics…to support concepts that some would say are anecdotal and immeasurable. A great presentation, with messaging all HR Professionals would benefit from hearing and applying.”
“An amazing and inspiring event! It was an honour to hear you speak so directly, succinctly and eloquently…Using our experiences, drawing on our strengths and incorporating these to pivot our dreams into action for success.”
“Your presentation had, by far, the most take away pieces of knowledge for me…“
Sources available upon request.
Our pledge (and pet peeve) around speaking…
Foray™ Big Data Solution
Foray™ is a preliminary exploration of your organization’s big data. A structured, packaged prowl of your data’s variety, volume, velocity, veracity, and most importantly, value. Your data may derive from employees or customers, and from different departments and functions. The data could be human- or system-generated, and strewn across devices, apps, and platforms. Ultimately, your data could be integrated and analyzed to inform new strategies, products and services, and new ways of identifying and leveraging talent.
With Foray™, we cut through the complexity, appraise your big data feasibility, and convey what needs to happen in order for you to leverage your data with advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI).
There’s more. Big data can’t be fully leveraged without an understanding of human behaviour. Some people see only data. We see people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. That’s why Foray™ involves behavioural scientists, in addition to experts in data science, database management, and high-performance computing to analyze and interpret your data with an eye to organizational and consumer psychology. The success of big data projects also depends not only on what and how, but also who (i.e., stakeholder management), which is why we artfully navigate culture, power, and politics.
Advisory Services
Sometimes you just have a question or a need to decide whether you should <em>zig</em> or <em>zag</em> on a workforce-related issue. That zig or zag, without the right information, could cost or benefit your organization big time.
With Heliosophy’s advisory services, you can ask an expert in industrial-organizational psychology for the best, current evidence on a topic in a brief, confidential phone or video consultation. We rely on only rigorous, highly replicated, peer-reviewed research on people issues in the workplace. We help leaders to cut through anecdotes and factoids in the business media. We transfer knowledge in plain, non-technical language.
Heliosophy’s experts are also scientist-practitioners. We’ve both consulted to organizations and published research, so we understand the real-world implications of our advice. We also strive to be accurate in what we share in accordance with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.
Do you have a question or decision to make about people in your workplace? Book a free, initial call or video HERE to see if we can help you in a follow-up consultation.
People and organizations are complex
Not all opportunities and challenges can be met with boxed solutions.
We also offer customized consulting by proposal in the following areas.
Strategic Counsel
We bring a behavioural science approach to business strategy. Read more.Strategic Counsel
We bring a behavioural science approach to business strategy. Achieving a strong competitive advantage begins with a deep understanding of markets as people. It involves meeting the fundamental needs of both customers and employees. We support your strategic efforts in a variety of ways, including deep values exploration, visioning and goal setting, SWOT and SOAR analysis, strategic alignment, and HR planning to identify the personal attributes needed to deliver on different kinds of strategies.
Talent Assessment
We provide assessment solutions for hiring and development... Read More.Talent Assessment
We provide assessment solutions for hiring and development, using valid measures that drive key outcomes in your organization. We’re qualified to use many tests of personality, motives, abilities, and other attributes. Our Positive Personal Inventory® is used to assess positive mindsets. We offer competency-based assessment centres and behavioural event interviews (BEI’s), one of the most evidence-based hiring tools when properly designed. We also consult on positive hiring practices that are viewed as fair and accurate by applicants and are known to boost retention and corporate reputation.
Leadership & Talent Development
We assist with employee development strategies and develop programs... Read more.Leadership & Talent Development
We assist with employee development strategies and develop programs that are backed by evidence-based models of human learning and development and proper needs analysis. We go beyond workshops and webinars to provoke deep and lasting change in people and organizations. We help to foster positive mindsets in people, and leverage people’s strengths while managing key developmental needs. Our approach to leadership coaching is holistic, assessment-based, and driven by research on leadership, individual differences, personal change, and organizational behaviour.
Organizational Assessment
Our core product is the Positive Work Inventory®... Read more.Organizational Assessment
Our core product is the Positive Work Inventory®, a quick, yet comprehensive employee survey of the most critical drivers of employee and organizational performance. It includes meaningful work, the sleeping giant of employee motivation. Evidence-based surveys can address at least 30 different organizational concerns that go far beyond engagement. We also have 25 years of experience in gathering data from multiple sources, both internal and external, and analyzing them with data science to make sense of complex challenges and opportunities for organizations.
Workplace Transformation
We help to determine what people do, and how work gets done... Read more.Workplace Transformation
We help to determine what people do, and how work gets done for high employee commitment and performance. Jobs are rigorously designed for efficiency, clear lines of sight to performance, and employee health. Jobs are re-crafted to promote meaningful work that dials into people’s motives, strengths, and passions, while still delivering on goals and objectives. We help to build positive and virtuous cultures that strengthen employee bonds and teamwork. With respect to change, we’re informed by many factors that make transformations successful, including positive attitudes, emotions, and readiness. Effective change begins and ends with the thoughts and feelings of people.