Greg Sears
Associate Professor, Management
- BA Psychology (St. Mary’s University), MASc Industrial Organizational Psychology (University of Waterloo), PhD Human Resources and Management (McMaster University)
- 5030 Nicol, Carleton University
- 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6
- Email Greg Sears
- 613-520-2600 ext 3961
Dr. Greg Sears is an Associate Professor of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour at the Sprott School of Business. His research program brings together the elements of psychology with human resource management. In fact, his research is contributing to the way businesses and organizations assess, hire, and manage employees. How do employers find the right candidate for a job? What do subordinates like to see in their leaders? What factors contribute to employee perceptions of inclusion and well-being in the workplace? As one who has a passion for helping to improve the culture of organizations, Dr. Sears’ research program is dedicated to elucidating these main questions.
After completing his graduate training in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Dr. Sears began work as a Personnel Psychologist with the federal government’s Public Service Commission. While working in this position, Dr. Sears recognized gaps in the traditional approaches to selecting the right person for the job, as well as how to predict good leadership in candidates. Fueled by this, Dr. Sears returned to academia to complete his PhD in Human Resources and Management at McMaster University. With both his psychology background and business acumen, Dr. Sears recognized how personality characteristics and other key competencies (for example, “soft skills”) are often overlooked in organizational assessment systems. By including these characteristics in the selection process, an employer is better able to determine whether a person will be a good match for meeting job requirements and that they will be more likely to report stronger perceptions of well-being—something that Dr. Sears’ research has demonstrated.
Dr. Sears’ research umbrella at Sprott is a diverse portfolio of interconnected HR spheres and he continues to work with industry leaders and other academic collaborators. Dr. Sears has consulted to a number of public and private sector organizations, including the Department of National Defence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canadian Space Agency, Canada Revenue Agency, Statistics Canada, Health Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Brink’s Canada.