Professor Lynn Nichol

Professor of HRD and University of Worcester Staff Researcher Development Lead

Worcester Business School

Senior Management Team

Contact Details

Lynn is Professor of Human Resource Development at Worcester Business School and Staff Researcher Development Lead for the University of Worcester. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a recognised Research Supervisor by the UK Council for Graduate Education. She has supervised nine PhDs, one DBA and one MRes to completion.

Lynn leads the People and Work Research Theme in the cross-disciplinary Interpersonal Relationships and Well-being Research Group. Her own research interests are located in Human Resource Development and developing work based practice and her current work focuses on machine learning and HRD, working lives in faith based organisations, knowledge translation, the experiences and learning of commuter students and coaching doctoral students. Her PhD was awarded for a thesis entitled exploring working lives through the framework of the Psychological Contract. A study of Clergy in the Church of England in the 21st Century.

Qualifications

BA
MSc
PhD
Chartered Fellow of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Recognised Research Supervisor, UK Council for Graduate Education

Teaching, Doctoral Supervision & Research

Lynn works with practitioners who want to develop their skills and capacity to conduct research that will influence and change organisational life. She teaches reflective practice and research methods on the Doctorate in Business Administration and leads the Approaches to Research Module on the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods for Doctoral Students.

She supervises extensively on DBA and PhD programmes in the areas of Human Resource Development, Careers, Employee Relations and working in Faith Based Organisations.

Recent doctoral supervisions include:

The Human Resources Management challenge of predicting employee turnover using machine learning and system dynamics

New Entrant Christian Denominational Performance - the performance of Seventh Day Adventists and Christian Scientists, as new entrants to the market for religious services in Britain

How do NHS executive leaders experience personal resilience?

The impact of mLearning on the effective management of incoming ICT support inquiries

Using Open Source Intelligence to vet job applicants: Peeling back the layers to make trust-based selection decisions

An exploration of survivors’ experience of organizational downsizing in German manufacturing

Archetypes and stereotypes: The use of symbolic interaction to explore employee in-group behaviour and career growth

Generational difference, career paths and the British hospitality manager

Working lives – the early years practitioners' perceptions of OFSTED Inspection

Part-time telework – the experience of the Conseil-General du Finistere France

Corporate culture: An investigation into the operationalization of the concept and divergences between management and staff

Capital Accrual: the influence of personality and interaction on career success

The personal impact of adults undergoing an assessment within a work-based context

Membership of Professional Bodies

Chartered Fellow, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)

Publications

Cook, J. Nichol. L. Loon, M (2015) An exploration of the use of coaching and mentoring in the supervision of doctoral students in UK university business schools. In Proceedings of UFHRD Conference 2015: Towards Evidence Based HRD Practice: Bridging the Gap. Cork.

Lewis, R. A. Nichol, L. Ward, P (2015) The Effects of French Organisational Relationships on Telework Job Roles: An Exploratory Role Set Analysis. Organizational Cultures: An International Journal, Volume 15, Issue 3, October 2015, pp.1-13.

Turner, A. Nichol, L (2016) Development Assessment Centres: Practice implications arising from exploring the participant's voice. International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy & Research. Vol 1. Issue 1. pp 85-99.

Cook, Janice and Nichol, Lynn (2016) Doctoral Supervisor: Coach, Mentor or Master? Developing an Alternative Paradigm for Doctoral Supervision. In: 17th International Conference on Human Resource Development Research and Practice across Europe, 8-10 June 2016, Manchester.

Nichol, Lynn and Palmer, Gerry and Watts, Helen (2016) Invaluable but Invisible: an Initial Investigation of Chinese Graduate Skill Development and Subsequent Skill Use. In: 17th International Conference on Human Resource Development, Research and Practice across Europe, 8th - 10th June 2016, Manchester.

Ross, C. Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, Stewart, J (2017) The Impact of HRD/M Research on Practice: An analysis of the REF2014 Impact Case Studies: In: 18th International Conference on Human Resource Development, Research and Practice across Europe, 7^th– 9^th June 2017, Lisbon.

Ross, C. Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, Stewart, J (2017) The Impact of HRD/M Research on Practice: An analysis of the REF2014 Impact Case Studies: CIPD Applied Research Conference: CIPD Applied Research Conference, 1^st December, Glasgow.

Ross, C. Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, Stewart, J (2018) Who benefits from HRD? Discourses evidence in the REF2014 Impact Case Studies. In 19^th International Conference on Human Resource Development, Research and Practice, Newcastle 6-8^th June 2018.

Warren, V. Nichol, L. (2018) Improving employability provision within the curriculum. Advance HE Conference, Birmingham, 5^th July.

Harrison, T. Nichol, L. Gatto, M. Wai M. Cox. A. Gold, J (2018) What will be the Surprises for HRD in 2028? A Futures Scenario. International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research. Vol 3 No 2 63-71. doi 10.22324/ijhrdppr.3.113.

Lawless, A. Stewart, J. Nichol, L (2018) Scholarly practice: reconnecting the l, p and q. Action Learning: Research and Practice. Vol 15 No 3. 207-209. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767333.2018.1513437

Nichol, L. Cook, J. Ross, C (2019) Adopting Coaching for Doctoral Supervision: Opportunities and Challenges for HRD. Human Resource Development International. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2018.1547038

Harrison, P. Nichol, L. Gold, J (2019) The impact of machine learning on future HRD practice and research In: 20th International Conference on Human Resource Development, Research and Practice across Europe, 24-27^th June. Nottingham.

Ross, C. Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, Stewart, J (2019) The impact of context on HRD discourses and their implications for critical HRD practice. In: 20th International Conference on Human Resource Development, Research and Practice across Europe, 24-27^th June. Nottingham.

Ross, C. Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, Stewart (2019) The Role of HRD in Bridging the Research-Practice Gap: The case of Learning and Development Human Resource Development International. 10.1080/13678868.2019.1667691

Nichol, L., Bradley, E., Heathcote, C., Watt, H (2019) NHS Talent Management Innovation: End-to-End Talent Management’ What next? National Health Service.

Ross, C. Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, Stewart. J (2020)

From Chain to Net: Re-modelling the knowledge translation process to assess interdisciplinary contributions to academic impact. Studies in Higher Education. 10.1080/03075079.2020.1723522

Harrison, P. Nichol, L. Gold, J, (2020) Redefining HRD roles and practice in the Machine Learning Revolution. Chapter 6 in The Future of HRD, Volume I. Innovation and Technology, ed Loon, M. Stewart, J, Nachmias, S. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-030-52410-4.

Emblen-Perry, Kay Nichol, Lynn and Ross, Catharine (2020) Does commuting to university influence students’ personal and professional development and the likelihood of graduate level employment? The International Journal of Professional Management. ISSN 2042-2341.

Welch, Ruel, Alade, Temitope and Nichol, Lynn (2020) Mobile learning adoption at the science museum group. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference - Mobile Learning. IADIS Press, pp. 39-46. ISBN 9789898704160.

Gold, J. Nichol, L. Harrison, P (2020) L&D must be a participant not a bystander in machine learning. People Management. Available at https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/voices/comment/ld-must-be-participants-not-bystanders-in-machine-learning

Emblen-Perry, K Nichol L, Ross C (2020) How do UK universities support commuter students? At Chartered Association of Business School (CABS) Online Festival of Learning, Teaching and Student Experience.

Ross, C. Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, Stewart J (2021) Discourses of Practice: an examination of KEF and its effects on AL/HRD. In Action Learning Research and Practice/UFHRD Joint Action Learning Symposium. Making a Contribution in a Practice Field: Action Learning in a Changing World 21^st April 2021 Liverpool John Moores University.

Ross, C. Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, Stewart. J (2021) Discourses of Practice: an examination of KEF and its effects on the AL/HRD community. Action Learning: Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767333.2021.1954880

Meddeb, Eya, Bowers, Christopher and Nichol, Lynn (2022) Comparing Machine Learning Correlations to Domain Experts’ Causal Knowledge: Employee Turnover Use Case. In: Machine Learning and Knowledge Extraction, August 23–26, 2022, Vienna, Austria. ISSN Series ISSN 0302-9743; Online ISBN 978-3-031-14463-9

Ross, C. Stewart, J Nichol. L., Elliot, C, Sambrook, S, (2022) Sustaining the critical in CHRD in higher education institutions: the impact of new public management and implications for HRD. Human Resource Development International. Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2022.2121016

External Responsibilities

Chair, University Forum for HRD (UFHRD), Learning and Education Committee

University Forum for HRD (UFHRD) Stream Leader, Practitioner Research and Learning and Education

Reviewer, American Academy of Human Resource Development Conference

Reviewer, Action Learning; Research and Practice

Reviewer, Studies in Higher Education