MSc Occupational Psychology (Distinction), MSc HRM & Organisational Analysis (Distinction, Best Overall Performance), BSc Psychology, MCIPD.
Elmira is a mixed-methods researcher with over a decade's experience helping organisations understand the people factors that drive — or undermine — workforce performance, engagement and wellbeing. Her work spans the private, public and academic sectors, and she is known for translating complex qualitative and quantitative data into clear, decision-ready insight for senior leaders.
For almost ten years, Elmira was Research and Development Manager at Kinetiq, where she co-developed FITT®, a predictive energy-climate framework that identifies when teams are inspired, frustrated, merely tolerating their work, or turning toxic, and PEP Dr®, a diagnostic for peak engagement and performance. She has led mixed-methods studies across more than 150 UK organisations, including a BMA-commissioned study of NHS consultants in Scotland — a thematic analysis of 68 interview transcripts whose findings informed a Scottish Parliament debate and NHS Scotland workforce policy.
Now working independently, Elmira partners with consultancies and applied research organisations on employee experience, engagement and behavioural science projects. She is the author of more than a dozen publications — spanning white papers, industry reports, blogs and peer-reviewed academic work — and co-author of a book on engagement and performance. Her writing has appeared in the Journal of Managerial Psychology, Studi Organizzativi and a CIPD industry report.
Key contributions and successes:
- Co-developer of FITT® and PEP Dr® diagnostic frameworks
- Led the BMA-commissioned NHS Scotland consultants' workforce study with Professor Graeme Martin; findings made national front pages and television and shaped a Scottish Parliament debate
- Lead author and conference presenter of The 'Digitalised' Employment Relationship: Can Conversational Practice Help to Alleviate Technology-Related Pressure?, published in Studi Organizzativi and presented at the 7th International e-HRM conference, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan
- Co-author of the CIPD industry report Social Media and Employee Voice: The Current Landscape
- Co-author in the Journal of Managerial Psychology on the dark side of personality and managerial level
- Awarded Best Overall Performance, part-time MSc cohort, King's College London
Elmira moved into applied research after her MSc in Occupational Psychology at Goldsmiths, completing a second MSc at King's part-time while working full-time at Kinetiq. A native Farsi speaker with dual British–Swedish nationality, she brings a particular interest in how diverse workforces experience the working relationship, and how organisations can use evidence — rather than instinct — to make working life better.