Performance Improvement for Behavior Change

Why aren’t my employees doing what they are supposed to do?
They’re getting paid to work, so why don’t they just do it?

The above is a typical thought process in the brain of a frustrated leader. The big question asked in thousands of organizations is, why don’t they do what they’re supposed to be doing? Companies pay big bucks to try to uncover the reasons why employees aren’t doing their jobs properly. Consultants are often hired, suggested changes are made, and victory is claimed. However, the result is often improvements that do not last, leaving an even more frustrated manager with the same problems as before.

A myriad of tools, techniques, models, philosophies, and concepts are given to leaders to use for performance improvement. Unfortunately, performance issues persist in many cases, and all of those investment dollars have yielded little to no improvement.

Behavioral Science Has an Answer

Some methods can result in genuine performance improvements. This is not a secret; it’s a science! There’s a science behind how humans behave.

Ask the Right Questions

In 1996, Dr. John Austin researched how experts in performance improvement solve problems. Experienced managers from various organizations and experts from well-regarded management consulting firms were given performance problems to solve. The results of this study led to twenty questions to ask when trying to solve a performance challenge.

Performance Improvement: The Performance Diagnostic Checklist (PDC)

These twenty questions evolved to form a methodology called the Performance Diagnostic Checklist (PDC). The PDC is now regularly in use by professionals in the field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), management consulting firms worldwide, and organizational leaders who have adopted this science.

 When asking these questions, a practitioner must first identify the performance issue needing to be addressed and then work through the checklist. The aim is to collect input from various individuals who have a vested interest and insight into the performance issue. Only a simple “yes” or “no” answer is required when the questions are asked. A “no” indicates a need for improvement in that area.

The Benefit of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist

The PDC is designed to help solve problems and lead to positive performance improvement in organizations across various performance challenges. It has been employed to help develop solutions to improve employee satisfaction, customer service, productivity, sales, and safety. So, the next time you find yourself challenged, don’t just take an uninformed stab at the problem; use the PDC. It may save you time and money while resulting in a positive outcome.

You can find Dr. Austin’s handbook on applied behavior analysis on Amazon. You can also find much more reading material on this subject by clicking on this link.

Performance Improvement: Let Shaping Development Help

A behavior analyst can work with you to assess and improve your leadership style so that your employees do end up doing what you want them to do. Sign up here for a sixty-minute chat (at no charge) to learn more.

How to Create Environments for Success to Maximize Learning Potential

How do we create environments to maximize the learning potential of those around us?  Most behaviors are shaped from the environment that surrounds them, be it something that happens before the behavior occurs (antecedents), or something that happens after the behavior occurs (consequences).  Believe it or not, we can actually shape behavior to maximize learner potential if we are aware of the environmental factors that surround them, and then use that information to change the learner’s environment!

Take a business for example.  On any day, a manager can walk in to the office and observe many behaviors of their direct reports.  Some individuals may be typing on their computer, some may be holding a meeting in a conference room, and some may be copying or filing papers.  On the flip side, you may also have some individuals at their desk staring in to space, or surfing the internet instead of working.  All of these behaviors have been shaped in the particular environment of the office. 

Prior to shaping development in their direct reports, the manager should be aware of the environmental factors that surround the behavior.  The manager should collect information regarding the antecedents of behavior (those things that happen before the behavior occurs—can also include the physical space of the environment itself), and the consequences of behavior (the things that happen directly after the behavior occurs).  Based on those data, the manager can then come up with a development plan to help the direct report learn new behavior that would shape their development in their position. 

It is important that the manager share these data with the direct report, not just on an annual basis but on a weekly to monthly basis.  The direct report should also have a part in the development plan, and this plan should change at least quarterly to reflect their growth. 

Please Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 

For more information on creating environments for success see Mager and Pipe's: Analyzing Performance Problems: Or, You Really Oughta Wanna--How to Figure out Why People Aren't Doing What They Should Be, and What to do About It 

For information on how to complete in depth behavior assessments see O'Neill and Horner's: Functional Assessment and Program Development

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