Performance-building
How
to Create the Four Conditions for Desired Performance
Author: John
Correll Publisher: Correll
Consulting, LLC www.correllconcepts.com
Published: January, 2004
Everyone talks a good game about the need for improved employee performance.
But few companies do more than talk. People complain, “You can't get good help anymore.” However, this is an excuse, not a reason.
The main reason for inadequate employee performance is not “bad employees” … it's bad technology. Or, in some cases, no technology.
A technology is a body of specialized knowledge — or set of principles and procedures — which, when applied, produces certain predictable desired outcomes. For virtually every business function — accounting, store operations, information processing, marketing, facilities construction, you name it — people apply a particular set of principles and procedures to achieve particular desired outcomes. Without the application of this technology, productivity in that function would be non-existent.
For example, imagine what it would be like if your company attempted to perform accounting without following accounting principles and procedures … or attempted to perform store operations without following store operations principles and procedures … or attempted to perform information processing without following IT principles and procedures … or attempted to conduct marketing without following marketing principles and procedures … or attempted to build facilities without following construction principles and procedures. It would be chaos and ineffectiveness.
In every business function people apply a particular technology, or follow a certain set of principles and procedures, to produce certain predictable desired results. THAT IS — in every function but one: Performance-building. When it comes to building employee performance, people seldom follow any technology at all. Instead, in most organizations the “function” of performance-building consists of little more than a stream of exhortations, one-liners, bulletins, threats, pep-talks, butt-kickings, and latest management fads — in short, merely a grab-bag of short-lived, silver-bullet “fixes.” If such an approach were applied to any other function of the enterprise, that function would be kaput.
WHAT ALL THIS BOILS DOWN TO IS: Inadequate employee performance is not a result of “bad employees” — it's a result of lack of awareness of (a) the causes of poor performance and (b) the processes necessary for creating good performance.
IN SHORT, to raise the level of employee or team performance, we must have (a) a workable technology of performance-building and (b) a simple step-based process for applying that technology.
Performance-building as a Technology
As the term is used here, PERFORMANCE is human action and any outcomes that directly derive from it.
Action can take the form of either a single activity or a set of related activities. Mental and verbal processes, such as decision-making and conversation, are forms of activity. “Doing nothing” is also an activity.
An outcome is an object, condition, or situation resulting from human action.
Here are examples that illustrate action and outcomes.
| ACTION | OUTCOME |
| Floor-mopping | A clean floor |
| Decision-making | A certain decision |
| Selling | A sale made |
| Writing | A finished report |
Action + Outcomes = PERFORMANCE
In light of a company's goals, there are two kinds of performance:
1. Desired Performance
2. Undesired Performance.
Desired Performance is any performance that you want to occur. Typically it's performance that contributes to achievement of at least one of your company's goals or priorities. It's sometimes called productive performance or good performance.
Undesired Performance is any performance that's not desired performance. Typically it's performance that does not contribute to achievement of any of your company's goals or priorities. It's sometimes referred to as poor performance or inadequate performance.
Every incident of performance is either desired performance or undesired performance. “Neutral performance” does not exist. Or, put another way, any given employee, or team member, at any given time is engaging in either desired performance or undesired performance. No one is ever engaging in “neutral performance” or “no performance.”
Every problem in a company is either caused by or sustained by undesired (or inadequate) employee performance. Therefore, to eliminate any particular problem — including performance-progress problems — we must replace a particular type of undesired performance (that's causing or sustaining the particular problem) with a particular type of desired performance. Which is to say, we must create a greater amount of desired performance. We realize that all this might sound naively simplistic. But this, in essence, is all there is to the problem of resolving ongoing performance-based problems. This takes us, now, to the vital question: How do we create a greater amount of desired performance?
The
Four Causes of Undesired Performance
The doorway to creating a greater amount of desired performance is identification
and elimination of the causes of undesired performance.
Whenever a team member is failing to deliver desired performance — or, in other words, is engaging in undesired performance — it's always because one or more of the following four conditions exists:
1. LACK OF AWARENESS of what action and outcomes constitute desired performance;
2. LACK OF ABILITY to do it;
3. LACK OF RESOURCES to do it; or
4. LACK OF MOTIVATION to do it.
These four conditions are the Four Causes of Undesired Performance. They are the only causes of undesired performance. Whenever a person is failing to deliver desired performance, it's always because one or more of these four factors is at work. To eliminate a situation of repetitive undesired performance, identify the cause of the undesired performance and replace it with its opposite — otherwise known as one of the Conditions for Desired Performance.
The
Four Conditions for Desired Performance
For an employee, or team member, to engage in desired performance, four essential
conditions, or requisites, must be present:
1. AWARENESS of what action and outcomes constitute desired performance.
2. ABILITY to do it.
3. RESOURCES to do it.
4. MOTIVATION to do it.
These four conditions for desired performance are the “opposites” of the four causes of undesired performance. When Awareness, Ability, Resources, and Motivation are present, desired performance happens! Whenever desired performance is not happening, it means that one or more of the four conditions is missing!
These are the four pieces of the performance jigsaw puzzle. To remember them, think of AARM. And keep in mind that providing these four conditions is how we “AARM” a person or team to accomplish desired performance. So how do we create the four conditions for desired performance? We do it by applying the four functions for creating the four conditions.
The
Four Functions for Creating the Four Conditions for Desired Performance
To create the four conditions for desired performance we must do the following
four things:
1. DESCRIBE desired performance (a.k.a. Awareness-creating)
2. TRAIN for desired performance (a.k.a. Ability-building)
3. EQUIP for desired performance (a.k.a. Resource-equipping)
4. MOTIVATE for desired performance (a.k.a. Motivation-building)
When these four functions properly occur, the four conditions are created. And, in turn, desired performance happens. Conversely, when any one of these four functions has not occurred, at least one of the four conditions will be missing and, accordingly, desired performance will not happen. This explains, in a nutshell, the “mystery of performance-building.”
| Describing V AWARENESS |
Training V ABILITY |
Equipping V RESOURCES |
Motivating V MOTIVATION |
|
V | |||
| Desired
Performance | |||
In essence, the process of creating ongoing desired performance among employees, or team members, is the process of applying the four functions of Describing, Training, Equipping, and Motivating on an ongoing basis. And, similarly, the process of creating company-wide desired performance is the process of applying Describing, Training, Equipping, and Motivating on a company-wide basis. (Other terms for these four functions are Awareness-creating, Ability-building, Resource-equipping, and Motivation-building.)
We now describe in greater detail how to create the four conditions for desired performance THROUGH applying the four functions of performance-building.
FUNCTION
#1:
Awareness-creating
Describing
Desired Performance
In order for employees, or team members, to achieve desired performance, they first must have awareness of what action and outcomes constitute desired performance. Awareness refers to “full understanding.” It comes from receiving communication on the particulars pertaining to a given subject. It can be received orally or in writing or both, and through words or images or both.
In a nutshell, the process for creating awareness is:
|
Describe the performance you desire in terms of the WHOLE Picture. |
This is the first function of performance-building. Describing the Whole Picture may take an extra minute or two, but it always pays off.
THE WHOLE PICTURE consists of two parts:
1. THE MACRO VIEW — which includes the Overall Objective of the performance plus any strategy considerations.
2. THE MICRO VIEW — which includes the Specific Action and Outcomes for achieving the objective.
The Macro View communicates the broad perspective. The Micro View communicates the details. For an employee to grasp the whole performance picture, both views must be imparted.
TO ILLUSTRATE, take the basic performance of floor-mopping.
The MACRO VIEW would include an overall objective pertaining to floor-mopping. An example might be: To be rated the cleanest store in the company (or city) in the quarterly cleanliness review.
The MICRO VIEW would contain a list of one or more specific actions and outcomes which, if done, would contribute to achieving the objective. An example of a specific action might be: Once each shift, mop the floor using clear, hot water with one squirt of All-purpose Floor Detergent mixed in.
An example of a specific outcome might be: A floor that is free of visible dirt, grease, and debris after mopping. Another example could be: A floor that would receive a cleanliness rating of 95 or higher on the Store Inspection Review after mopping.
THE PURPOSE OF IMPARTING THE MACRO VIEW is to answer the question: Where are we going with this?
Answering this question enables three benefits:
1. BETTER DECISIONS: Even the simplest job involves special situations that require decision-making by the performer. Knowing the overall objective provides a guide for making the best call on those occasions.
2. INNOVATION: Many procedures can be improved upon. Knowing the overall objective often gets employees thinking of better ways for doing the job and achieving the objective.
3. FULFILLMENT: Knowing the overall objective can infuse a task with greater meaning for the performer. This makes the job more fulfilling and, thereby, easier to stick with.
THE PURPOSE OF IMPARTING THE MICRO VIEW is to answer the question: What exactly should I be doing?
A common cause of undesired performance is misunderstanding by employees of what specific action and outcomes they should be pursuing. (Human action, as you recall, refers to an activity or activities, while an outcome is an object, condition, or situation resulting from human action.) Misunderstanding comes from ambiguous communication by leaders. To eliminate misunderstanding, make performance descriptions COMPLETE and UNAMBIGUOUS.
A complete performance description is one that describes all the activities and outcomes involved in doing the performance.
An unambiguous description is one that describes desired performance in a way that's open to one possible interpretation only. The easiest way to judge whether a performance description is unambiguous is by applying this question: If two or more persons were to read (or hear) the description and then individually do what each thinks it says to do, is it likely that all the persons would perform similar actions or produce similar outcomes?
If the answer is “no,” the description is ambiguous and needs to be made more specific. The first step to accomplishing that is to describe action in terms of countable events and describe outcomes in terms of measurable quantities. After that, add greater detail to increase specificity.
Referring back to the floor-mopping example, here's how an activity can be made increasingly more specific by adding details:
• Mop the floor.
• Mop the floor after each shift.
• Mop the floor after each shift using hot water and detergent.
• Mop the floor after each shift using clear, hot (140-160 F) water with one squirt (one ounce) of All-purpose Floor Defergent mixed in.
• Mop the floor after each shift using clear, hot (140-160 F) water with one squirt (one ounce) of All-purpose Floor Detergent mixed in, using sweeping side-to-side mopping strokes.
In addition to describing what should be done, there are cases where it's helpful to also point out what should not be done — called avoidance actions. The purpose of an Avoidance Action is to make sure that something potentially harmful doesn't accidentally occur. Returning to the floor-mopping example, a statement of an avoidance action might be: AVOID mixing bleach and ammonia with the detergent water.
IN CONCLUSION, any activity can be described more specifically. When in doubt, err on the side of being over-specific as opposed to under-specific. When a description is over-specific the worst that can happen is an experienced employee might get slightly annoyed from having to listen to what s/he already knows. When it's under-specific, undesired performance invariably occurs … often with disastrous consequences.
For best results: Be OVER-SPECIFIC when in doubt about how specific to be.
What
to do When Full Awareness is Critical
When full awareness by employees is critical, use this formal procedure.
1. WRITE OUT a complete performance description including overall objective, specific actions and outcomes, and, if applicable, avoidance actions.
2. HOLD A MEETING AND READ THE PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTION ALOUD. Enlisting the aid of employees to read various parts works well.
3. SHOW AN EXAMPLE of what desired performance looks like. This can be done by (a) a personal demonstration by you or someone else, or (b) a reference to a past event that everyone recalls, or (c) pointing to a model (someone who's currently doing the performance), or (d) a role-play that illustrates the performance, or (e) a visual aid such as a photo or video depicting the performance.
4. CONFIRM UNDERSTANDING by asking employees to explain “the basic procedure” they will be using to achieve the overall objective. If big blanks appear in the explanation, fill them in by repeating steps 3 and 4. Asking “Do you understand?” serves little purpose, as people usually answer “yes” regardless of whether they understand or not.
5. GIVE TEAM MEMBERS A COPY of the explanation for future reference. Also, if possible, give them a copy of the visual aid, if used.
This procedure is best used during a Job Orientation and when introducing a new, important job responsibility.
What
to do When Communicating on the Floor
When communicating “on-the-floor,” such as when managing a shift in
a pizza store, use this procedure for optimal results:
1. Get the person's full attention. This means:
• Avoid talking to the person's back or side.
• Avoid talking while you or they are walking away.
• Avoid giving directions when the person is engrossed in doing something.
• Avoid trying to talk above confusion and loud noise, whenever possible.
2. Make eye contact.
3. Speak distinctly.
This procedure is best used when communicating short, informal messages on-the-fly. It helps maximize understanding and retention.
CONCLUSION: Of the four conditions for desired performance, awareness is probably the one most taken for granted by leaders. That's because we tend to assume that others “naturally know” what we want done and how to do it. However that's usually a fallacious assumption. Interestingly, once a person has a full understanding of what constitutes desired performance, everything that follows gets easier — sometimes to the point where an employee needs little else from us in order to perform excellently.
FUNCTION
#2:
Ability-building
Training
for Desired Performance
In order for employees, or team members, to achieve desired performance, they must have the ability to do it. Ability comprises the Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge needed for performing a particular job the way it's supposed to be done. It comes from receiving specialized instruction pertaining to the performance of a given task.
We humans tend to act as if ability were an inherited trait. In fact, it's mostly learned.
In a nutshell, the process for creating ability is:
| Apply the 4-step On-the-job Training Procedure. |
This is the second function of performance-building.
Over the years, training has shifted from personal interaction to “everything other than personal interaction” — that is, to manuals, classes, seminars, videos, CDs, Internet instruction, and the like. The reason for this development is: Training by personal interaction requires that someone — namely, the leader-trainer — expend personal time and energy in training; the other things don't require that. However, one-on-one personal interaction has been, is now, and likely always will be the most potent force in human beings' development. So for the most-effective training, leaders should adopt personal interaction (a.k.a. on-the-job training or OJT) as the team's primary training vehicle, and use “everything else” as a supplement to OJT rather than as a replacement for it.
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING involves four steps:
1. DESCRIBE the performance to be learned.
2. DEMONSTRATE how to do it.
3. REVIEW the employee doing it.
4. REINFORCE the employee for what s/he did well.
If needed, Step 5 is: REPEAT steps 2-4.
To recall the four steps, think of DDRR — Describe, Demonstrate, Review, Reinforce. We'll now explain each one.
Step
1 - Describe
DESCRIBE what the learner will be learning.
In doing this, describe WHAT the task is, HOW it's done, and WHY it's done that way. Bear in mind, the ability to do something well usually depends on three components: Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge (ASK). So be sure to describe the particular attitudes, or perspectives, that are vital to doing the task excellently. (For more on describing see Function #1 above.)
In addition, explain how excellent performance of the task is important to the company. Also, explain how it can contribute to an employee's career development.
Lastly, if written procedures are available, consider having the trainee read the procedures aloud. When working with a small group, assign or request a volunteer reader for each section of the procedure.
Step
2 - Demonstrate
DEMONSTRATE how it's done.
If the task's performance involves a particular speed, first demonstrate how it's done at regular or full-speed, then demonstrate it at half-speed, or step-by-step.
For the step-by-step demonstration, consider having the trainee/s read aloud the procedure for each step prior to your doing it, if applicable.
Also, consider fortifying your demonstration with a follow-up visual aid (photo, video tape, computer CD).
Step
3 - Review
Have the trainee try it while you REVIEW his/her
performance.
Before s/he starts, ease the tension by explaining, “No one expects perfection first time out. So just relax, enjoy it and give it your best effort — whatever happens will be fine.”
If it's a complex multi-step process, suggest that the person refer to the manual between steps.
Finally, if applicable, have the trainee explain what they're doing while they're doing it.
Step
4 - Reinforce
REINFORCE the trainee for good performance.
To do this, point out what the trainee did well and praise him or her for it. This is vital to creating a positive attitude and motivation to continue learning. So no matter how weak the person's first performance might be, always pick out the strongest aspect of their demonstration and commend them on it.
Then, if it's needed, provide constructive feedback that will enable the person to do even better next time. (Contrary to common usage, carping and condemnation does not constitute feedback. Rather, feedback is objective information about past performance that enables a person to change or enhance their future performance.)
At this point if further training is needed, REPEAT steps 2 through 4.
The
High-impact OJT Process
For rapid learning of complex tasks, adopt the High-impact OJT process.
This process works well for quickly developing employees' ability to master a higher-level performance. Here's how to do it:
1. DESCRIBE A TRAINING GOAL that identifies (a) a desired proficiency level and (b) a date when that proficiency level should be achieved. The proficiency level should be described in terms of both a quantity dimension (how much) and a quality dimension (what kind). And, of course, the goal should be unambiguous and measurable.
2. IDENTIFY THE TRAINEE'S CURRENT LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY.
3. CREATE A SERIES OF PROGRESS STEPS, or milestones, spanning the distance between the trainee's current proficiency level and the desired level, or goal. The progress steps we call Sub-goals, or milestones. Each Sub-goal should represent a small enough increment that it can be achieved in one training session, but challenging enough that achieving it requires an above-average effort.
4. CREATE A TRAINING SCHEDULE divided into sessions, each session being dedicated to achieving one of the Sub-goals.
5. CREATE A GRAPH for measuring progress to the Training Goal and for depicting achievement of the Sub-goals along the way. Make it distinctive and easy to read. Post it in a prominent place.
6. ESTABLISH AN INCENTIVE to be awarded upon achieving the Training Goal.
7. PRESENT THE ABOVE THINGS (1-6) TO THE TRAINEE/S. It sometimes can be worthwhile to include the trainee/s in the above process.
8. IMPLEMENT THE TRAINING SCHEDULE and, at each session, apply the 4-step on-the-job training procedure — Describe, Demonstrate, Review, Reinforce. At each session repeat the procedure until the Sub-goal is achieved.
9. MAKE EACH SESSION A WINNING EXPERIENCE for the trainee/s. When the trainee wins, learning comes fast — usually very fast! A winning experience is created by (a) infusing the session with a positive, can-do attitude, (b) measuring progress often (done during the Review step of the OJT process), (c) recording the progress on the graph, and (d) providing recognition and praise after each measure of progress (done during the Reinforcement step of the OJT process). When the Sub-goal is achieved, have a mini-celebration and end the session with words of positive anticipation for the upcoming session.
10. DELIVER ON THE INCENTIVE and have a celebration when the Training Goal is achieved (presumably the last session).
You probably note that this High-impact OJT Process is somewhat similar to the Progress-creation Game. Applying it requires special time and planning. But the payoff is very rapid learning, heightened morale, and anxious anticipation by the trainee/s for the next round of training.
Perpetual
Training Cycle
If your company has 25 percent or more employee turnover per year, you should
consider installing a Perpetual Training Cycle. A perpetual training cycle
is a training program that teaches all the basic elements of a particular job
and which extends over a protracted period of time, such as a year or six months,
and that re-cycles over and over, endlessly.
For example, if achieving optimal performance in a particular job position involves, say, six basic performance areas, the perpetual training cycle might be designed to cover a six-month period, with each month being dedicated to training in one of the six performance areas. So, every six months the training program starts anew.
For a company with extensive employee turnover, such as exists in most restaurant and pizza companies, installing a perpetual training cycle is the only way of insuring that all employees possess a modicum of ability to correctly perform all the tasks associated with a particular job.
Of course, if the program is continually re-cycling, that raises the question Should experienced employees be required to re-attend the training program? A first response might be “No.” In fact, however, it's a good idea. By recycling, at least periodically, it insures that employees retain mastery of all skills. It also updates veteran employees on new procedures. In addition, it provides an opportunity for experienced employees to be “training chiefs,” whereby they assist with activities like small-group role-plays and so forth. This facilitates the training process, insures that veteran employees stay up-to-date on current knowledge and practices, and imparts valuable training skills to senior members
FUNCTION
#3:
Resource-equipping
Equipping
for Desired Performance
In order for employees, or team members, to achieve desired performance, they must have the resources to do it. Resources refers to the material, financial, informational, technological, and organizational wherewithal to do a particular job the way it's supposed to be done.
Inadequate resources plays a bigger role in performance problems than most leaders know. That's because we all tend to conclude that employees already have everything they need. To avoid this faux pas, always assume there's “one more thing” that employees need in order to take performance up one more notch.
In a nutshell, the process for equipping employees with the resources necessary for desired performance is:
|
Find out what employees need for accomplishing Desired Performance, then supply it. |
This is the third function of performance-building. (It doesn't get more basic than this one.)
THE THREE BEST WAYS to find out what employees need are:
1. EXPERIENCE the performance yourself.
2. OBSERVE it being done.
3. ASK employees “What could you use that would enable you to do your job more easily and effectively?”
We'll discuss each of the ways.
Experiencing
the Performance
To experience the performance yourself: Work the jobs of your employees (i.e.,
direct reports) for at least one complete day each year.
Many leaders are reluctant to do this because they're busy and can't afford the time, or they originally “came from the job” and therefore feel they already know everything about it, or they don't feel comfortable doing what employees do, or they don't know how to do the employees' job.
The most valid reason of the four is the last one. In that case, instead of working the employee's job, work alongside the employee/s for a day.
Observing
the Job
To observe
the employees' job: Closely observe the team in action for a few hours.
Analyze what's happening and determine what's needed for enhanced performance. This is what a sports coach does when s/he views a game. If the operation is so complex you can't take it all in with a single viewing, consider video taping — which coaches do, as well.
Asking
about What's Needed
To ask your employees what they need: Hold a meeting and pose this question: “What
could you use that would enable you to do your job more easily and effectively?”
Don't critique responses as that discourages input. Just write down what people say. After gathering everyone's answers, ask questions and hold group discussion if needed.
Another way to do it is to conduct a survey, posing the above question to employees individually.
What
Resources are Needed?
Most jobs require more kinds of resources than we imagine.
The following list illustrates the range. Many of the most vital resources are of the managerial-organizational type, critical for supervisory effectiveness yet often overlooked by leaders when delegating to supervisors.
CHECKLIST OF PERFORMANCE-ENABLING RESOURCES
• Funds• Materials and supplies
• Tools and technology
• Uniform
• Safety gear
• Adequate efficient working space with good lighting and temperature, freedom from distraction
• Personal labor time made available
• Support staff labor time made available
• Working knowledge of organizational factors — including procedures required for the task, grooming and attire, where to go in the company for troubleshooting assistance and “political” help, personality quirks of key people, company goals and priorities, and rules, limits, and legalities
• Contacts with vital suppliers
• Performance aids, visual aids
• Research data, historical data
• Performance feedback means
• Performance model/performance mentor
• Incentive for special achievement
• Positive-attitude work environment
• Performance goal and action plan
• Decision-making guides
• Authority needed for guiding human performance — including hiring-firing authority, compensatory authority, directive authority, decision authority, and rule-changing authority
FUNCTION
#4:
Motivation-building
Motivating
for Desired Performance
In order for employees, or team members, to achieve desired performance, they must have the motivation to do it. Motivation, as defined herein, is a state of mind that causes a person to choose to engage in (or pursue) a particular task or endeavor. It derives from having anticipation of receiving a greater reward for engaging in the task than for not engaging in it. The act of creating the conditions that generate motivation relative to a given task or endeavor is called motivation-building.
Since we can't read minds, the only way we can know when a person has motivation for desired performance is by observing his or her actions. If s/he has the wherewithal to do desired performance but isn't doing it, we conclude that s/he's lacking the motivation necessary for it. On the other hand, if s/he's doing the performance or attempting to do it, we conclude that s/he has the motivation for it.
For decades, creating employee motivation for greater performance has been the biggest challenge facing leaders. However, we now solve that mystery in a sentence by disclosing the following primary process for motivating employees.
| Make
doing desired performance MORE REWARDING than doing undesired performance |
Simplistic as it might appear, this is the fundamental condition that must be created to generate motivation within employees to deliver (a greater amount of) desired performance. Why is this? It's because, whenever a person faces a choice between two mutually-exclusive endeavors (such as doing desired performance versus not doing desired performance), the person will choose to pursue the endeavor that appears to hold the greater Net Reward for him or her. We call this dynamic the Law of Performance Choice. Expressed in simplest form, the law of performance choice says: “Each human pursues that thing which s/he believes will be the most rewarding.”
THE
UPSIDE-DOWNSIDE OF PERFORMANCE
What makes one endeavor appear to
carry a greater Net Reward — or appear to be more rewarding — than another
endeavor? It's in the Upside versus Downside of each endeavor.
Every performance holds an Upside and a Downside for the performer. The Upside is whatever a performer LIKES about doing the particular performance. The Downside is whatever the performer DISLIKES about doing it.
The UPSIDE can take the form of a compensation, event, communication, condition, situation, and/or opportunity that the performer finds enjoyable, beneficial, or fulfilling. It can be an aspect of the performance itself or it can be something received afterward as a result of doing the performance.
The DOWNSIDE is anything that the performer must either painfully endure or reluctantly give up to accomplish the performance. Things that a performer might have to endure include difficulties, physical discomfort, psychological discomfort, fatigue, boredom, risk, and inconvenience (or hassle) involved in doing the performance. Things that a performer might have to give up to engage in the performance include energy, resources, and the opportunity to do something else instead.
Virtually ever performance has both an Upside and a Downside and, thereby, a particular amount of Net Reward.
THE
NET REWARD FORMULA
Because of the Upside and Downside, each performance
carries a particular amount of Net Reward for each performer. Net Reward
is that which remains for the performer after the Downside of a performance is
“deducted” from the Upside. So to ascertain the amount of Net Reward
of a particular performance, the performer mentally weighs the Downside against
the Upside and derives the difference between them. Which means, the “formula”
by which a person mentally (often subconsciously) ascertains the amount of Net
Reward of a particular performance is:
|
Upside
– Downside = Amount of Net Reward |
This net reward formula comes into play when a person faces a choice between two mutually-exclusive endeavors — such as, doing desired performance versus not doing desired performance. To determine which endeavor to pursue, the person ascertains the amount of net reward that s/he expects each endeavor will yield, and then compares those amounts. The endeavor that appears to hold the greater amount of net reward is the endeavor that gets performed. This decision is often made instantaneously and subconsciously. So every time an employee faces a choice between doing desired vs. undesired performance, the person will choose to pursue whichever performance appears to hold the greater net reward for him or her. If it happens that undesired performance appears to hold the greater net reward, that's the performance that gets performed!
So, the way that we motivate employees to deliver desired performance is by making the doing of desired performance MORE REWARDING than the doing of undesired performance, in the eyes of the employees. To accomplish this, we must expand the amount of net reward that employees derive from doing desired performance (while, perhaps, concurrently decreasing the net reward attached to doing undesired performance). The way we do that is by applying the Top 10 Motivators of desired performance.
TOP
10 MOTIVATORS
To
make desired performance more rewarding than undesired performance — and,
thereby, motivate employees to accomplish desired performance — make desired
performance:
1. A RAP-receiving experience (RAP = Recognition, Appreciation, Praise)
2. A hassle-free pursuit
3. A fun time
4. A dollar-producing endeavor
5. An important accomplishment
6. A winning situation
7. A career advancement opportunity
8. A noble venture, and
9. An act of altruism.
Plus …
10. Reduce the net reward of undesired performance.
|
NOTE: |
The Performance-building Process
Having laid out a technology of performance-building, we now provide a simple method for applying it.
The Performance-building Process comprises the following four steps:
1. DEFINE a particular desired performance in unambiguous terms.
2. CREATE a Performance-conditions Plan for creating or producing any of the four conditions for desired performance that might be missing.
3. EXECUTE the Performance-conditions Plan.
4. REVIEW the results of the performance-building effort and REINFORCE the performance-builders for good results.
We'll briefly describe each step.
STEP 1: Define a particular desired performance in unambiguous terms. This is the starting point of performance-building. It derives from behavioral psychology, where it's known as pinpointing. An unambiguous description is one that describes desired performance in a way that's open to one possible interpretation only. The easiest way to judge whether a performance description is unambiguous is by applying this question: If two or more persons were to read (or hear) the description and then individually do what each thinks it says to do, is it likely that all the persons would perform similar actions or produce similar outcomes?
If the answer is “no,” the description is ambiguous and needs to be made more specific. The first step to accomplishing this is to describe action in terms of countable events and describe outcomes in terms of measurable quantities. If, after this is done, the description is still ambiguous, the next step is to add detail to increase the specificity of the performance description. For more info on how to create unambiguous performance descriptions, review Function #1 above … plus, perhaps, the literature of behavioral psychology.
STEP 2: Create a Performance-conditions Plan. Four conditions are required for any particular desired performance to occur — Awareness, Ability, Resources, and Motivation to accomplish the particular performance. We call these the Four Conditions for Desired Performance. If any of the four is missing, desired performance will not occur.
So, in order to assure that the particular desired performance will happen, we need to conduct a performance conditions audit to determine if any conditions are missing. If it turns out that at least one is missing or incomplete, a Performance-conditions Plan must be created.
The Performance-conditions Plan provides a list of action-steps necessary for creating or producing the missing condition(s). It spells out WHAT actions will be taken, WHEN each action will be done, and WHO will perform it.
As such, the Plan describes the specific actions to be taken to execute a particular performance-building function (i.e., Describing, Training, Equipping, or Motivating).
Or, put another way, the Plan describes how the necessary degree of Awareness, Ability, Resources, and/or Motivation for achieving the particular desired performance will be created.
STEP 3: Execute the Performance-conditions Plan. In this step, the action-steps listed in the Plan are performed as scheduled. If it turns out that during the execution of the Plan it becomes apparent that alternate actions are needed to create a particular condition, adjust the Plan accordingly “on the go.”
STEP 4: Review results and reinforce the performance-builders. After steps 1 through 3 are completed and, thereby, the particular desired performance is accomplished, those persons charged with developing and implementing the performance-building process — whom we refer to as performance-builders — should review the results of their efforts to discover possible improvement areas for more-effective implementation of the process in the future. Finally, the performance-builders should receive positive reinforcement from their direct supervisor for any instances of good performance and overall good results. This increases the motivation of these employees to give superior performance in the next performance-building go-round.
To
conclude, this 4-step process provides a basis from which we can create various
programs for solving various types of performance problems and achieving various
performance-building goals.
In addition to the information provided in this article, further development of the technology of performance-building can be achieved by incorporating additional principles and knowledge derived from books and studies extending over the last half century — with a large part being derived from the science of behavioral psychology.
A particularly good book on the principles of behavioral psychology as applied to management is Performance Management by Aubrey Daniels. Daniels also runs a long-established consulting firm specializing in the application of these principles to business management — PH: 770-493-5080, www.aubreydaniels.com.
§ § §
This work is authored by John Correll.
Response may be directed to john@correllconcepts.com.
Copyright © 2004, Correll Consulting, LLC . We grant you permission to make a printed copy of any portions of this website. All rights reserved. Legal Notice.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED in exploring possible consulting, contact John Correll at Correll Consulting, LLC - Email john@correllconcepts.com.
IF YOUR COMPANY USES PACKAGING, please check out the Power Packaging section of this website.