There is truth in consequences

by Andy Gilman

Jim is a good supervisor. He’s well-liked by his subordinates and his boss, and his team always meets production targets. But right now he’s struggling to get his people enthused about the company’s new safety initiative.

Jim knows the safety initiative isn’t the only thing people are indifferent about. Lately, group members seem to do the minimum to get by.

They’re not bad employees — in fact, they’re some of the best in the company — they’re just unmotivated. Jim knows he needs to do something or risk creating tension between the management and hourly ranks. The question is, what?

Inspiring motivation
Motivation is an ongoing challenge for Jim and many supervisors and managers. No one method is sure-fire for motivating employees, whether it is to reach certain production levels or to consistently wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

As a result, many managers and supervisors are frustrated attempting to balance motivation with limited schedules and budgets. The task of generating enthusiasm that moves employees to “go the extra mile,” on top of all the other duties of middle managers who must please bosses and employees, and you can see why people like Jim feel stuck.

The good news is that with behavioral tools and a little technique, managers and supervisors can provide motivation to their teams. These tactics pay dividends in the form of better information exchange, higher employee retention and improved job satisfaction and performance. And believe it or not, these motivational tools take, on average, just 20 minutes a day.

Motivating from the middle
Middle managers and supervisors mainly rely on the traditional motivation activities handed down to them when they took the job: things such as posters, pep talks, policies, and incentives.

Most managers and supervisors quickly discover these techniques are unreliable at best and counterproductive at worst.

Take, for example, slogans and motivational posters. The common slogan that comes to mind is, “Safety is our number #1 priority.” However, if in reality, safety is No. 3 or No. 4 in the values of the organization, these signs announce to employees that there is a disconnect at the site.

Jobsite employees may conclude supervisors and managers are out of touch with reality, or worse, do not care about those realities. Instead of generating motivation, the company has actually spent time and money lowering its credibility.

Know your workers
Middle managers and supervisors on the jobsite have an advantage in the quest for motivation. They know their people better than anyone else in the organization and directly impact what gets done and how. This leader-report relationship, as measured by perceptions about supervisor fairness, trust, and credibility, can be a strong predictor of successful performance outcomes. This tremendous advantage is at the heart of 20-minute motivation.

Motivating the correct behavior
The challenge of creating motivation is one of generating motion. A motivated employee is one who actively pursues the goals of the team or organization in his or her day-to-day job by performing behaviors that support a goal. The key to 20-minute motivation is to understand what drives behavior and how to influence it. Two essential tools for behavioral motivation are ABC analysis and feedback.

ABC Analysis
ABC analysis helps supervisors understand why people do what they do and strategically shape environments that promote desired behavior. The “A” stands for antecedents, or what triggers behavior, the “B” is for the behavior, and the “C” for consequences or what follows the behavior.

It takes careful analysis to figure out if an action falls into the A, B or C category.

When assigning tasks and outcomes to A, B, or C, remember the consequence of the behavior is the most influential aspects of the task; the antecedents affect the behavior only to the extent that they can predict the consequences.

Consequences can vary in terms of influencing behavior. Consequences that are soon, certain, and positive have a consistently greater impact than consequences that are later, uncertain, and negative.

Considering the ABC model, traditional motivation techniques such as posters, slogans, and exhortations are really antecedents to behavior because they are designed to encourage future desired activities. When antecedents are meant to be motivational, a mismatch between antecedent and consequence can be counterproductive.

For example, if a manager declares an open-door policy, then an employee knocks on the open office door and the manager expresses frustration about being interrupted, ABC analysis tells us that employees won’t take advantage of the open door for very long because the antecedent (the open door policy) doesn’t predict the consequence (an icy reception).

Understanding feedback
Leveraging feedback is the second tool for behavioral motivation. Feedback is simply providing information to the employee about performance.

It is informal and opportunities to gather information about performance occur throughout the day. The supervisor looks for desired behavior such as consistent PPE use, bringing up and acting upon safety concerns, keeping commitments, or making contributions to the team.

Then, the team leader communicates positive feedback on what they like, appreciate, and want to continue to see and reinforce that with constructive comments to workers.

Conversely, the team leader can provide guidance feedback that communicates what behaviors need to change.

This helps open a dialogue about what antecedents and consequences need to change to help the employee perform the desired behavior.

Three steps to motivation in 20 minutes a day
With an understanding of behavior and how to influence it, managers and supervisors can take advantage of their unique position to provide ongoing motivation for their teams. To do this well, there are three basic steps:

Step No. 1: Clarify the mission
Employees who know what is expected of them and have the resources to be successful tend to be highly productive and motivated.

On the other hand, if an initiative gets enacted with only limited knowledge, expect limited results.

Therefore, the best way to achieve motivation is to first gain a clear understanding of your organization’s goals. This allows you to set up the right antecedents and consequences.

When a directive comes from the home office, ask clarifying questions and get solid expectations on the table. Address resource requirements up front before the change occurs. It may take a while to feel comfortable with this information gathering, but with practice, it will become routine.

Step No. 2: Create the right consequences
Once you’ve clarified the mission for your workgroup, establish consequences that support the behaviors related to that mission.

Ideally, consequences are soon, certain, and positive. For example, if your team is tasked with measuring upstream exposure of a safety or building error, request regular progress reports and give relevant feedback. Or, if an underperforming worker is redirected on a performance improvement plan, set up weekly progress checks in advance to drive progress.

Whatever consequences you establish, it important that they be consistent and constructive.

Step No. 3: Take 20 minutes
With established objectives and consequences identified, you are ready to take your “20 minutes.”

The trick is that these moments don’t occur all at once, but happen throughout the day as you interact with workers. This interaction must include feedback on what is working and what needs improvement.

Pay attention to how your interactions are perceived but make sure you include feedback on performance or company values.

Feedback can’t be gratuitous; it must be meaningful. That means including appropriate praise when a job is done well, but also takes a candid, yet positive approach when efforts didn’t meet the mark.

The most important thing is to mean what you say. This may be difficult for someone who doesn’t have strong interpersonal skills, but with practice and possibly coaching from peers who excel in this area, sincerity can be developed.

Practical applications:
Actions speak louder than words
The old adage still rings remarkably true: People watch actions more than words.

As a beginning exercise for managers and supervisors new to thinking in these terms, first imagine the working environment you want to create.

Do you want teams that function with optimum efficiency? Communicate openly about concerns? Embrace, rather than resist, changes in policies or procedures?

Next, in concrete terms, write down things you can do — by establishing consequences — to support and reinforce the desired state.

Spend time on this. With ABC analysis, you have a tool that can show you the power of each consequence.

Once you feel you have put some good work into it, share your ideas with trusted team members and get their feedback and buy-in.

Then, implement the plan and be ready to succeed! /

Editor’s note: Andy Gilman is manager of marketing communications at Behavioral Science Technology, Inc., an international performance solutions company based in Ojai, California. He can be reached at andrew.gilman@bstsolutions.com. 

Published in the July/August 2005 issue of Contractor Tools and Supplies magazine.

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