ABC Model of Behavior

ABC ANALYSIS:

A = Antecedent – sets the stage for something to happen
B = Behavior – what a person does in response to antecedent
C = Consequences – what happens to the person due to the behavior

THE KEY:

You can change behavior by changing the consequences.

HOW TO CHANGE THE CONSEQUENCES:

• There are three types of consequences used as management techniques by managers—positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and no reinforcement.
• Positive reinforcement – causes a person to repeat a certain behavior because they had a pleasant result.
• Negative reinforcement – causes a person to start or stop a behavior to avoid punishment.
• No reinforcement – causes a person to stop a behavior because nothing happens to reinforce it.

Why Don’t Employees Do as They’re Told?

Because most managers invest heavily in antecedent activity like training, policies, emails, slogans and posters to get people to do things. These, however, aren’t enough. The behavior you want from your staff must be followed by positive reinforcement.

THE BEHAVIOR IN YOUR EMPLOYEES IS A RESULT
OF THE BEHAVIOR YOU REINFORCE
(OR DON’T REINFORCE)

What is the worst management reinforcement and why?

No reinforcement because if your people are doing good work and you say or do nothing, you’re decreasing the chances that it will happen again and what’s worse is that it sets the stage for poor morale…”nobody here appreciates me”.

Even negative reinforcement may be used to get someone started….for instance: if an employee is not performing to standards, then you might say…”Your work is unsatisfactory. If you don’t come up to standards by this time next week, your position here in the department may be subject to review”. If performance improves, however, you must positively reinforce each improvement.

When is the best time for consequences?

Consequences have a very short shelf life. Those that follow right after a behavior are worth more than delayed ones—immediate consequences are required. When it comes to behavior, people tend to seek experiences that provide current rewards rather than experiences that bring uncertain, delayed rewards.

What are the four types of consequences?

PIC – Positive Immediate and Certain

NIC – Negative Immediate and Certain

PFC – Positive Future and Certain

PFU – Positive Future and Uncertain

Which of the above four do most people chose?

PIC—because people want immediate positive results. Problem behavior occurs when staff chose PIC over NIC in certain situations detrimental to their work. For instance—clerks may chose to process claims quickly—PIC (easier and gets immediate results in numbers) at the risk of accuracy—NIC (takes longer with more concentration) which slows down the numbers.

What consequence as a manager, do you usually chose? Probably PIC. This is why most managers turn to negative reinforcement or intimidation of an employee because it gets immediate results. Whereby, positive reinforcement results in PFU which can take more time to observe a change in behavior and it is not certain. We, as managers, fall into the same trap as the staff.

It is our job as a manager to identify the pattern of PICs and NICs that affect each person’s conduct at work and provide positive consequences to encourage the desired behavior. All of this demands hard mental labor and is not the easy way to manage but results in much improved long term results.

And remember, don’t pair a positive reinforcement with a reprimand…”you did a great job but you should have finished sooner”. Criticism should be short and never paired with a positive. Positives should be saved until there is an improvement to praise.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT BY THE NUMBERS:

4 STEPS TO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT:

1. Pinpointing employee behavior (value drivers) that produce the desired results.
2. Develop ways to measure these behaviors.
3. Provide performance feedback and in an immediate as possible framework.
4. Provide specific consequences that are positive reinforcers.

PINPOINT:

Pinpoints are observable, measurable, and reliable results and behaviors. Pinpointing behaviors is difficult when the behavior is not easily measured. But it can be done by watching what people do carefully. And every behavior can be measured in terms of frequency, duration or both.

Pinpoint results before you pinpoint behavior. If you know what outcomes you want, you can test the relationship between behaviors you think will produce them and actual results. Programs that don’t focus on specific results waste resources and produce no significant return. Activity doesn’t ensure productivity. Too many managers produce programs without clarifying exactly what results employees are supposed to achieve.

MEASURE:

What gets measured gets done? No, measurement alone changes nothing—or else there’d be few overweight people. Measurement is an antecedent, so the right consequences are the only thing that will change behavior.

You can measure performance by counting or judging. Counting is the most objective and it should be done whenever possible. Count rates you want to increase then set targets or goals for staff to achieve. Set goals low then gradually increase them to increase the odds of achieving them. A few lofty goals that are hard to reach can be counterproductive. They decrease opportunities for positive reinforcement, rewards and celebrations. Start improving performance by setting the goal slightly ahead of each person’s current level. Measure success daily and keep raising the bar as the goals are met. This allows for many more opportunities for positive reinforcement which further motivates people to meet new goals.

If counting isn’t feasible, judging can be useful in helping people improve. The key is to establish specific criteria by two or more people in the same fashion such as how the Olympic games are judged.

Ranking employees generates competition to be Number One. If you rate their performance, it should be against established criteria, not against others in the department. That gives everyone an opportunity to be a winner.
FEEDBACK:
Feedback is necessary for those to adjust their behavior to enable them to achieve specific goals. The best feedback is a graph. Graphs tell employees at a glance where they’ve been and where they’re going. They can spot trends earlier, respond sooner and receive more immediate positive reinforcement. When performance declines, verbal feedback may indicate a “criticism”. A graph, however, communicates problems more objectively.

The more immediate the feedback, the better. Choose the shortest practical interval—daily if possible. Monthly feedback is way too long. Post group performance publicly. This reinforces the “team concept” within an individual framework. Have Supervisors involved in the goals of the group. When the group does good, the Supervisor gets rewarded.

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT:

FOUR MISTAKES TO AVOID WITH POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT:

Perception error—don’t assume identical value for reinforcers. Everyone responds differently…figure it out.

Contingency error—employee gets a reward regardless of behavior…make a direct and absolute connection between reinforcers and rewards…”you get this_____if you do this______.

Immediacy error—have to reinforce behavior immediately…spend more time with your people.

Frequency error—infrequent or intermittent reinforcers such as an annual review or employee of the month awards have no meaningful effect on employee’s performance.

THE SEVEN PILLARS OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT:

1. Honesty—keep your motives aboveboard and be consistent
2. Integrity—basis for trust—what you say will happen, happens
3. Equality and respect—treat everyone equally and no favorites
4. Justice—ensure that people get what they deserve, those who are the highest
performers, get the highest rewards
5. Self-esteem and personal growth—give performers tangible proof that they add value
to the team—the experience will encourage greater participation and initiative
6. Personal security—make sure people know exactly what the consequences of the behavior
are to alleviate mental confusion and stress.
7. The Golden Rule—when positive reinforcement becomes a way of life in a team,
Adversarial relationships begin to disappear…people start to treat each other as they would
like to be treated.