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The experiments Ivan Pavlov did using dogs, a bell, and food are widely referenced to this day, which is pretty impressive when you consider he conducted them nearly 140 years ago. You are likely familiar with how they went: Pavlov rang a bell while presenting the dogs with food, and the dogs salivated. Eventually, despite leaving food out of the equation, the dogs continued to salivate when they heard the bell.

Pavlov’s experiments birthed the concept of Pavlovian conditioning (commonly known as classical conditioning): The belief that behaviors can be learned through the association between different stimuli. Furthermore, after a subject has been conditioned to respond in a certain way to a specific stimulus, the subject will also react similarly to stimuli like the original one. It is important to note that in classical conditioning, the stimuli are invisible, and it is used to create involuntary responses. (1)

HOW CLASSICAL CONDITIONING APPLIES TO THE WORKPLACE

In the years since Pavlov made his discovery, classical conditioning has been utilized in many different formats. It has been applied in a wide variety of fields and disciplines, including education, insurance, marketing, and sales. But what kind of potential does classical conditioning have for the workplace?

It has excellent potential, as it turns out. This strategy can inspire employees to:

  • Perform well in their job overall in a way that sets them apart from their peers.
  • Go above and beyond on a project or in general.
  • Become a responsive, cooperative, and dependable team player who prioritizes teamwork over personal gain.
  • Excel in a training course and expertly apply what they learned to their work.

When classical conditioning is applied in the right way, it is effective at engaging, motivating, and encouraging employees. While doing so is somewhat of an art, you can start with these expert tips.

5 WAYS TO USE CONDITIONING FOR BETTER ENGAGEMENT, MOTIVATION AND MORALE

It is important to note that classical conditioning is different from operant conditioning. Classical conditioning focuses on involuntary behaviors and uses invisible stimuli to create positive or negative involuntary responses. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, is a learning method that uses rewards to encourage (or punishment to deter) certain behaviors. These fundamental differences dictate how to best apply each type of conditioning or, for the best results, use them together.

Below are ways to apply operant conditioning alongside classical conditioning to engage and motivate your workforce.

1- Thorough, More Frequent Performance Evaluations

Start by increasing performance evaluations from annually to quarterly, at minimum. If these reviews are done just once a year, they tend to be out of sight, out of mind until the weeks or days leading up to the evaluation. Repetition forms habits, which is a crucial phase of classical conditioning. However, in order to make an impact, repetition should be done on a fairly regular basis.

The other piece of the puzzle is making self-evaluations more thorough and more personalized. Recognize individual strengths and contributions over more generalized ones. Open-ended questions are one great way to accomplish this goal. Let each employee elaborate on their answers instead of confining them to one or two words.

Stress to managers the importance of highlighting positives over negatives when they review their evaluations and self-evaluations with each employee. Yes, you want workers to improve in their weak areas. That said, positive reinforcement is proven to yield better results from people than negative reinforcement. This does not mean ignoring or sugarcoating areas for improvement; instead, it means briefly touching on them and spending more time on their accomplishments and contributions.

It’s often been said that every strength can be turned into a weakness in the right environment.  The same is true for weaknesses.  When you spot a weakness, focus instead on how that could be turned into a strength.  For example, If you have someone who has perfectionistic tendencies, instead of dwelling on their need to have things just so, consider the positive contributions they make.  You might say, “Matt, you have some perfectionist tendencies that slow down projects.  However, when you work as part of a collaborative team, you’re the first one to spot errors and omissions and define potential risks.  Those skills are a real asset.  What are some ways that you can use those positive attributes to make your individual work more productive, efficient, and effective?”

2- Ongoing Skill Development and Learning

When employees expand their skills and professional knowledge, they feel accomplished and like they can offer more value. However, merely completing training courses will not significantly engage or motivate workers.

This is where rewards enter the picture. It may be as simple as verbal recognition in a public forum.  Alternatively, the reward may be more physical in nature, such as VIP passes to an exclusive event or a ceremony where completion certificates are handed out to those who have earned them.

3- Recognizing Collaboration and Teamwork

Working as a team is one of the best ways to improve employee engagement. The more often coworkers collaborate in a positive setting, the more they will feel like a unit – and like they are genuinely part of a team.

However, leadership must create a positive association with teamwork. This can be accomplished in several ways, with public recognition among the most effective. Give verbal or written praise to teammates who work well in groups in a public forum like a company or department meeting or an internal company-wide newsletter.

Incorporating healthy competition is another great way to get employees excited about teamwork. Break employees into teams and give a prize to the winning team. If your organization is large, you could even award first, second, and third place prizes to include more people.

4- Combining Change with Positive Experiences

Change can seem frightening, stressful, or like a hassle to employees. You can flip this perception upside down by incorporating positive experiences into changes at your organization. When changes are presented as something positive rather than a disruption, workers will view them more positively. This strategy can apply to virtually any changes your company makes. Strive for a 1:1 match, meaning one positive experience for each change.  Some ideas include:

  • Public recognition and personalized thank you appreciation notes to the early adopters.
  • Providing opportunities for professional development to those who are first to adapt to changes.
  • Special assignments or promotional opportunities made available first to early adopters.
  • Extra time off for employees who went above and beyond during the early stages of change initiatives.

5- Recognizing Active Participation in Meetings

Meetings are necessary at organizations. Finding ways to make them more engaging for participants is absolutely essential to their success.

Fortunately, many people appreciate being recognized for their contributions. Make it known that workers who actively participate in all necessary meetings will get some form of recognition. This might entail a simple callout or a physical reward.

You might wonder, what about introverts who might be too intimidated to speak up in a public forum like a meeting? Offer additional recognition for feedback and insights shared before or after meetings, whether it is communicated verbally and one-on-one with a manager or in writing via a group board, email, or instant messaging.

By offering different ways to get recognition, you make it more inclusive and attainable for everyone.

THE PHASES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Now that you know some ways to apply classical conditioning in the workplace, it is essential to understand the phases that must be completed to produce results.

1- Set the Stage

Make the behavior you want employees to exhibit crystal clear to them. Examples include completing projects by the deadline, meeting sales quotas, solving service calls faster and more efficiently, working well with others, and focusing on their work instead of office gossip. It is essential to state the objective in simple and direct terms to ensure that each employee understands your points. Follow these statements up by explaining the reasons why you want to see these behaviors – in other words, why they are beneficial to the company and to the group at large.

2- Develop Stimulus Generalization

Your responses as a manager are the stimulus in each situation. Reinforce your statements with action. Do not let employees who fail to follow the desired behavior deter you from following through. By maintaining an unwavering response to the behaviors in question, you reinforce the consequences of employees’ actions by creating an association between these behaviors and the stimulus.

For example, let’s say you want everyone on your team to meet or exceed sales quotas while earning repeat and new business and minimizing returns or service issues.

  • Acknowledge and reward workers who meet objectives such as public recognition, privileges, promotion, career development, and incentives.
  • Identify the issues preventing individuals from meeting objectives; offer coaching or a performance improvement plan for workers who struggle to meet all or parts of the outlined objectives.
  • Penalize workers who consistently do not meet objectives, such as following established HR protocols for warnings, demotion, and dismissal from a job.

3- Repeat Stimuli Consistently to Form the Habit

The final phase of conditioning is repeating the response to behaviors often enough and for long enough that it forms a habit. Employees will develop a strong connection between specific behaviors on their end and particular responses on your end. These associations will compel them to exhibit the behaviors you have identified as desirable.

GIVE EMPLOYEES REWARDS THEY ACTUALLY WANT

The key to achieving success through a combined classical and operant conditioning approach is making the rewards appealing. Examples of rewards that motivate employees include:

  • Trips to interesting and exciting destinations earned by high performers.
  • Special, unique, and VIP experiences that are memorable.
  • Donating money to the charity of their choice.
  • Office happy hours for teams that win competitions.
  • A subscription to a monthly food delivery or streaming service.
  • Treating a winning team to a day at a local amusement park or other entertainment venue.

When you reinforce the behaviors you want employees to exhibit at work through classical and operant conditioning, you enhance their interest in, loyalty to, and passion for the organization. It might take a little time to help employees form healthy work habits, but the benefits are infinitely worth the effort.

Are you in the process of setting up a non-cash incentive program to boost employee engagement, motivation, and morale? If so, contact Gavel International for more information about our highly effective travel incentive programs.

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SOURCE(S):

1 https://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html

Jim Bozzelli
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