Use of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist to Select an Intervention Designed to Increase the Offering of Promotional Stamps at Two Sites of a Restaurant Franchise

Abstract

The performance diagnostic checklist (PDC) was administered to examine the variables influencing the offering of promotional stamps by employees at two sites of a restaurant franchise. PDC results suggested that a lack of appropriate antecedents, equipment and processes, and consequences were responsible for the deficits. Based on these results, an intervention consisting of task clarification, self-monitoring, equipment modification, goal setting, and graphic feedback was implemented and evaluated with a multiple baseline design across settings. The results for restaurant 1 yielded baseline and intervention means of 25% and 72%, respectively. The results for restaurant 2 yielded baseline and intervention means of 11% and 80%, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that the PDC is a useful tool for guiding intervention selection for performance deficits which occur across more than one site.     

Using Task Clarification,Goal Setting,and Feedback to Decrease Table Busing Times in a Franchise Pizza Restaurant

The current study investigated the effects of task-clarification, and manager verbal and graphic feedback on employee busing times at a pizza restaurant. Using an ABC design, task-clarification was provided in a memo, which described the process, priority, and goal time of busing. The busing time decreased slightly, from an average of 315 seconds during baseline to an average of 284 seconds after the task clarification memo. The majority of this change was accounted for by servers decreasing the time it took them to arrive at the table to begin busing. Subsequent to the employee memo, group feedback was administered in the form of verbal feedback and a weekly graph of average server busing times. This feedback was associated with reductions in busing time to an average 152 seconds. Changes in the feedback phase were caused almost exclusively by reductions in the time it took to clean the table once the server was there. A reversal to near-baseline busing times was observed in a follow-up phase. Prebusing and cross-busing were not associated with shorter busing times.     

The Impact of a Task Clarification and Feedback Intervention on Restaurant Service Quality

Customer service is a key aspect of restaurant success, as performance has shown a reliable positive relationship with customer retention. However, waitstaff performance may deteriorate, as income from gratuities is often unrelated to service quality. The present study investigated the effectiveness of an intervention consisting of task clarification and task-specific feedback on restaurant service tasks and observed the relationship between task completion and gratuities. Three adult women servers participated during their regular working shifts at a local dine-in restaurant. Initially customer service task completion was low (36% on average across participants). Performance increased immediately following the introduction of the intervention, and all participants maintained 87.5%–100% task completion. Correlational analyses found that gratuities were unrelated to performance and may thus pose a problem for performance maintenance. Implications relating to feedback and payment schedules are discussed.     

Swimming Pool Hygiene: Self-Monitoring,Task Clarification,and Performance Feedback Increase Lifeguard Cleaning Behaviors

The effects of task clarification, self-monitoring, and performance feedback on cleaning behaviors of 9 lifeguards in 3 performance areas (vacuuming, lobby tidying, and pool deck maintenance) were investigated using an ABA reversal design at a county swim complex. A specific task in each performance area was used as a behavioral control. Following a task clarification meeting, the percentage of closing tasks completed each night was self-monitored through ratings by lifeguards and managers. Researchers conducted independent ratings of these completed tasks after the staff had left the building. Feedback data were posted daily using line graphs that displayed the percentage of tasks completed correctly from both self-report and researchers' data. Overall performance increased from an average of 45.1% correct behaviors during baseline to an average of 76.9% during intervention then reversed to baseline during follow-up to an average performance of 45.05%.     

Increasing Physical Therapy Equipment Preparation Using Task Clarification,Feedback and Environmental Manipulations

The purpose of this study was to increase completion of tasks related to morning preparation procedures among 2 full-time and 4 part-time employees at a physical therapy clinic. A functional assessment was conducted to aid in the development of the treatment package consisting of graphic feedback, task clarification, and equipment manipulations. Later, graphic feedback was replaced with verbal feedback from the manager to facilitate maintenance of the intervention by the manager. During baseline, the mean checklist completion percentage was 18.4% and 56.5% for the therapy area and the hygienic activity area, respectively. This improved to 82.1% and 90.3% during the first intervention phase and remained above baseline levels at 75.6% and 100% during the second intervention phase. The results of this study suggest that the package intervention derived from the assessment was effective at increasing preparation task completion. Performance maintained above baseline levels at a three-month follow-up observation for the therapy area (50%) and the hygienic activity area (83.3%). According to the treatment acceptability assessment, graphic and verbal feedback were viewed as favorable by employees.     

Weekly Feedback vs. Daily Feedback

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted in a retail setting to (a) assess the effectiveness of a multi-component performance management intervention and (b) compare the effectiveness of weekly and daily feedback. During the first experiment, a multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of task clarification, goal setting, access to preferred items contingent upon goal attainment, and weekly graphic feedback on the completion of routine maintenance tasks in a framing and art store. During phase 1 of the second experiment, an AB design was used to replicate the effects of this intervention on similar tasks in a new store location with the same participants. During phase 2 of the second experiment, a multiple baseline design was used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention when daily feedback replaced weekly feedback. Results indicate that the multi-component intervention was effective in both experiments, and that daily feedback may have enhanced the effectiveness of the intervention.     

Reducing Absenteeism and Rescheduling Among Grocery Store Employees With Point-Contingent Rewards

The purpose of this research was to evaluate a reward program designed to reduce absenteeism among staff (N = 38) at a grocery store. The intervention included public feedback and a credit reward system whereby participants got store dollars for attendance and authorized rescheduling of work assignments. Results showed that absenteeism decreased from a group mean of 8 shifts missed per week during baseline to 4.25 shifts missed per week during the intervention before increasing to 6.75 shifts missed per week during the reversal phase. The mean total rescheduling occurrences were reduced from a baseline average of 19.83 per week to 9.25 per week during the intervention and returned to 22.25 per week during the reversal. Employees were also less likely to leave early during the intervention period.     

Keeping an Uphill Edge

Abstract

Several behaviors in a ski shop were identified as being deficient using Austin's Performance Diagnostic Checklist (2000) and Daniels and Daniels' PIC/NIC Analysis (2004). During a 4-week baseline, 7 cleaning behaviors were monitored and 5 were subsequently targeted in an intervention package using an ABC design. The intervention included: a task clarification session, a posted behavioral checklist, graphic feedback of the group's performance for the previous week, and daily task-specific feedback. Immediately after the checklist was posted, the frequency of employee cleaning behaviors increased 52%. Cleaning behaviors increased an additional 12% after the implementation of daily task-specific feedback. Results suggest the interventions generalized to the 2 cleaning behaviors not mentioned in the task-clarification session.     

Decreasing Delivery Drivers' Departure Times

Abstract

A performance feedback and goal setting procedure was used to improve the morning departure times for delivery drivers in a social services agency that provided meals to elderly clients. Daily group feedback with changing-criterion goal setting was delivered using charts in a publicly accessible area. Upon the onset of the intervention, performance improved significantly and accordingly reversed during the first withdrawal phase. These improvements were replicated in a second feedback phase but did not reverse in a second withdrawal phase. Individuals who were relatively low performers during the baseline phase saw their performance improve to equal that of relatively high performers during the intervention phases. This demonstration project replicates and extends a well-established OBM intervention to a transitional work environment.     

Suggestive Selling by Waitstaff in Family-Style Restaurants

Two studies were carried out in family-style restaurants to increase suggestive selling by waitstaff and to assess some of the natural contingencies that may influence suggestive selling. In the first study a combination of goal setting, feedback, and positive reinforcement was presented to waitstaff for suggestive selling of cocktails, appetizers, and desserts. Increases were not uniform across the three categories with desserts showing the greatest increase. The second study was designed to assess some of the possible controlling variables for selling by observing when waitstaff typically suggested cocktails, appetizers, and desserts in over 50 restaurants. Suggestions were more probable after dinner than after lunch and waitstaff were more likely to suggest dessert when the restaurant was not crowded than when it was full and busy. Suggestive selling appears to differ across individual waitstaff and may be differentially reinforced during non-peak times during the day.     

Feedback quality and performance in organisations

The provision of feedback is fundamental for promoting employee performance in modern organisations; however, little is known about how the quality of feedback affects performance. We report an experiment where subjects perform a real-effort task repeatedly in a flat-wage environment which varies the quality of feedback across treatments. In the baseline treatment, subjects receive no feedback about their rank in their group. In the two main treatments, feedback quality varies in that subjects know (“High-Quality Feedback”) or do not know (“Low-Quality Feedback”) their exact rank in their group. We show that the quality of feedback is an important driver of productivity. Average performance is significantly higher for high-quality feedback than for low-quality or no feedback, where no significant overall performance differences are observed. Our results have significant implications for designing and implementing cost-effective policies within organisations.     

The Use of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist to Guide Intervention Selection in an Independently Owned Coffee Shop

Abstract

The utility of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist (PDC) (Austin, 2000) as an assessment tool to design an intervention for increasing maintenance tasks in an independently owned coffee shop was examined. The PDC, which was administered to four employees, identified a lack of appropriate antecedents and consequences as areas in need of intervention. Based on the results of the PDC, task clarification and a lottery were implemented in a multiple baseline across tasks design to increase employees' completion of maintenance tasks. The results for task group 1 yielded baseline and intervention means of 44% and 86%, respectively. The results for task group 2 yielded baseline and intervention means of 32% and 67%, respectively. A social validity measure indicated that employees thought that the appearance of the shop had improved, believed the changes helped to improve customer satisfaction, and claimed that the new procedures made their job easier. Overall, results suggest that the PDC can be an effective assessment tool for identifying and subsequently targeting specific areas of improvement within an organization.     

The Effects of a Combined Task Clarification,Goal Setting,Feedback, and Performance Contingent Consequence Intervention Package on Telephone Customer Service in a Medical Clinic Environment

Abstract

Appointment coordinators at a mid-western medical clinic were to provide exceptional telephone customer service. This included using a standard greeting, speaking in an appropriate tone of voice during the conversation, and using a standard closing to end the call. An analysis suggested performance deficiencies resulted from weak antecedents, poor knowledge and skills, and weak performance contingencies. An intervention package consisting of task clarification, goal setting, feedback, and performance contingent consequences was designed to improve customer service behaviors of four participating appointment coordinators. An ABAB reversal design was used, and overall performances of all four participants increased during intervention phases. This study indicates that a multi-component intervention may be an effective strategy to increase telephone customer service behavior in medical clinic settings.     

Preventing Credit-Card Fraud: A Goal-Setting and Prompting Intervention to Increase Cashiers’ ID-Checking Behavior

A goal-setting and prompting intervention was promoted by a restaurant manager to increase the frequency of cashiers’ ID-checking behavior. An A-B-A (Baseline-Intervention-Withdrawal) reversal design at one of two restaurants showed that the socially-valid intervention increased the percentage of ID-checked purchases significantly from 2.4% at Baseline to 35.8% during the Intervention phase. ID checking decreased slightly to 30.6% during the Withdrawal phase, showing maintenance of the target behavior. The percentage of ID-checked purchases at the control restaurant was almost nonexistent throughout the 18-week study.     

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of an Automated Observation and Feedback System on Safe Sitting Postures

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an automated observation and feedback system in improving safe sitting postures. Participants were four office workers. The dependent variables were the percentages of time participants spent in five safe body positions during experimental sessions. We used a multiple-baseline design counterbalanced across participants to test the system's effectiveness in delivering two types of feedback. For two participants, delayed/low-density feedback was introduced after baseline and immediate/high-density feedback was added in the next phase. For the other two participants, the sequence of implementing the feedback types was reversed. Results indicated that both delayed/low-density feedback and immediate/high-density feedback consistently improved participant postures and that immediate/high-density feedback was more effective than delayed/low-density feedback. The benefits of the automated system of postural data collection are discussed.     

Approaching Error-Free Customer Satisfaction Through Process Change and Feedback Systems

Employee-based errors result in quality defects that can often impact customer satisfaction. This study examined the effects of a process change and feedback system intervention on error rates of 3 teams of retail furniture distribution warehouse workers. Archival records of error codes were analyzed and aggregated as the measure of quality. The intervention consisted of a process change where teams of 5 employees who had previously been assigned a specific role within the process were cross-trained to know and help with other team members' functions. Additionally, these teams were given performance feedback on an immediate, daily, and weekly basis. Team A reduced mean errors from 7.47 errors per week during baseline to 3.53 errors per week during the intervention phase. Team B experienced a reduction in mean number of weekly errors from a baseline of 11.39 errors per week to 3.82 errors per week during the intervention phase. Team C did not experience significant error rate reduction.     

Improving Program Outcome with Process-Based Performance Feedback

Abstract

Two studies, using an across participants multiple baseline design, assessed effects of different amounts of process and outcome performance feedback on instructor and child behavior in an early intervention program. Seven instructors, mostly university students, and one child with autism were observed over a 4 month period on measures of instructors' verbal instructions, prompts, and consequences, and correct child behavior. In Study 1, performance feedback contained verbal, written, and graphic information on instructor (process) and child (outcome) behavior, whereas in Study 2, only verbal process information was provided. Results show that both feedback procedures were equally effective in increasing correct instructor performance and correct child behavior. Conclusions are (a) that verbal process feedback alone was as effective as an extensive process plus outcome feedback, but easier to use and more efficient, and (b) that measures of performance error proved useful in detecting feedback effects on instructor behaviors that varied across time and program changes.     

“How May I Help You?” Improving Telephone Customer Service in a Medical Clinic Setting

The current study was carried out per management request to improve the overall quality of telephone customer service among appointment coordinators in a medical clinic. Exceptional telephone customer service included (a) using a standard greeting, (b) speaking in the appropriate tone of voice throughout the call, and (c) answering every call received by the unit. A preintervention analysis suggested that performance deficiencies resulted from weak antecedents, poor knowledge and skills, and weak performance contingencies. Task clarification, goal setting, feedback, and performance-contingent consequences were combined to improve these customer service behaviors for 20 full-time appointment coordinators at the clinic. The study used an ABÁ reversal design with weekly maintenance and 5-month follow-up observations. Introduction of the multicomponent intervention produced visible improvements in greeting (38% increase) and friendly voice tone (22% increase) behaviors; performance was maintained above baseline levels at 5 months postmaintenance. Abandon rates (the percentage of calls not answered by a live voice) remained fairly stable, on average. Findings support the use of a multicomponent intervention to increase telephone customer service behavior in medical clinic settings.     

The Effects of a Combined Goal Setting,Feedback and Incentive Intervention on Job Performance in a Manufacturing Environment

Abstract

Baked anodes are used in finished aluminum production. Employees of a large multinational aluminum smelter were responsible for the production of more than 3500 baked anodes per week. During a 74 week long baseline (A) condition, production of unusable anodes exceeded 300 per week or 8.6 percent of their nominal 3500 anode production requirement. A problem analysis suggested that this high rate of defective anodes might have been due to weak antecedents, inefficient work procedures and weak performance contingencies. An intervention package that included a combination of goal setting, performance feedback, and tangible rewards was designed to strengthen antecedents and consequences of job performance. A performance feedback system was introduced with and remained constant across the three types of performance contingent rewards and three successively higher goal levels. The three reward and goal combinations were introduced to “strengthen” antecedents and performance contingencies within an A-B1-B2-B3-A with reversal to baseline conditions design. Anode reject rates were lower (better performance) during the three intervention phases compared to both the pre- and post-intervention baseline phase data. A dramatic performance improvement (lowered rate of rejects) was observed during the B3 phase that included the highest performance goal. These data demonstrate that a treatment combination of specific goal setting, feedback and tangible rewards can “strengthen” antecedents and performance contingencies resulting in improved objective performance in a manufacturing environment.     

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Education,Feedback, & Task Clarification to Increase Workplace Physical Activity

ABSTRACT

Modern office workers spend the majority of their work days in sedentary positions. The risk of preventable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and various cancers increase with increased sedentary time. Thus, targeting office worker health by increasing physical activity is imperative to improve long-term risk factors. This study measured physical activity in the workplace using a commercially-available accelerometer and evaluated the extent to which feedback, and feedback and task clarification increased workplace physical activity relative to a recommended guideline to move every 30-minutes. Results indicated that feedback increased workplace physical activity to varying degrees for 4/8 participants. A social validity questionnaire indicated that workplace variables (e.g., type of task, meetings, deadlines) prevented physical activity. These variables will need to be addressed in future studies.