Give Comparative Feedback to Your Staff

Business consultants at the London School of Economics gave each employee of a German company a monthly report of how the employee was performing and what the employee’s total compensation was compared to other employees assigned to do similar work tasks. The coworkers weren’t identified by name.
     After full implementation of this reporting system, the average jump in productivity for the employees was nearly 7%. That translates into improved profitability.
     Other research, conducted at University of Pennsylvania, indicates that those of your employees who would show the biggest productivity gains from such a monthly report system are those who are not too far down as compared with coworkers and who receive supervisory coaching on productivity improvement.
     The Pennsylvania researchers analyzed data from 60,000 basketball games, including 18,000 National Basketball Association matches. They found that teams which were behind by one point at halftime were more likely to end up winning the game than were teams ahead by one point at halftime. It wasn’t a large effect—about an 8% advantage in odds—but it was a consistent finding.
     Being slightly in back of the leader boosts motivation, and thereby sharpens performance. Here’s how to get the most out of the effect:

• Choose the comparison employees carefully. People strive to excel when they know they’re playing in the right league. 
• At the same time, be sure the comparison group is large enough so that the identity of the members of the group is protected. Otherwise, personal animosities can prevent your employees from collaborating as a team. 
• For employees not performing near the top, help each to select an objective for improvement in the ranking. People do best with goals which are out of grasp and within reach. 
• Prepare for the next period of comparison. The halftime break in basketball games serves the function of analyzing and strategizing. The teams that were a little bit behind made up for most of the point spread during the first seven minutes after returning to play. In real-life retailing, you can use a break for training, as well. 
• Allow employees to opt out of receiving the comparison report. In the study of the German company, only one out of the 58 employees showed a decline in productivity with the new system during the time of the study. However, there might be others who find the report distracting or discouraging after a number of months. 

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Position Your Team a Little Bit Behind