ABC Performance Management

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Intent of Session

• ABC of Behaviour – A tool to help manage individual performance

• For the individual, performance management is essential– for helping understand ‘how they are doing’ against expectations– enables recognition for the contribution they are making

• For the organisation, performance management is critical– for helping build organisational capability– to deliver long-term results and growth

ABC of Work Behaviour

• A - Antecedent (or Activator)– What happens before the behavior occurs– A stimulus that provokes the behavior

• something that someone else says or does• standards or objectives• notices on the employee bulletin board/machinery/equipment cues for employees suggesting they behave in a certain manner

• B - Behavior – Something that the employee says or does on the job– Usually an overt action in which an employee engages in getting a job done

• C - Consequence – What happens after the employee behaves in a certain manner on the job– Consequences of behavior

• Bonuses or reprimands• Derision or compliments

ABC Model

AAntecedent

Trigger

BBehaviour

Action

CConsequence

Response

Applying ABC

A – Antecedent/Activator

• An Activator is something that stimulates the behavior or performance that you are wanting to achieve

– As leaders the most common Activator is a set of GOALS

• Ask yourself what are your goals for your business or for the people you manage?

– Now find out what the goals of your group or the people you manage are– If your goals and theirs match then you have successfully communicated your

Activator

• Once you learn the skill of communicating the activator which triggers the desired performance you will start to see a change in how people respond to you.

Applying ABC

Goals as Antecedents

• Use objectives/goals as antecedents to desired behaviour

• If the "targets" are not being met, the behaviors associated with the targets are probably not being performed!

• The supervisor of the nonperforming employee must begin the "coaching" process, clarifying goals and showing what behavior is required

Applying ABC

B - Behavior

• After you have set clear goals for yourself and your team you will need to observe the behavior that follows

– This part is most often the most overlooked by leaders and managers.

• Once the goals are set and the necessary training is over, the goals often fade into the background. By observing the behavior part of the equation keeps the goals and communications open in between leader and group

• If the behavior part is lost you will not take advantage of the last ingredient of the ABC's

Applying ABC

C - Consequence

• The most important part of all in the ABC's of Performance Management

– Focus is needed on all three parts in order to be a successful leader

• Consequence is the response and how you praise the behavior of your group

– What response do your team normally get for doing something well?

• Always compliment your group for sticking with the goals that were set

– This is the CONSEQUENCE of the desired behaviour– By implication, the consequence for not displaying the desired behaviour is very

different

ABC – A Worked Example

Consider the case of a new employee.

• The supervisor welcomes him to the job, gives him a hard hat, and says that hard hats are very important

"We all wear hard hats around here for a couple of reasons. First, it is required by OSHA and second, the hard hat will keep a rivet from seriously injuring

you if it fell on your head"

The statement is the antecedent to the behavior of wearing a hard hat

• We come by a couple of hours later and find him walking around with his hard hat firmly in place

Antecendent and resulting Behaviour

ABC – A Worked Example

• One week later we find the new employee no longer wearing his hard hat

• We remind them why wearing a hard hat is so important, help them adjust and fit it correctly and, hard hat in place, they march off to perform their duties (antecedent -> behavior)

• By mid-morning the next day he is no longer wearing his hard hat

ABC – A Worked Example

• Examining the behavior and what happens just before it is not so useful in predicting whether that behavior will occur again

• Then we begin to observe the consequences of that behavior, and note the following:

(1) It is August and very hot. The hard hat does not give much ventilation and can be extremely uncomfortable during the summer months

(2) Our new employee has discovered that no-one has been injured while not wearing a hard hat in more than 3 years

(3) We overhear two of his colleagues teasing him for wearing his hard hat

ABC – A Worked Example

• It begins to be clearer why the hard hat was removed

• BEHAVIOR and the CONSEQUENCES that relate to it enable us to better predict whether the behavior will occur again

• The employee is able to relate certain consequences to certain cues, or antecedents, of behavior, and he or she behaves accordingly

ABC of Behaviour - Overview• ANTECEDENTS --- Does the employee know what is expected of

them?– Are the standards clear?– Have they been communicated?– Are they realistic?

• WORK BEHAVIOR --- Can the work behavior be performed?– Could the employee do it if his or her life depended upon it?– Does something prevent its occurrence?

• CONSEQUENCES --- Are the consequences positive for performing correctly?

– Are the consequences weighted in favor of "good" performance?– Is there feedback about the consequences in relation to job performance? If yes, is

the feedback immediate, specific, positive?– Are improvements being noticed and reinforced? Do we note improvements even

though the improvement may still leave the employee below company standards?

Another Feedback Model

EEC Model

• E – Example– Tell the person what they did– Give the facts, be specific

• E – Effect– Tell them the effect their action had on you / others– Share your feelings – Use ‘I’ statements (when you did ‘x’, I felt ‘y’)

• C – Change– State the change you suggest/expect– Ask the person to come up with ideas on how they could change their behaviour

- OR - • C – Continue

– Reinforce the positive behaviour

(or OIM: Observation, Implication, Modification)