I don’t know how many times I’ve filled out forms – at banks, at doctors’ offices, when applying for a job and even when dealing with the government (I know you’re shocked there’d be paperwork in government). I’m guessing you've filled out a few yourself.
If you have filled out a form let me ask this… did you find yourself coming across a box that really didn’t apply to you? Or one where you really didn't know what they wanted? Did you experience a bit of anxiety about it?
In other words, BECAUSE there was a box to be filled in, you (and me) felt like you HAD to fill it in (there is also another influence trigger at play here - authority - but that's for another time and post.)
That box ruled our lives for that short period of time. Our behavior was driven by that box.
Influence Through Environment
The Heath brothers (Made To Stick) addressed this type of issue in their recent book Switch. In addition to managing the rider and the elephant (logic & emotion) they talk about managing the environment when trying to influence behavior. The box on that form influenced your behavior. It made you WANT to put something in it even if you weren't sure you should just because it was there.
Groceries and Healthy Purchases
Along the lines of the “box” on the form is a study done by Collin Payne, an assistant professor at New Mexico State University showing that adding a little “environmental” clue to shopping carts may help people make better decisions about the food they buy.
(Although it pains me to say this as a dyed-in-the-wool Buckeye fan O H - I have to give a hat tip to Rick Walsh and his blog for finding and posting this. He’s finishing his PhD at the University of Michigan. Check out some of his thoughts here.)
Rick linked to a local New Mexico news site that reported on the study. From that site:
"Researchers marked a line with yellow duct tape across the width of shopping carts, and placed a sign on the cart asking shoppers to place fruit and vegetables in front of the tape line, and the rest of their groceries behind the line.
'And what we saw was a bump of a 102% increase in purchasing of fruits and vegetables with that simple sign and line,' Payne said."
Yeah – 102% increase by putting a line in a cart.
It’s the box idea – put the line in the cart and people will put some vegetables in there to comply with the cart.
Your Work Environment
Think about your business and how these subtle environmental actions can increase, or change behavior.
From a wellness perspective I could see:
- Painted lines in the employee parking lot 100 yards from the entrance delineating a “healthy zone”
- A separate line in the company cafeteria that says “healthy line” (I don’t recommend another sign that says “fattening, high-cholesterol, suicide by food” line though.)
What about other areas behavior that could lead to greater employee performance?
- Links in email footers that ask if the sender wants to recognize the recipient for good work?
- A box on the review form that asks how often the employee wants to meet with their manager about performance goals?
- A place on every piece of paper/email that goes to clients with a check box that asks if they are satisfied or happy with their connection to the company?
I think you get the drift. The environment we work in has a lot to do with our behavior and our engagement. Look around your office and see what the subtle environmental clues are and how adding some "lines in the cart" could influence behaviors.
Think about it.
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