The Differential Effects of Alternating Schedules of Feedback on Employee Productivity

The problem. Although feedback has improved performance in a number of settings, little attention to date has been devoted to the temporal aspects of feedback including frequency of schedules of feedback. The present study investigated schedules of feedback and their effect on productivity of an underwriting department of an insurance company. Procedures. A system of weighting production behaviors was established and individual worker performance feedback was begun on a weekly basis and increased to every other work day. Subsequently, social reinforcement was added to feedback. Quality and management cost were measured concurrently with productivity. Findinqs. Neither weekly or every other day feedback were effective in improving productivity. The addition of social reinforcement raised productivity back to baseline levels. Quality was not adversely affected. There is potentially a high payoff for management cost if procedures are effective. Conclusions. The method for weighting production did not account for seasonal variations in the difficulty of the workload. Thus, it was impossible to prove the effectiveness of the procedures. Recommendations. Future studies of complex production behaviors must have a valid basis for equating seasonal variations in the difficulty of the workload. In addition, goal setting should be considered in addition to feedback and social reinforcement.

Grantor dc:publisher

Drake University

Year dc:date.issued

1983

Author dc:creator

• McDonald, Charles H.

• Insurance
• Personnel management

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Dc Identifier Other

1983 .M145

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:escholarshare.drake.edu:2092/629