Motivated or bored: the psychology of successful business

The Association for Business Psychology defines business psychology as “the study and practice of improving working life. It combines an understanding of the science of human behaviour with experience of the world of work to attain effective and sustainable performance for both individuals and organisations”.

Behavioural scientists suggest by having a basic understanding of what drives human behaviour, it’s possible to develop an efficient, motivated workforce – and subsequently, a more successful business.

Psychologists such as Skinner and Pavlov are often considered the pioneers of behaviourism and their theories account for much of what the layman knows of behavioural science today.

Many of you will have heard of the ‘Pavlovian response’. This theory of classical conditioning was developed by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov and was the unexpected byproduct of an unrelated experiment.

Pavlov was studying the saliva rates of dogs in response to food when he began to notice the dogs in his experiment would begin to salivate whenever the research team opened the door – as if in anticipation of their tasty treats.

Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning showed neutral stimuli could be used to cultivate a particular association between the occurrence of one event in the anticipation of another. Similarly, Skinner’s theory of ‘operant classical conditioning’ suggests behaviour can be modified by positive or/and negative reinforcement.

But, what does all this have to do with business? And how relevant are these theories to an everyday SMB owner? How can they be utilised to make a positive change?

Organisational Behaviour Management

Most organisations will already have an employee review framework in place, measuring an employee’s key performance indicators (KPIs) at set points throughout the year. Usually, these will have been developed by specialist behavioural scientists to improve efficiency.

However, culture within a business can have a huge impact on employee behaviour and performance. Research shows that disengaged employees can cost businesses millions of dollars a year, so investing in appropriate training and development strategies for employees is important to optimise efficiency. Organisational Behaviour models are designed to encourage employees in a certain way, using different management models to achieve this.

Dependent on the type of organisation and the issues highlighted, one of five models can be used; autocratic, custodial, supportive, collegial and system. For example, a business that is lacking in teamwork skills or is competitive in nature, may adopt the ‘collegial model’, which focusses on all employees actively working as a team to produce the best outcome. Managers in this model are encouraged to act as a coach rather than a typical leader, creating a positive team-centric atmosphere.

Gamification

Using gamification as a technique to drive company sales is nothing new, but certain organisations have been using this to drive the important, yet more mundane tasks such as following daily sales and CRM processes.

Analytics company, Verint used this technique to increase productivity around CRM tasks and found that by creating quizzes, simulations and team competitions around three core KPIs in the CRM, they increased by 300 per cent. The KPIs included inputting primary contacts, accepting opportunities and documenting next steps, with the key to success being the content driving engagement and creating healthy competition.

Adapting new techniques to different ways of learning can be highly effective in motivating a workforce. Different areas of business psychology, such as organisational development, employee engagement, performance management and leadership development, can be hugely beneficial to creating a successful working environment and business model.

Want to know more about business psychology? An online Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Victoria University examines advanced behavioural science theories, and focusses on current and industry relevant topics that can be applicable to a global workforce.