2. I was recently given the assistant manager
position at a store in the mall called
Francesca’s Collections.
With this new position came new
responsibilities.
A tiny… yet important responsibility is
email collection.
BACKGROUND
3. Store Goal: 200 per month
What were we getting?
NOT ENOUGH!!
CRISIS
52
54
56
58
60
January February
55
60
#ofemails
Month
Baseline Email
Collection
4. Break the goal down to 50 emails a week… that equals 200 emails a month
(assuming there is 4 weeks in a month)
TARGET BEHAVIOR: Each six team members now needs to collect 8-9
emails a week.
EASY!!
We now have a more realistic and easier goal by breaking it down.
WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO?
5. No reinforcer…
There also might have been a bit of punishment having
to ask for emails.
BUT WHY WERE WE NOT COLLECTING 200
EMAILS PER MONTH??
Before:
No aversively impatient
customer
Behavior:
Asks for email
After:
Aversively impatient
customer
6. Effective Reinforcer: Present the staff with a PRIZE at
the end of each week, contingent on collecting at least
8-9 emails that week
State the Rule: “To receive this prize, you must collect at
least 8-9 emails by the end of each week. At the end of
the week the opportunity to receive the prize will no
longer by available to anyone who did not reach their
email goal “
PLANNING THE INTERVENTION
7. Problem! The reinforcer is too delayed…
What is going to maintain this behavior??
Break it down with the Three-Contingency Model of
Performance Management.
DETERMINING THE
CONTINGENCIES
8. Ineffective Natural Contingency
The success of collecting 8-9 emails per week was too small, though cumulative. This was
not going to maintain the behavior
Effective, Indirect-Acting Performance Management Contingency
Deadline: By end of week
The outcome of this contingency is too delayed, an analog, therefore ineffective
Effective Inferred Direct Acting Contingency
The fear of losing the opportunity to receive the prize controlled behavior directly. This is
what was maintaining behavior.
Before:
Staff will lose
opportunity to win
prize at end of week
Behavior:
Collects 8-9 emails
per week
After:
Staff will not lose
opportunity to win
prize at end of week
Before:
Fear of loss of
opportunity to win
prize by end of week
Behavior:
Collects 8-9 emails
per week
After:
NO Fear of loss of
opportunity to win
prize by end of week
Before:
Given level of email
collection success
Behavior:
Collects 8-9 emails
per week
After:
Slightly greater level
of success
9. STARTING THE INTERVENTION
Started beginning of March
Handed out a typed out performance contract of the
stipulations of the intervention and rules
Obtained verbal confirmation and also had them sign
their contracts: proof they understood the intervention
10. This is a chart I have posted in my back room
to show our progress
11. This is how we kept track of the emails we collected. I printed one of
these out each week.
12. By the end of week 4 in March we had cumulatively over the 4 weeks doubled
our goal with 430 emails total!
RESULTS
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
January Febuary March
55
60
430
numberofemails
Month
Email Collection
January
Febuary
March
13. Extremely HAPPY with my results.
I plan on using this intervention for 1 more
month.
I want to change to reinforcer so the current one
doesn’t lose value, and so I don’t burn a hole in
my pocket
I hope to also use what I have learned in this
class and apply it to life & work problems.
