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HOW TO MAINTAIN BEHAVIORAL CHANGE
Publication: Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (2006)
Article: Institutionalization and Response Maintenance in Organizational Behavior Management
Authors: Sigurdur Oli Sigurdsson; John Austin
Reviewed By: Susan Rosengarten, Queens College, CUNY
Once again, the workplace behavior intervention worked as planned and was a huge success. OBM saves the day! But how can we make sure things don’t revert back to business as usual? How can we make the intervention stick?
According to Sigurdsson and Austin (2006), one way to make interventions last is through institutionalization. This is when employees are personally involved with the design or implementation of the intervention.
The authors mention four specific ways in which institutionalization can be accomplished:
1) Training and involvement of in-house staff in developing the intervention design
2) Training of internal staff in the implementation of the intervention
3) Internal staff’s responsibility for collecting data on performance measures
4) Internal staff’s responsibility for dispensing consequences.
Through a review of 31 studies, the results showed that most of the interventions incorporated at least one institutionalization element, and the average study incorporated two institutionalization elements. Studies in which employees were involved in creating the intervention procedures were more likely to achieve behavioral maintenance once the study was over.
So, what’s the take home message? It seems that if an OBM practitioner, or anyone for that matter, wants to see lasting improvements in behavioral performance, they should make sure to involve the very same people they are trying to help. Through institutionalization, the intervention has a better chance to create lasting change.
Sigurdsson, S. O. & Austin, J. (2006). Institutionalization and Response Maintenance in Organizational Behavior Management. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 26(4), 41-77.