Just Ask

THE BETTER WAY TO PREDICT EMPLOYEE PREFERENCE: JUST ASK THEM!

Publication: Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (Vol. 31, 2011)

Article: Further evaluation of the accuracy of managerial prediction of employee preference.

Authors: David A. Wilder; Carelle Harris; Sarah Casella, Byron Wine; Nicki Postma

Reviewed By: Amy K. Loukus, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Managers may find themselves wondering, “Why don’t employees perform like I want them to? I give them what they want, don’t I?”  But if employees are not performing to expected standards, more than likely the reinforcement provided for doing so is not functioning as well as the managers think it is.  Too often managers choose “reinforcing” items and activities with total disregard for employee preference (i.e., without verifying with employees that these items actually are what they will work hard to obtain).

Unfortunately, previous research shows that managers are often poor at predicting employee preference, with performance standards continually unmet as a result. Wilder, Harris, Casella, Wine, & Postma (2011) conducted an evaluation of these common mistakes, with results showing discrepancies between what the manager thinks will be reinforcing, and actual employee ranking of those items.

This study replicated previous research on managerial prediction of employee preference (Wilder, Rost, & McMahon, 2007), with a larger, more diverse sample size. Wilder et al. (2011) surveyed 15 managers and 100 employees working in retail, food service, education, and administration. Participants ranked easy to deliver, cost-effective items identified by managers as things their employees would like to receive for meeting goals.  Results showed that managers and employees had different ideas of what was reinforcing.  In addition, managers accurately predicted the most preferred reinforcer for only 36 of 100 total employees. In other words, managers should not assume they know what employees want.

The authors present a strong case for why managers should simply ask employees what they want, instead of just assuming they know. Managers can utilize the easy-to-use, systematic steps outlined in the article to help improve quality of work, as well as quality of work-life for employees.

References:

Wilder, D. A., Rost, K., & McMahon, M. (2007). The accuracy of managerial prediction of employee preference: A brief report. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 27(2), 1-14.

Wilder, D. A., Harris, C., Casella, S., Wine, B., & Postma, N. (2011). Further evaluation of the accuracy of managerial prediction of employee preference. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 31(2), 130-139. doi: 10.1080/01608061.2011.569202