Rath & Strong Blog

We Fixed The Process – Now Why Won’t People Follow It?

By Mary Federico.

 We’ve heard it so many times: “We did a Lean Six Sigma project and now our process is in great shape. Or it would be if people would just follow it! For some reason that’s just not happening consistently – and we don’t know why.”

When faced with this kind of problem, organizations typically increase efforts in exactly the wrong places. They focus on training, documentation, goal-setting, monitoring results, establishing policies, sending e-mails, exhorting the troops, etc. These approaches are necessary to get people to try a behavior once or twice, and you certainly should do them. But they will not sustain behavior or ensure its consistency.

The specifics of each situation are different, of course. But a general rule to keep in mind is that people do things because of what they believe will happen as a result. What are the consequences (good/bad, real/imagined) to people for doing the process the new way?  And how do those compare with the consequences for doing it the old way? 

It’s a safe bet that if people are doing it the old way, it’s because there are better consequences for doing so. No matter what behavior you’re hoping for, you’re going to get the behavior you’re reinforcing. Your job is to figure out which behaviors are being reinforced, and to make the appropriate changes. And we don’t mean turning to threats or punishment. Those may get you short-term compliance but they will never get you the kind of commitment to change that you’re looking for. But if you create positive consequences that support the new way and not the old, you’ll see behavior change.