Category Archives: Training
When Customers Attack: Verbal Aggression and Employee Performance (IO Psychology)
Topic: Job Performance, Training, Conflict
Publication: Journal of Applied Psychology (SEPT 2012)
Article: When Customers Exhibit Verbal Aggression, Employees Pay Cognitive Costs
Authors: A. Rafaeli, A. Erez, S. Ravid, R. Derfler-Rozin, D.E. Treister, R. Scheyer
Reviewed By: Ben Sher
What happens when customers get angry? For starters, they may yell, scream, pound their fists, emit a plume of smoke from their ears, and occasionally rip off their t-shirts like Hulk Hogan. But then what happens to the employees? Research by Rafaeli, et al. (2012) examines the negative effect this kind of behavior has on the people working behind the counter.
The researchers conducted four experiments and found that employees’ performance suffers when customers become verbally aggressive. Under these circumstances, employees will have a harder time remembering things and have worse perception. Why? Exposure to anger requires people to make sense of why someone is angry. It also requires people to plan a response to dealing with the anger. These processes use up valuable mental resources, which are best reserved for focusing on the job at hand.
Another reaction that anger causes is a state of arousal, which happens any time people are faced with a threat. When this happens, employees focus their attention on the angry customer and lose sight of the task at hand. When people perceive a threat, they also may be more likely to retaliate, even when it is not a beneficial reaction.
These findings became even stronger when customers were considered high status. This means that employees became even more distracted by aggression from the biggest-spending customers, arguably the people whose satisfaction is most important. On the other hand, the findings of this study became weaker when employees were able to engage in “perspective taking”, which is the ability to consider and understand the viewpoint of another person. In this situation, understanding why the customer is angry leads to patience, while also freeing up mental resources.
What can be done to counter the harmful effects of customer aggression? The researchers emphasize the importance of training to deal with verbal aggression. They say that training to deal with anger needs to occur at the same time employees train for other job components. This makes the anger training more naturalistic. Treating anger as a separate topic with no context might be ineffective when real-life situations arise. Finally, training may want to include strategies for perspective-taking, which might be the best antidote for the angry customer.
human resource management, organizational industrial psychology, organizational management
Are Five Choices Better Than Three? (IO Psychology)
Topic: Selection, Testing
Publication: International Journal of Selection and Assessment
Article: The three option format for knowledge and ability multiple-choice tests: A case
for why it should be more commonly used in personnel testing
Authors: Edwards, B. D. Arthur, W. Jr., and Bruce, L. L.
Reviewer: Neil Morelli
When it comes to deciding how many response options should be given on a multiple choice test, many might argue that three versus four or five options is splitting hairs. But, Edwards, Arthur, and Bruce would argue this issue is a perfect example of the gap between science and practice in I-O psychology.
According to their review of the response option literature, most of the previous studies on this issue have discovered that three-response options is preferable for a number of practical and empirical reasons. For example, tests with three response options take less time to complete, are less susceptible to “testwise” test takers, take less time and resources to develop, and have equal psychometric characteristics like reliability, discriminability, and difficulty. Similar measurement characteristics and lower time requirements mean more bang for the buck when administering these tests. In other words, test takers can be tested on a wider body of knowledge when using three options.
Given that three-option tests measure knowledge or traits just like their four and five-option
cousins with less hassle, the authors questioned why practitioners have yet to broadly accept three-option tests. Guessing that practitioners still have concerns about test-taker reactions, criterion-related validity, and subgroup differences, the authors tested the assumption that there are no differences among the response-option types on these variables.
Edwards et al. gave groups of students either three-option or five-option items from the ACT college-entry test and compared students’ perceptions, race and age differences, and the test score relationship with GPA. Not only were the three-option equivalent to the five-option on their measurement characteristics, three-option tests were perceived to be just as fair, had similar correlations with GPA, and did not differ on their magnitude of race or gender-based differences. Perhaps these findings can help put practitioner fears to rest when considering the practical, financial, and administrative benefits of three-option multiple choice tests.
human resource management, organizational industrial psychology, organizational management
Tips for Getting Tips (IO Psychology)
Topic: Job Performance, Personality, Training
Publication: Journal of Applied Psychology (NOV 2011)
Article: Want a Tip? Service Performance as a Function of Emotion Regulation
and Extraversion
Authors: N. Chi, A.A. Grandey, J.A. Diamond, K.R. Krimmel
Reviewed By: Ben Sher
Your restaurant server is quite the professional! He manages a genuine, warm smile despite his impending apartment eviction, recurring car-transmission problems, and the fact that his favorite football team just lost in the playoffs. But to pull that off, your server had to perform something called emotional labor, a crucial topic of interest to IO Psychologists. New research by Chi, Grandey, Diamond, and Krimmel (2011) has found that certain emotional labor strategies are more useful than others, and that sometimes it depends on the type of person using these strategies.
The authors discuss two major strategies for performing emotional labor. The first is called surface acting. This is when employees fake the desired emotions even when those emotions don’t accurately reflect how they feel inside. The other strategy is called deep acting. This is when employees actually change their inner feelings to the desired state by focusing on past experiences. For example, an employee who is in a bad mood might try thinking hard about a time when he was in a happy mood, causing him to project a display of authentic happiness to his customers.
But the two strategies do not always lead to similar results. The researchers found that deep acting by restaurant servers will lead to them receiving more tips and exceeding customer expectations. In a separate study involving simulated call-center employees, the researchers found that deep acting leads to an overall better emotional performance, meaning it is more convincing to the customers. They also discovered that deep acting also leads employees to perform extra-role behaviors, meaning tasks that are not strictly part of someone’s job description but are nevertheless important. The authors explain that deep acting puts employees in a good mood, which makes them more likely to do extra work.
But what about surface acting? The researchers found that surface acting leads to receiving more tips, but only when used by extraverted, outgoing employees. When introverted employees tried surface acting, their overall emotional performance became worse, and was not as convincing to the customers. Specifically, this was true when the introverted employees performed extra-role behaviors. The authors explain that “faking it” strategies like surface acting are particularly exhaustive to introverts, and while introverts may be able to “fake it” while performing their typical duties, their emotional resources may become depleted when asked to perform extra-role behaviors.
The implications of these findings are important for training in any industry that requires contact with customers. Clearly, deep acting is a useful approach to dealing with the demands of emotional labor, and should be the preferred method endorsed during employee training. Surface acting may be an alternative method that works when deep acting is not possible or inconvenient, but only for naturally extraverted employees.
human resource management, organizational industrial psychology, organizational management
The effectiveness of computer-based simulation games (IO Psychology)
Topic: Training
Publication: Personnel Psychology (SUMMER 2011)
Article: A meta-analytic examination of the instructional effectiveness of computer-based simulation games
Author: Sitzmann, T.
Reviewed by: Alexandra Rechlin
Computer-based simulation games are increasingly being used in training, but how does their effectiveness compare to that of traditional training methods? And what are the most important features of simulation games? Sitzmann (2011) sought to answer these questions in her recent meta-analysis.
Sitzmann found that, relative to a comparison group (which varied across studies), trainees who learned from a simulation game had higher levels of post-training self-efficacy, declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and retention of the training material. They also learned more when simulation games were entertaining and engaging, when there was unlimited access to the simulation games, and when the simulations were included along with other types of training.
Although the development of computer-based simulation games can be expensive, it appears that they can be very effective. However, when either developing or deciding whether or not to implement a simulation game, certain characteristics must be considered. The game must be entertaining, engaging, and provided as a supplement to other types of training. Finally, trainees should be able to access the training program as many times as they would like. A training program using simulation games that does not include these characteristics may not be as effective as other training methods, and therefore it may not be worth the cost.
human resource management, organizational industrial psychology, organizational management
Increasing Training Transfer (I/O Psychology)
Topic: Training, Learning, Motivation
Publication: Journal of Business and Psychology EC 2011)
Article: Influencing learning states to enhance trainee motivation and improve training transfer
Authors: Weissbein, D. A., Huang, J. L., Ford, J. K., & Schmidt, A. M.
Reviewed by: Alexandra Rechlin
How many times have you heard about or participated in a training program but the information or skills learned didn’t get retained or used after the training ended? This transfer of training problem is common and frustrating to those who develop or pay for training programs.
In this paper, Weissbein, Huang, Ford, and Schmidt (2011) conducted a study in which they gave undergraduates a pretraining intervention before the participants received interpersonal negotiation training. The pretraining intervention was designed to increase internal locus of control (the belief that outcomes are under one’s control through one’s own behaviors and actions). In this intervention, participants viewed a video in which actors suggested that it was possible to improve as a negotiator through effort and learning correct strategies. The participants were then told by the trainer that they shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions or make mistakes, and the trainer also reminded them that they should focus on effort and learning.
The authors found that the pretraining intervention was positively linked to motivation to learn, which in turn was positively related to transfer performance (through the increased prevalence of preparation activities). These results indicate that providing a pretraining intervention aimed at increasing trainees’ locus of control can increase training transfer.
human resource management,organizational industrial psychology, organizational management
Learning to learn: aim high and believe in yourself!
Topic: Training, Goals, Learning
Publication: Psychological Bulletin (MAR 2011)
Article: A meta-analysis of self-regulated learning in work-related training and educational attainment: What we know and where we need to go
Authors: T. Sitzmann, K. Ely
Reviewed by: Alexandra Rechlin
When people self-regulate, they monitor their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in order to obtain some sort of goal. Self-regulated learning refers to when people attempt to monitor and control their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in order to attain a learning or achievement outcome. The authors of this article reviewed numerous theories of self-regulated learning and conducted a meta-analysis to better understand the extent to which self-regulated learning processes affect learning.
Think about the last time you attended some sort of training session. Assuming that you actually cared about learning something, you may have set a performance goal for yourself. That goal is a regulatory agent – it gets you moving towards positive outcomes. To achieve your goal, you may have used a number of strategies, like planning, monitoring, controlling your emotions, and environmental structuring (e.g., choosing to review training materials in a library instead of at a basketball game). These strategies are called regulatory mechanisms, because they are processes used to achieve a goal. Other regulatory mechanisms include metacognition (thinking about thinking), attention, learning strategies, persistence, time management, and effort. Finally, you might use regulatory appraisals to evaluate your progress towards achieving your learning goal. These regulatory appraisals include self-evaluation, attributions, and self-efficacy (belief in your own capabilities).
Poker Face in Workplace: The Good, The Bad, and The…
Topic: Job Performance, Training
Publication: Journal of Applied Psychology (MAR 2011)
Article: Service Without a Smile: Comparing the Consequences of Neutral and Positive Display Rules
Authors: J.P. Trougakos, C.L. Jackson, D.J. Beal
Reviewed By: Ben Sher
Sometimes jobs require employees to convey specific emotions. For example, a funeral director needs to appear somber, a police officer must appear neutral, and a restaurant server needs to look cheerful. The guidelines that determine which facial expressions an employee needs to maintain are called display rules. In order to maintain a specific demeanor on a continual basis, employees must engage in emotional labor, unless you are a clown and you have a smile painted on your face.
Trougakos, Jackson, and Beal (2011) performed an experiment that trained poll workers to conduct surveys displaying either happy or neutral emotions, and they found that neutral display rules cause employees to suppress more emotions (both positive and negative) which requires more emotional labor – which may lead to decreased job performance. Specifically, the researchers found that poll workers instructed to remain neutral were less persistent in their recruitment of survey-takers and more likely to avoid potential survey-takers even as they passed right in front of them.
Poll workers trained to display positive emotions were successful in influencing the mood of the people taking the surveys. These survey respondents were more likely to have favorable attitudes regarding the poll workers and the organizations represented by the poll workers.
The Waning Voices of Senior Employees: Does Tenure Reduce Impact Levels?
Topic: Potential, Staffing, Training, Turnover
Publication: Human Resource Management (JAN 2011)
Article: Does voice go flat? How tenure diminishes the impact of voice
Authors: D. Avery, P. McKay, D. Wilson, S. Volpone, and E. Killham
Reviewed By: Allison B. Siminovsky
In this line of research, voice refers to the ability to provide suggestions to the organization and feel that one’s input has some sort of effect. When little control is perceived, the employee will work hard to gain control and the use of voice is one possible means of achieving this goal. However, if an employee has been around for many years and feels his sense of control is compromised, to what extent does he continue to use his voice to impact the organization?
This study addressed this issue utilizing results from surveys of conducted with a variety of workers regarding their perceived voice opportunities at their organizations, their tenure, and their intentions to remain with their organizations. They found that, while any employee, regardless of tenure, values the opportunity to have his or her voice heard, newer employees are more likely to see these opportunities as a means of gaining power and control over their work environments. As more tenured members of the workforce do not feel such a need for control and have higher self-esteem related to the workplace, they do not rely on voice as strongly as do newer employees to gain power.
Coaching: An Essential Element of Managing Your Employees
Topic: Coaching, Training
Publication: Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice Article: Employee Coaching Relationships: Enhancing Construct Clarity and Measurement
Authors: J.B. Gregory, P.E. Levy
Reviewed by: Mary Alice Crowe-Taylor
Executive coaching has been the subject of much academic research. Employee coaching is distinctly different, as defined and measured by Gregory and Levy. These researchers argue that employee coaching is the coaching of subordinates by their supervisors. You may ask, “Isn’t that just synonymous with managing employees?” No! Coaching is only part of the managing that superiors do. And how well it is done can make all the difference in managing effectively.
To assess the quality of a supervisor’s coaching, these researchers created the Perceived Quality Employee Coaching Relationship (PQECR) scale using two employee samples. It captures subordinates’ views on their bosses’ coaching along the four dimensions of: genuineness; effective communication; comfort with the relationship; and facilitating development of the employee. It can be used to help managers and supervisors develop their coaching ability.
These researchers do advise third party administration of the PQECR so that supervisors can get honest responses from their employees. By defining employee coaching and providing the PQECR, Gregory and Levy hope to increase the scientific rigor of the domain of employee coaching and provide another tool for the manager’s toolbox.
J. B. Gregory & P. E. Levy (2010). Employee coaching relationships: Enhancing construct clarity and measurement. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice, 3(2), 109-123.
Who Reports Transferring Skills that Weren’t Trained?
Topic: Training
Publication: International Journal of Selection and Assessment (DEC 2010)
Article: Transferring more than learned in training: Employees’ and managers’ (over)generalization of skills
Authors: D.S. Chiaburu, K.B. Sawyer and C.N. Thoroughgood
Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger
Given the extensive costs associated with training a workforce, assessing the “bang-for-your-buck” is a vital step in the overall training process. Specifically, it is (as many would argue) essential to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational training courses with measures of learning and trasnfer. A common, yet controversial approach to measuring learning and transfer is to ask employees to report how much they have learned or how well they have transfered their skills following training. A similar approach is to ask employees’ direct supervsiors to report how well they have transferred the skills learned in training to the job.
Recent research (see ioatwork review entitled, “Is what we think we know, what we actually know?”) suggests that individuals’ self-assessments of their learning/knolwedge gain are not very accurate. This is indeed echoed by the results of two studies conducted by Chiaburu et al. (2010). The authors focused primarily on employee characteristics that influence whether they overgeneralize (e.g., report transferring skills on the job that were not actually covered in training) their transfer several months after attending an organziational training course.
In addition to finding evidence that employees overgeneralize their transfer of skills, Chiaburu et al. (2010) found that supervisors also overgeneralized their employees’ transfer by indicating that employees improved in areas that were not addressed in the training course. This tendency was less dramatic for skills that are more easily observable by supervsiors (e.g., used on the job daily).
