Can fun be used to transform behaviours?

Influencing behaviours – can fun be used to transform behaviours?

Influencing behaviours is the vital skill for any manager or business improvement person, particularly in these economic times. We believe that everyone should be developing their skills in these areas so that change can be implemented permanently in any business. If we can ensure that change sticks in our businesses, then we can survive and grow. How many companies do you know, or have worked in, that have developed great solutions or ideas but have never managed to fully implement them? How many businesses, if they could change behaviours, would reduce costs, win more business or provide a better service?

100% Effective Training and Consultancy have been aiding companies to change, for over 12 years. We run training and offer consultancy to companies in the field of behavioural change, so you can make a lasting difference in your company. This article touches on just one of the many methods that can be used to influence behaviours and make change – FUN!

If you can make a new behaviour fun, will that change be accepted? We believe that the answer is a resounding YES. If you think about things that you have done in your life, that you really enjoyed, then you discover that you had fun while you were doing them. If you think of teams that you have worked in that you have enjoyed, it was because you had fun. Why can we not make elements of our business or work life more fun, resulting in improved performance?

Before we can discuss using fun in the work place, we must be confident that the theory is effective. Some fantastic research has been conducted to investigate and prove that fun can change behaviours. If you visit www.TheFunTheory.com, you can see a number of experiments. In one experiment in Sweden, they wanted to see if they could increase the number of commuters who would use the stairs instead of the escalator. To do this, one evening they turned each step into a piano key, they pained the stair case with keys, and when you stepped on a step, you heard a note from a piano. As you went up the stairs you went up the notes. The results were astounding, 66% more people used the stairs rather than the escalator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw

A guy called Kevin Richardson wanted to see if he could reduce the number of people speeding, so they introduced a lottery. If you were under the speed limit, your number plate would still be photographed, but the difference was you were entered into a monthly lottery, and you might win a proportion of the fines taken from those people speeding. They reduce the average speed from 32km/h to 25km/h, Behaviour was changed and roads made safer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iynzHWwJXaA

Other examples include reducing the amount of rubbish thrown on the ground rather than put in a bin. They attached a trigger inside a bin that made a sound like something falling down a well. They massively reduced the amount of litter in the park. They also wanted to increase recycling, so they introduced a game which flashed up when you put a bottle in the bottle bank. These are just some examples of where the theory of fun has transformed the behaviour of a whole part of society.

We must agree that fun can be an extremely powerful tool to change behaviours. It can help us to complete tedious tasks, it can make us more productive and it can make us achieve goals we never thought were possible. Most managers or business improvement people know that fun and laughter will make a massive difference in the behaviours around them. However we normally only spend a short amount of time thinking about how to change these behaviours.

There are however countless examples of companies or individuals who have changed behaviours in the work place by enabling workers to have fun while they complete tasks. In fact one particular consultancy based in Seattle has made a multimillion dollar business out of helping companies put fun into their companies.

The Fish! Philosophy in Seattle was born out of allowing fishmongers to engage and entertain the customers. They became so successful that they are now a major tourist attraction. People go to see them perform as they serve people their fish. They no longer refer to hiring people but that they audition people. Sales exploded as the guys and girls selling the fish suddenly enjoyed their job, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and staff morale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNDP9jLuzXU

In call centres where it can be a very frustrating and taxing environment to work there are countless examples of how fun is added to the roll. People dress up; people celebrate a different day each week from around the world. Areas are set aside with games and toys for people to play with. You may set up some fun competitions. Some examples include:

Pass the buck – a big piece of money is passed to the person who had made the last sale and the person who makes the most or the last sale of the day gets the money
Race track – set up a board with jockeys. Every sale moves you nearer the winning line first to get to the end wins

Now I know there are potentially all kinds of problems with these kinds of games but if they are set up correctly and the culture is correct then the results can be astounding.

Instilling fun into the workplace can have an enormous effect on the businesses where it is used.

If we can integrate an element of fun and laughter into our work place then it is obvious that we will increase productivity, increase morale, increase creativity and increase our customer service. Most of the time it is as simple as taking time to install some fun elements into our jobs.

So if we want to influence and change behaviours then one of the many ways we can do this is through the incorporation of fun into the role, job or function. I am not saying this is easy, it is not. I am not saying that you can make everything fun you can’t but you can try. We are limited really by our lack of trying and our imagination. We are worried about what people might say or do if we suggest it. Let’s try to use this approach more in business life and change what we do and become more effective while we do it.

If you have other examples I would really like to hear about them. Please drop me an email with your examples. I will then email you back with all the others we receive. Together we can build a library of examples of how to change behaviours.

We typically implement simple ideas such as those used in call centres. If we spent more time designing the fun in our businesses or society them we can get some amazing results. All it takes is some time and imagination.
100% Effective Training & Consultancy can assist you to change behaviours and make a difference in your business. We can train you or your staff in the key skills needed to make change happen or we can advise you on how to influence your people so that change and improvements are effective. Please contact us to discuss your situation, needs or position we would welcome a chance to discuss these issues with you.