Effects of specified performance criterion and performance feedback on staff behavior: a component analysis.

The team asked: what keeps staff doing the right thing after training ends? They split the answer into two parts: a clear daily target number and quick feedback on hits or misses.

Using a changing-criterion design, they first gave hospital clinicians both pieces. Then they removed one piece at a time to see which part really mattered.

With both the daily target and feedback, staff followed the data-collection protocol 86% of the time. When either piece was pulled away, compliance dropped to about 20%.

The jump from 21% to 86% happened right after the full package started. Taking away the target or the feedback hurt equally, so both parts are needed.

Lerner et al. (2012) showed money tied to output beats hourly pay. Koegel et al. (2014) swaps money for a daily rule plus feedback and gets the same lift. Same contingency logic, cheaper currency.

Szatmari et al. (1994) argued staff act on rules, not just consequences. This study proves it: give a rule (the daily number) and a consequence (feedback) and behavior jumps.

Pankewich et al. (2022) found eHealth data entry was accurate but staff still liked paper. Koegel et al. (2014) shows accuracy rises only when you add a target plus feedback—tech alone is not enough.

If your team’s data sheets look sloppy, don’t retrain the whole task. Just post one clear daily number each morning and give each person a quick ‘hit or miss’ note before lunch. The study says that two-minute combo can push fidelity above 80% without extra pay or gadgets. Try it on Monday: write the target on a whiteboard, check sheets at noon, hand back sticky notes that say ‘met’ or ‘missed by 2.’ Watch the graphs climb.