Create Social Norms to Increase Employee Compliance

Are you wanting to increase compliance of procedures or rules? Stop focusing on the consequences and start building the appropriateness.
Nick Cowen, a criminologist, was recently on Adam Grant’s podcast Work Life Balance and shared some interesting findings with studying crime, specifically drinking and driving and the approaches that actually work to reduce crime. These findings are rather relevant to the workplace. What he found is that it’s not the punishment that has caused reductions in drinking and driving, it's the social norms. If you make the social norms clear that people, neighbors, friends follow the rules, then you’ll see a higher percentage of compliance. Research showed that when it’s socially unacceptable to break the rules, people tend to follow the rules.
Make it clear that all successful employees follow these standards. These are our social norms. Research has consistently found that reinforcing social norms is most effective in getting people to follow the expectations. This is true with getting folks to recycle, instead of broadcasting all the benefits of recycling, the most effective marketing is telling folks 9 out of 10 households in your neighborhood recycle. People don’t want to be the one not following the social norms. The same marketing works for getting people to wash their hands. Instead of signs that talk about reducing the spread of germs, a sign that says 95% of employees in this building wash their hands, you’re much more likely to gain compliance. People want to follow social norms.
The problem I see often is peers sharing that it’s socially acceptable to not follow the rules. “Oh yeah, they want us to do this but I don’t do that.” The biggest deterrent is setting the stage that your peers and friends follow the rules.
Nick Cowan also found that it’s not about the severity of the punishment but the certainty of detection, meaning you will be caught and it will go on your record. Avoid serious punishment by having punishment be small and often.
I have spoken to so many managers, and have been guilty of this myself, where so many times I see an employee not following a procedure and I don’t say anything. Until it eventually becomes a serious problem that is too hard to ignore.
The more effective approach is making it clear that detection is certain, that evaluation is routine. Share regular feedback and coaching with an intent to help them improve. Definitely don’t sit on performance concerns until it blows up and your placing staff on corrective action. You don’t want to blindside with performance concerns that normally seem to be ignored.
Adam Grant and Nick Cowen referred to a Logic of appropriateness, not a logic of consequence.
The point is make following the rules the social norm and that employees follow the rules and you’ll see much higher rates of compliance.