The Psychology of Team Productivity, Compliance & Communication: Leveraging Motivational Communication to Get More Done

ProTrainings The Psychology of Team Productivity, Compliance & Communication Part 1: Understanding Motivational Communication

If you’ve ever managed a team or been tasked with getting a group of people to complete training in a skill like CPR, then you’ll know that it’s not an easy undertaking. Even tasks that have concrete deadlines can be difficult to get employees to complete on time without sending a barrage of follow-up emails.

But there are ways to improve communication with your team, boost their motivation and productivity, and free yourself from constantly checking up on them. The more you practice effective and efficient communication with your team, the easier it will be to motivate them to finish tasks they don’t initially feel an urgency to complete. 

Here are some strategies and techniques to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your team’s communications and productivity. 

Strategies for Improving Workplace Communication

The first step to improving your workplace communication — and, along with it, your team’s productivity — is to understand what makes certain communication tactics more effective than others. So let’s examine a few communication strategies that have been shown to increase effectiveness and why they work. 

Incentives: The Power of “Why”

Without proper incentives, motivating people to complete tasks becomes a painful, drawn-out process, often involving missed deadlines and ignored reminders. Simply put, if people don’t understand why they need to do something, they’re far less likely to do it in a timely manner, if at all. 

An often-cited study from 1977, known as the “Copy Machine Study,” illustrates this point exceptionally well. During the study, a researcher would approach people waiting in line to use a copy machine and try to cut in front of them by asking one of three questions:

  • Question 1: “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?”
  • Question 2: “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I’m in a rush?”
  • Question 3: “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I have to make copies?”

In response to both the second and third questions, more than 90% of people agreed to let the researcher cut in line, even though the third question makes very little sense. After all, everyone needed to make copies — that’s why they were in line for the copy machine! 

In contrast, only 60% of people let the researcher cut in line in response to the first question. The simple inclusion of that magic word, “because,” made all the difference. 

When people are given a reason for completing a task, they feel included in the rationale rather than dictated to. It’s the difference between being asked, “Please complete your CPR certification this month because it’s a requirement for all employees with your role and responsibilities,” instead of, “Please complete your CPR certification this month.”

Relationships: The Power of “Who”

In addition to providing solid reasons for team members to complete their tasks, also consider attaching a relationship to the task by including the name of a person who is depending on them. 

For example, when assigning tasks, add a note along with the due date that says something like, “Debra from accounting would really appreciate it if expense reports were completed by the 15th of every month because she needs to send the collective report to leadership by the 21st.”

Attaching a relationship to a task transforms it into a collaborative effort. It also serves as a reminder that companies are run by and for people, and that people power the processes that keep the wheels turning. Giving a name to the need builds connections and accountability and nurtures the relationships every business needs to succeed.

Understanding Motivation: Digging Deeper

Sometimes, incentives and appeals to relationships aren’t enough to improve individuals’ motivation. You may need to work with your team members to get a better understanding of what types of communication and motivators work best for them.

ProTrainings The Psychology of Team Productivity, Compliance & Communication Part 1: Understanding Motivational Communication

One way to do this is through motivational interviewing, a collaborative communication technique designed to guide people into finding their own motivation to change their behavior.

Motivational interviewing has four basic principles, which the interviewer uses to help the interviewee explore his or her resistance to change and develop internal motivation: 

  • Express empathy for the interviewee’s feelings and experiences.
  • Support self-efficacy by encouraging the interviewee to trust their own skills and abilities and believe they are capable of improvement.
  • Roll with resistance, helping the interviewee examine multiple viewpoints without imposing the interviewer’s own beliefs. 
  • Develop discrepancy between the interviewee’s current state and their goals, and identify what actions they need to take to achieve those goals. 

While motivational interviewing is traditionally used in therapy and professional counseling, the principles can also be applied in the workplace to help employees break through stagnation and find motivation to accomplish personal and professional goals. 

Methods for Increased Efficiency & Productivity

Another way to improve workplace communication is to improve the efficiency of your communication. Instead of scheduling extra check-ins and filling your team members’ inboxes with new emails, try some techniques to streamline your communication processes. 

As experts in scalable training platforms, we’ve helped nearly 3 million people complete their required trainings and CPR certifications by using these simple principles: 

  • Automate follow-ups and other reminders. Some people need multiple reminders to stay on task, but that doesn’t mean you need to personally send those reminders. Setting up automatic reminders ensures team members receive the nudge they need to get their work done on time while saving you the trouble of reminding them.
  • Prioritize asynchronous communication. Move team communications away from email and phone calls and onto platforms like Teams, Slack, and Loom. That way, you can share information with the whole team via a single video or message, without everyone having to be available at the same time. 
  • Use project management software. Tools like Monday.com, Asana, or Coda streamline assignments of responsibilities, keep all relevant information organized and easily accessible, and share updates in real-time. Plus, you and your team members get a dopamine boost from checking off completed tasks. 

In particular, asynchronous communication has been a game-changer here at ProTrainings. We designed our online CPR dashboard expressly to make it easier for team managers and HR professionals to collect and track CPR certifications. Our online dashboard does the communicating for you, so you and your team can focus on what matters most. 

Effective Communication in Action

When trying to get your team to complete important tasks like CPR certification, clearly communicating the importance, impact, and relevance of the task is key. People need to understand why a particular task matters — both in and out of the office — and they’re more likely to take action when they know exactly what is expected of them. 

For example, if your team tends to view CPR training as an administrative burden or extra tasks to their existing workload, recontextualize it as a valuable addition to their skills that could quite literally save lives. 
If you’re looking for more ways to streamline the process of getting your team CPR certified, we provide online and blended courses to fit your team’s structure and needs. Contact us today to learn more about our group and remote-staff CPR certification.