Before I explain Principles 4, 5, and 6, I want to recap the principles that help you to build a foundation. You need a strong foundation for your reinforcement program to achieve results. Read this recap carefully and make sure you have no questions before moving on to the engagement principles of your reinforcement program.

PRINCIPLE 1: MASTER THE 3 PHASES OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE

• Changing behavior goes through 3 phases:
  • The Awareness phase is the “why.”
  • The Knowledge and Skills phase is the “how.”
  • The Apply phase is “do it.”

• You cannot skip a phase.

• Each phase has its own characteristics. Use mnemonics techniques and select specific media from the training event to remember content.
• In the Apply phase use the DO-DID-GO approach.
• Your reinforcement program is almost the opposite of the training event. Reinforcement is not retraining or a reminder program. It is a continuation of your training event.
• If you want a successful application of new knowledge, the score of the correctly answered knowledge questions per reinforcement objective must be 75 percent or higher.
• One reinforcement objective needs to be repeated 20 times.
• Irritation level = max two to three messages per week.
• The four-step approach will help you to indicate the number of reinforcement objectives within an effective foundation. (Length of the program (weeks) x Intensity (number of messages per week) /20 repetitions). As a rule of the thumb, two objectives in three months.

PRINCIPLE 2: CLOSE THE 5 REINFORCEMENT GAPS

• Reinforcement focuses on behavior change. The change is the transfer of learning into application.
• No change can happen without strengthening the current situation, but strengthening the current situation doesn’t necessarily mean change.
• Use the check questions below to determine whether you closed the 5 Reinforcement Gaps, the five areas that influence the success of behavioral change.

Knowledge Gap

• □ Is the knowledge sufficient for the new behavior?
• □ How is additional knowledge (if needed) presented?
• □ How do you check the level of the key knowledge?
• □ Does the knowledge support the skills desired?

Skills Gap

• □ Do your learners know how to implement and apply their new knowledge?
• □ How do you organize the dependencies on a skills level?
• □ How did you structure key skills versus additional skills?

Motivation Gap

• □ Are learners motivated by internal or external forces to achieve the desired change?
• □ What is their irritation level?
• □ What elements influence their demotivation?

Environment Gap

• □ Do your learners have enough support and time to be successful?
• □ How did you encourage social friction?
• □ What feedback moments did you add in the program?

Communication Gap

• □ Did your learners receive enough and clear information about directions, procedures, and processes?
• □ How do learners know to maximize the impact of new behavior within your organization?
• □ What could block learners from a successful implementation of the new behavior?
• □ How did you guarantee that the learners fully understand all the information needed to be successful?

PRINCIPLE 3: CREATE MEASURABLE BEHAVIOR CHANGE

• Use the five “what and when questions” to create the framework for your measurement plan.
• Don’t wait for something you already can measure.
• A good measurement at the perfect moment is valuable; a good measurement at the wrong moment is worthless.
• Use actionable intelligence to guide your learners in their behavior change.
• During your reinforcement program, data is being collected from carefully crafted and planned measurements.
• Use the six steps below to transfer data into actionable intelligence:
  • The first step is to organize the data.
  • After you’ve organized the data, it can be converted to information in the form of reports or overviews.
  • This information can then be reviewed and analyzed to convert it into knowledge.
  • If you use this knowledge to predict why and what will happen, knowledge then becomes intelligence.
  • Based on this intelligence, you can identify potential decisions to be made.
  • If you make a decision, you can define the needed actions.
• Measuring is so much more than just knowing.
• Combine the different question types to collect valuable data (quizzes, surveys, and open-field questions).
• If you use survey questions to collect quantity data, add quantity aspects in the answers. Don’t create lazy brains!
• The five common failures in the design of a question are:
  • Too complex.
  • Two questions at the same time.
  • Too vague.
  • Possibility to interpret the question differently.
  • Not personal enough, so the learner does not recognize his or her own situation in the question.
• The use of a Likert-type scale when you determine the answers on your survey questions will also help you to build actionable intelligence.