If you’re looking to laugh, turn to social studies.
They quickly realized that they had a real problem measuring the things that go on inside minds.
Take happiness, for example. Early social scientists asked people to self-report. Sort of like on a scale of 1 to 10, how happy would you say your life is in general?
Some would say five, others seven.
And none of those numbers meant anything.
My favorite test of this was when they asked this question near a pay phone. (Why not, this study was not recent, how did you know?)
For the test group, they put a small amount of change in the return of the coin. I’m talking about 20c or something like that. For the control group, nothing.
It turns out that finding an irrelevant small amount of money is enough to increase your reported happiness score by, on average, one full point.
The test group averaged something like 7.5 out of ten, compared to 6.5 for the control.
So there is the solution to unhappiness, right? Hide coins in unexpected places.
Try it with your people and you will see!
Well … maybe not …
People, as we now know, are lousy at self-reporting. We pick a number that feels good and we stick with it.
That means asking your employees how much they trust your organization … well, you could also ask them to pick a random number.
But that is not to say that trust and commitment cannot be measured.
You just have to be crafty.
You have to catch it like a hunter.
That’s how:
Start with a survey. Yes, I know, I just spend hundreds of words making fun of self-information. Roll with him for a second.
A standard Likert-style questionnaire is fine, you know, the ones that have a series of statements asking if you totally disagree or agree with each one.
In it, you list specific statements that reflect some aspect of trust. For instance:
“I often feel energetic at work.”
“My boss often micromanages me.”
“I am proud to work for this organization.”
Gather these responses before the change initiative begins.
Why?
Because while the answers may tell you little, comparing them tells you a lot.
If you chuckled about the 20c story above, this is what I mean. A lonely happiness rating didn’t tell you anything about human nature. But comparing two happiness ratings tells you a lot.
Maybe the first round of the survey will tell you something, like your employees are excited but exhausted.
Maybe it’s just a lot of noise.
Either way, when you repeat the survey in six or 12 months, it gives you something to compare it with.
I trust that the swing will be in your favor.