Enhancing Motivation for Improved Data Quality
Whether it’s goods management or optimizing transport routes: In any number of contexts, accurate data is essential for optimal supply chain management. In many cases, employees have to pitch in with gathering data. But how can they best be motivated to do so when they don’t necessarily have to? In a new study, Prof. Kai Hoberg (KLU) and experts from the University of Sydney addressed exactly this question.
The study focused on truck drivers for a leading postal services provider in Australia. In order to optimize the delivery routes, they were asked to gather data on the delivery processes between the distribution center and end customers. At first blush, the task was simple: For example, the drivers were asked to record how many lattice boxes full of packages they transported and delivered from the distribution center to major customers. “But in many cases, no data was gathered,” reports KLU Prof. Kai Hoberg, who worked at the University of Sydney as part of a research semester. “Apparently, entering the data was seen as an annoying task with no direct connection to value creation.” – a problem frequently encountered in logistics.
Feedback and training are the key
The researchers were soon able to confirm that more stress and fatigue led to fewer and fewer lattice boxes being recorded. But how could the data gathering be improved? The most successful approach proved to be intervention on the part of the management. “Employees with particularly poor track records were directly approached by their supervisor. In a one-on-one conversation, it was explained to them how important it is to accurately record the data,” says Hoberg. In addition, employees were informed through announcements on local bulletin boards.
This produced visible results: The compliance rate jumped from 66 to 88% – without resorting to a salary bump. “Our findings underscore how important motivation, good training, and employee feedback are,” says Hoberg. In addition, firms should consider forms of acknowledging and rewarding cooperation – for example, by treating successful teams to a shared meal at a restaurant. Technological support could also help: “One conceivable option would be for the system to give employees feedback immediately after they enter data, for instance, in the form of a digital award,” Hoberg explains. This type of direct feedback, he claims, can further improve compliance.
Link to the study:
Saman Eskandarzadeh, Behnam Fahimnia, Kai Hoberg, Adherence to standard operating procedures for improving data quality: An empirical analysis in the postal service industry, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Volume 176, 2023, 103178, ISSN 1366-5545, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2023.103178.