Nudging the nudger: Performance feedback and organ donor registrations

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Economics
• Public Health Interventions
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Effective strategies are needed to increase organ donor registrations.
• Performance feedback is a known motivator in various professional settings.
• Understanding the impact of peer comparison on performance is crucial for optimizing interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of performance feedback on organ donor registration rates among customer-service representatives (CSRs).
• To determine if adding peer comparison to performance feedback enhances or diminishes its impact on registration rates.
• To explore CSRs' perceptions of performance feedback and its influence on job meaningfulness and motivation.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving nearly 700 CSRs from a Canadian government agency.
• Data collection occurred over 2.5 years across three waves.
• Interventions included repeated performance feedback, with and without peer comparison information.

Main Results:

• Performance feedback led to a 25% increase in daily organ donor signups compared to standard encouragements.
• Incorporating peer performance benchmarks did not significantly change the registration rates.
• Both high and low performers showed increased registration rates.
• CSRs found the feedback helpful and motivating, reporting increased job meaningfulness.

Conclusions:

• Repeated performance feedback is an effective strategy for boosting organ donor registrations.
• Peer comparison does not appear to amplify the positive effects of performance feedback in this context.
• Performance feedback, particularly with benchmark data, can be highly motivating while minimizing perceived pressure.