Continuous Feedback as a Key Component of Employee Motivation Improvement - A Railway Case Study based on the Placebo Effect

The objective of this paper is to present and analyse results from a placebo-based case study concerning the importance of feedback in achieving continuous improvement of train driver motivation. The specifics of the train driver job, which affect motivation are presented, along with motivation theory. The case study, conducted using the placebo effect for three months in a medium-sized Eastern-European railway operator is then presented along with the results. These results show that informing the employees that their efficiency was being monitored and that the best drivers would be rewarded improved efficiency. However, the lack of feedback and stimulation of only extrinsic motivation, caused the employees to lose motivation to improve and further consumed energy reduction could not be observed. These results are analysed and used to validate a proposed gamification system aimed at achieving continuous improvement of employee motivation via a set of gamified techniques and continuous feedback targeting the four basic human needs of competence, relatedness, autonomy and purpose. 1. The specifics of a train driver job Driving a train is one of the more demanding jobs on the market and entry barriers are, contrary to popular belief, quite high. Potential and current train drivers must prove (repeatedly, usually every 2 years) complete physical readiness for the job which means that they possess 20/20 eyesight], perfect hearing and do not suffer from any conditions which may render their driving dangerous [33]. There are also numerous rules and signs that drivers must remember and follow, as well as technical information concerning the operation, service and simple repair of railway rolling stock. All these requirements stem from the fact that trains are usually very heavy (50 to several thousand times more massive than cars) and often drive at high speeds, which makes for long braking distances and large collision masses and speeds and explains why their consequences are usually very serious. This is also the reason for a very complicated and formalised railway traffic control the rules of which every driver must know through and through. The driving process in itself is also more complicated than it seems [27]. Firstly, shifts are often long (up to 12-14 hours) and provide little or no stimuli other than the repetitive process of accelerating and braking the train, opening the door (in case of passenger trains) and waiting for signals. Furthermore, due to potentially catastrophic consequences of a runaway train, almost all rolling stock is equipped with a dead man’s switch usually in the form of an alerter a device which buzzes every few seconds. If the train driver does not push the button in the short time limit (5-10 seconds) the train automatically begins full emergency braking, which may result in delays and harm to passengers. This means that the driver must repeatedly, a few hundred times per shift, press a button in order to confirm he is still in control of the vehicle. These specifics cause the job of a train driver to be very dependent on habits. Another specific problem of this line of work is the lack of feedback on its quality. Drivers are usually paid by the hour of provided work and the only feedback they get is when they fail to follow a rule (stop at a signal, stop at the right place at the station etc.) or when they arrive late at their destination. Delays are a very imprecise way of judging driver performance because they are often caused by events that are outside the control of the driver infrastructure, signalling or vehicle failures, weather or large numbers of people entering and exiting the train at a station. In general, the work of train drivers carries large demands due to safety, norms and long hours of work but there is little reward for those who do their job extraordinarily well. The aforementioned problems with lack of feedback concerning driver performance have led to the research problem discussed in this papercan drivers be motivated to drive more efficiently by the 1278 Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences | 2017 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/41306 ISBN: 978-0-9981331-0-2