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The impact of the physical environment on supervisory communication skill transfer

Introduction

The instrumentation cell of Thomas Gilbert’s behavior engineering model speaks not only to tools directly related to job performance, but also to environmental factors that may indirectly support or impede workers’ performance. What does research say about the impact of the physical environment on the transfer and application of newly acquired workplace skills, esp., communication skills?

Article

Kupritz, V. W., & Hillsman, T. (2011). The impact of the physical environment on supervisory communication skill transfer. Journal of Business Communication, 48(2), 148-185. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0021943610397269

Background

The process of successfully transforming learned work practices to on-the-job performance continues to present challenges to training and development practitioners. There is much research devoted to examining the relationship between the training and organizational contexts in which practices are learned and applied; however, it is only recently that the physical environment has been recognized as a significant influence on the transfer of learned skills. Recent studies (e.g., Tracey and Tews, 2005; Holton, 1996; Russ-Eft, 1995) acknowledge a broad range of influences that extend beyond the immediate training intervention. This shift in focus leads to an understanding of WHY training transfers (or doesn’t transfer) versus simply determining WHETHER training transfers, and provides insight into why the same training program may yield markedly different results in different situations.

A study of organizational factors influencing transfer (Kupritz, 2002) found that the second most frequently mentioned factor (after positive management support) was supportive workplace design. According to supervisors who participated in the study, functional properties (structural, ergonomic, and aesthetic) of the workplace environment seemed to exert some influence on communication skills transfer. Given the costly, long-lasting, and highly visible nature of physical facilities, it is worthwhile to consider the potential impact their physical and symbolic properties may have on employees.

Research

The researchers were interested in learning more about the influence of physical environment on transfer of newly acquired communication skills. They employed accepted ethnographic methods in a two-phase case study of non-academic supervisory personnel at a major land-grant university. All personnel had attended one four-hour workshop, the purpose of which was to improve interpersonal communication skills with employees. The supervisors had been applying the learned skills for about six months.

The first phase of the study involved focused interviews of 24 supervisors. The supervisors answered 17 interview questions over a 30-60 minute period. Structured interviews were conducted using the Heuristic Elicitation Methodology (HEM) technique, in which the language of the participants is used in a series of interlinked questions, with participant responses plugged into subsequent questions. Questions focused on workplace conditions, design features, and situations supervisors felt might have enhanced or encumbered their on-the-job use of their new skills.

In the second phase of the study, the researchers administered a survey questionnaire in person to 50 supervisors. The response rate for the survey was 100% with no missing data. The questionnaire consisted of a beliefs matrix and preference ranking. Categories reflected language used and features mentioned by respondents during interviews conducted in the first phase of the study. The beliefs matrix consisted of 198 questions cross-referencing 22 design features with 9 training skills. The preference ranking determined the relative importance of the 22 design features mentioned in the beliefs matrix.

Findings and Implications

Content analysis for the Domain Definition interviews was conducted. Cumulative frequencies calculated for four domains or categories indicated that the following were what supervisors believed facilitated or impeded transfer of communication skills:

  1. workplace design
  2. management support
  3. availability of resources, technology, and equipment
  4. coworker support

Frequency tallies show that workplace design was perceived as exerting the greatest influence over transfer of supervisors’ newly acquired communication skills. Frequencies were highest for design features supporting private communication needs (e.g. offices with doors or group meeting spaces). Cronbach’s alpha was computed for design features across the nine activities in the beliefs matrix. Significant positive and negative Z-scores were reached 127 times, with features related to privacy (doors, wall heights) appearing to have the greatest influence on transfer. Preference rankings of design features yielded similar findings.

Much of the transfer discussion related to architectural privacy needs and problems with employee interaction, suggesting that physical layout may affect richness of communication and social presence. The researchers acknowledge that findings from a case study of such limited size should not be generalized. However, the study’s results do suggest that training departments be mindful of the disconnect between quiet, controlled classrooms and real-world workplace environments, and how differences in setting affect skills transfer.

Questions for OPWL-N Members

How does the physical configuration of your workplace impact your communication with other workers? Was employee performance a consideration in the design of the space?

Workplace Oriented Research Central (WORC)
Prepared by OPWL Graduate Assistant, Susan Virgilio
Directed by OPWL Professor, Yonnie Chyung
Posted on March 7, 2013