The organization rewards the old behavior while asking for a new one. What should change?
Misaligned incentivesIdentify which targets, workload rules, or recognition practices encourage the old process. Ask the responsible managers to align incentives with the desired outcome, while checking for unintended effects. Communication alone will struggle against an operating model that rewards the opposite behavior.
What to do now
- Identify the rewarded current behavior
- Compare it with the intended process outcome
- Agree changes with the accountable managers
- Monitor for unintended workarounds
When to escalate
The incentive conflict prevents adoption or encourages inaccurate reporting.
The business process owner and change sponsor
Example
A team stops rewarding request volume alone and includes completeness of submitted evidence.
Mistake to avoid
Sending more reminders while leaving contradictory targets unchanged.
Prevent a repeat
Measure successful use of the intended workflow and resolve recurring barriers instead of relying only on attendance or logins.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Tasks
- Documents
- Resources
Assign role-specific readiness and feedback actions, keep reviewed job aids with the project, and record accepted operating responsibilities. See the platform
Related cases
- Adoption improved during launch, then declined. What should we do?Unsustained behavior change
- Our policy still describes the old workflow. Can training solve that?Policy and operating process mismatch
- The vendor reports green while milestones are missed. What should change?Supplier status without evidence
- New employees cannot get access without contacting the old project team. What is missing?Incomplete access-service transition