Digital Nudge, a key (trans) training tool for companies

For Richard Thaler, famous for the Nobel Prize in Economics he received in 2017, it is possible to help people make better decisions with nudges.

What is Nudge?

Have you ever used a GPS with the intention of getting to an appointment more quickly? So you are already familiar with the concept of NJudge.

Nudge is a “boost”, a gentle incentive that encourages you to make the best decision: here, follow the shortest path. By following the assisted navigation system, which highlights the recommended routes, you can make sure you arrive safely as possible (and at the same time, you save yourself the hassle of thinking about which direction to take...).

Nudge works in the same way by encouraging individuals to take action, that is, to carry out a behavior that they used to have. intending. This is a behavioral incentive and is always optional. As with GPS, you are not never constrained. to follow one route rather than another: you stay entirely at all times unhindered to choose the itinerary you will finally take.

Source: Samuel Foster/ https://unsplash.com/@samuelfoster_co_uk

These “boost” devices rely on our cognitive functioning (and the fact that our abilities are limited) by simplifying information, recalling it, changing the framework or the way in which it is presented, or by exploiting the influence of others on our decisions... By respecting the principle of transparency (the individual must know that he is “nudged”), these different nudges modify the architecture of choice at the right time and are really likely to guide our final decision (leading to the desired action).

Note that nudge is Proteiform : it can be physical (you are probably viewing the now known image of a sticker representing a fly placed in a urinal to encourage men to “aim” just for example) or it can be digital (for example a GPS itinerary to encourage people to use one path rather than another).

Digital nudge or the opportunity to personalize the incentive

The use of nudges in digital products is becoming more and more common, whether to encourage behaviors within the digital environment (nudge-graphics) or outside (nudge-parameters). This growth can be explained by several reasons: on the one hand, a Recent 2019 study conducted by two researchers from the prestigious Karlsruhe Institute of Technology shows that digital nudges are just as effective as “traditional” nudges (i.e. in a physical context). On the other hand, digital technology offers the possibility of personalizing the experience.

La personalizing “nudges” is an additional asset to support the transition to action. Indeed, although we share systematic “inconsistencies” (our famous cognitive biases), we think and we behave relatively differently depending on the context in which we find ourselves, and also according to our personality or our motivations

To fully understand this point, I suggest that you go back to Behavioral model by BJ Fogg (B=MAP). According to him, three ingredients are needed to take action (Behaviour): the motivation (motivation), the sense of ability (consider yourself capable of carrying out the action, Ability), and the trigger (associated with an internal or external element, Prompt). Let's say you are offered the action “Download an adblocker on your browser”:

• You are not familiar with digital technology and find the action too complicated: you need a capacity nudge (a Facilitator according to BJ Fogg). For example, a direct download link.
• You are not motivated to do this action because you did not see the point in it: you need a motivational nudge (a Spark according to BJ Fogg). For example, a statistic on how much time this will save you, which will stimulate you.
• You don't have the opportunity to take action, or can't find the time: you need a trigger nudge (a Signal according to Fogg). For example, a reminder or a time slot in your calendar.

In this context, the personalization of digital nudges takes on its full value: it is possible to adjust the incentive mechanisms according to the characteristics of individuals (and actions!). Whichever lever is activated (Motivation, ability, prompt), digital nudges offer the possibility of significantly increasing the chances of initiating action.

From training to action, in a work situation

At Fifty, we pay particular attention to nudge-parameters, i.e. all persuasion attempts in our interface (digital incentives) that are capable of encouraging the adoption of behaviors outside the interface (in real life).

Our tool is particularly effective in responding to the challenge posed by (trans) training in companies. The incentive mechanisms used in the interface are personalized according to the profiles, as are the recommendations for micro-actions. This personalization is essential in a post-training support or as part of a transformation since it makes it possible to support employees individually according to their difficulties (going from know At make).

Also, being competent in a professional context means interacting effectively with your environment. La skill is therefore always dependent on its finalized implementation framework, including the real situation. Digital nudges make it possible to encourage action in a work situation, in a realistic frame. In other words, they facilitate the concrete practice of new behaviors relevant to the development of each of the employees.

Thanks to all of its digital nudges, Fifty's e-doing solution really helps to move from intentions to actions. Our motto: Stop talking, start doing!

• Ariely, D., & Jones, S. (2008). Predictably irrational. New York, NY: Harper Audio.
• Fogg, B.J. (2019). Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
• Kahneman, D. (2012). System 1/System 2: The two speeds of thought. Flammarion.
• Thaler, R.H., & Sunstein, C.R. (2017). Nudge: the gentle way to inspire the right decision. Vuibert.
• Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. science, 185 (4157), 1124—1131.