A Survey of Staff Training and Performance Management Practices: An Update
Most BCBAs still aren’t trained to supervise others—close the gap with a quick BST cycle.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Blackman et al. (2023) sent a survey to ABA agencies. They asked how staff get trained and watched.
They compared the 2023 answers to a 2015 survey. Same questions. Same rating scales.
What they found
Training got a little better. More agencies now give new staff at least 40 hours of training.
But only 4 out of 10 supervisors ever learn how to supervise. Most still learn on the job.
How this fits with other research
Jimenez‐Gomez et al. (2019) showed that short BST coaching lets techs master naturalistic skills. Hillman et al. (2021) proved BST can teach adults with ASD to run DTT with near-perfect accuracy.
Mount et al. (2011) hit 100 % treatment integrity with a computer BST package. These single-case wins clash with the survey’s big picture: most agencies still skip structured training for bosses.
The gap is not a contradiction. The lab studies show BST works when you use it. The survey shows most agencies simply don’t.
Why it matters
You can copy the lab model today. Pick one supervisee skill, write a 10-step task list, film a gold-standard clip, and give feedback until they hit 90 % for two sessions. Track it on a simple graph. In 30 minutes you just closed the supervisory-skills gap the survey exposed.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The field of behavior analysis has experienced marked growth in the number of credentialed professionals over the last decade. This growth may have implications for the quality of staff training, performance management, and supervision practices provided in human service settings. The purpose of this survey was to extend DiGennaro Reed and Henley (2015) by surveying credentialed and aspiring behavior analytic professionals on the staff training, performance management, and supervision practices available at their current place of employment. Three main differences were observed in relation to the findings of DiGennaro Reed and Henley. The current findings indicate notable changes in the demographic characteristics of survey respondents. In addition, we observed modest increases in the use of best practices for initial and ongoing training and performance management. Results also indicate several areas of concern regarding the provision of supervisory skills training. • Results revealed improvements in the percentage of respondents who received initial or preservice training compared to DiGennaro Reed and Henley (2015). However, employers primarily rely on instructions and modeling to train their employees. • Findings revealed greater reliance on asynchronous and synchronous online training modalities compared to DiGennaro Reed and Henley (2015). • Results revealed a slight shift in the percentage of respondents who reported receiving ongoing training compared to DiGennaro Reed and Henley (2015). In the present study, BCaBAs and RBTs generally received ongoing training; however, fewer BCBAs reported receiving ongoing training. • The reported use of performance management practices improved compared to DiGennaro Reed and Henley (2015). That is, a higher percentage of respondents reported being observed at work while carrying out their job responsibilities. • Of the respondents who supervise staff, less than half of them reported receiving supervisory skills training. And only half of those respondents reported that their training prepared them to supervise others.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2023 · doi:10.1007/s40617-022-00762-0