Improving staff performance through clinician application of outcome management.
Train supervisors to run a short data-driven feedback loop and staff skills stay strong for months.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Reid et al. (2005) trained clinical supervisors to run a six-step outcome-management loop. The loop sets clear targets, tracks child data daily, teaches staff the skill, and gives quick on-the-job feedback.
The study took place in community programs for children with autism, ID, or developmental delay. The clinicians coached direct-care staff who worked with the kids each day.
What they found
After the package started, staff used more prompts and the kids joined in more often. These gains were still there 14 weeks later.
In plain words, when supervisors used data to coach, staff kept teaching and kids kept participating.
How this fits with other research
Ganz et al. (2004) ran almost the same six-step loop one year earlier with adults in a day program. Their norm-referenced goals also lifted staff teaching and client engagement, showing the loop works across ages.
Greene et al. (1978) did the first key step: they simply posted client graphs where staff could see them. That alone beat supervisor praise for improving client gains. H et al. folded that public-graph idea into the full package.
Aznar et al. (2005) tested bi-weekly feedback to teachers writing behavior plans. Like H et al., short scheduled feedback kept fidelity high, but H et al. added goal setting and daily child data to the mix.
Why it matters
You can copy this loop in any clinic. Pick one child goal, graph it daily, meet with staff for five minutes, show the numbers, model the skill, and give instant feedback. No extra money, just a clipboard or tablet. The 14-week follow-up says the habit sticks, so your staff keep teaching and your clients keep learning.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In two studies, three clinicians were assisted in using an outcome management approach to supervision for improving the work performance of their staff assistants. Using vocal and written instructions, feedback, and modeling, each clinician was assisted in specifying an area of staff performance (or consumer activity related to staff performance) to improve, developing and implementing a performance monitoring system, training staff in the targeted performances using performance- and competency-based training, and providing on-the-job supportive and corrective feedback. In Study 1, a senior job coach was assisted in using the outcome management steps to improve prompting procedures of three staff job coaches working with supported workers with autism in a community job. Correct prompting improved for all three job coaches following implementation of the outcome management process by the senior job coach. In Study 2, two teachers in two adult education classrooms were assisted in using the process to improve the degree to which their assistants involved students with severe disabilities in meal-preparation activities. Student participation in the activities increased in both classrooms when the teachers implemented the outcome management steps. In both studies, improved performances maintained for at least a 14-week period. Results are discussed in regard to working with supervisors as representing one step in promoting the adoption of research-based supervisory strategies within human service organizations.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2005 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2004.05.002