A supervisory strategy to improve work performance for lower functioning retarded clients in a sheltered workshop.

Allison et al. (1980) tested a hands-on boss package in a sheltered workshop. Sixteen adults with intellectual disability packed, sorted, and labeled items. Supervisors gave short prompts, quick feedback, and small rewards. The team used a multielement design, flipping conditions each day to see what worked.

Every worker produced more when the package ran. Gains ranged from a little bump to a full 150% jump over baseline. The lowest performers showed the biggest leaps.

Ganz et al. (2004) later added norm-referenced goals and a six-step management loop in a similar adult day program. Their clients stayed engaged for a whole year, showing the 1980 recipe can last when you bake in clear targets and steady data reviews.

Reid et al. (2005) moved the same train-and-feedback logic to community clinicians. Supervisors who learned the package raised their own staff’s prompting and client participation for 14 weeks. The 1980 workshop trick works outside the workshop when you teach the boss first.

Greene et al. (1978) tried public graphs alone and beat plain praise. Allison et al. (1980) bundled graphs with prompts and rewards, proving the extras stack nicely.

If you run adult day or vocational programs, you now have a quick script: prompt the task, give instant feedback, add a tiny reinforcer. Do it daily and you can double output without new equipment. Track each worker’s count on a wall chart so everyone sees the climb.