Working Late – POOGI for ABA

I once worked at a place that had a strong culture of everyone working many extra hours. Some of these hours were incredibly useful. Sometimes there was work to do for a particular client that required a lot of preparation. Taking the time to really prepare well could potentially make a big difference. But many staff stayed late working on silly projects because you had to look like you were working hard. That’s what management expected. As you might expect, this led to resentment, high turnover rates, and unsatisfied staff.

This problem isn’t as easy to solve as it sounds. Later, when I became a supervisor, I tried to focus on the results of what people were doing, not whether they were staying late or not since I realized what huge negative effects occurred with that other type of approach. That might be fine in some businesses, but it is incredibly difficult to measure what results should be expected from BCBAs working with children with autism. It is very difficult to compare the results of one BCBA working with one set of kids to another BCBA working with a different set of kids.

I ended up with the opposite problem; high performers were angry that some people took advantage of my flexibility. As always, this is on a Poogi–but the closest that I’ve come to a reasonably solution to this problem is to make sure to block out time to have conversations with staff on a regular basis. During these conversations it is possible to set expectations, provide reinforcement, and monitor performance and feedback in a meaningful way that staff usually find reinforcing.

Even if we can’t predict how much progress a particular child should make in the next 6-months to 1-year, we can make very good decisions about what actions are needed in the next week and what reasonable results would be under a short time frame (e.g., 1-week). Of course, you need to actually see it for yourself. Now, with the technology currently available, it is possible to dramatically improve supervision by staff and supervisors watching critical parts of therapy sessions together. Some ABA cultures haven’t caught up to this practice yet, but I suspect that is just a matter of time.

Behavior analytic services should only be delivered in the context of a professional relationship. Nothing written in this blog should be considered advice for any specific individual. The purpose of the blog is to share my experience, not to provide treatment. Please get advice from a professional before making changes to behavior analytic services being delivered. Nothing in this blog including comments or correspondence should be considered an agreement for Dr. Barry D. Morgenstern to provide services or establish a professional relationship outside of a formal agreement to do so. I attempt to write this blog in “plain English” and avoid technical jargon whenever possible. But all statements are meant to be consistent with behavior analytic literature, practice, and the professional code of ethics. If, for whatever reason, you think I’ve failed in the endeavor, let me know and I’ll consider your comments and make revisions, if appropriate. Feedback is always appreciated as I’m always trying to POOGI.