The Power of Compassionate Leadership: How to Help Behavior Technicians Thrive
As behavior analysts, we should understand the importance of creating a positive and nurturing environment for our behavior technicians. Cultivating a motivated and engaged team leads to better outcomes for clients and a more fulfilling work experience for the staff. In this blog post, we will explore various strategies to support and uplift RBTs, ensuring their professional growth and overall well-being.
Continuing Education
If your company doesn't offer continuing education to behavior technicians, consider creating a document with free workshops, podcasts, talks, etc. that you update monthly. I did this with my techs, and they really liked it. This doesn’t have to be required, but is a nice resource for those who want to learn more about applied behavior analysis (ABA).
Article Review Groups
Start monthly or quarterly meetings where you and a group of techs get together to discuss an article. This is a great opportunity to not only discuss behavior analytic research, but also interpret other texts, such as news articles or pop culture pieces, from a behavior analytic perspective. The only potential issue with this is that, for the sake of fairness, these groups be paid, and I realize not every company is willing to invest in their staff in this manner.
Pizza Parties!
JUST KIDDING. Kind of. Having the company buy lunch/donuts/coffee now and then really can help boost morale. It’s just important that it’s not the only thing the company is doing for their staff.
Encourage Behavior Technicians to Become Leaders (BUT never pressure a tech to become a behavior analyst)
Recognize that not all technicians want to be BCBAs and that we should not pressure them to pursue it. Support and nurture all staff, not just the ones who are in grad school, or are planning on becoming behavior analysts. Technicians should have the opportunity to pursue other positions in your company such as scheduling coordinator, lead behavior technician, circle time leader, etc.
Weekly Newsletter w/ Formal Check-Ins
This is one that takes some energy to implement, but I found it really useful: Every Monday morning, I sent out clinic updates and reminders via email. I’d also include staff birthdays and celebrations, upcoming important dates, as well as an ABA meme. I also included a link to a weekly survey that checks in on RBTs. In this survey, I included a rating scale for how motivated they were feeling, how supported they felt currently, and a couple of places for open-ended feedback. The key is to follow up with technicians whose ratings show a need for support.
Hold Team-Building Events That Don’t Include Continuing Education/Training
These events should be based on getting to know one another, relaxing, and having fun together. I have some ice-breaker activities for RBTs coming to my TPT store soon. These kinds of events are especially important for in-home-only staff, since working in homes can be pretty isolating.
As behavior analysts and clinic leaders, it is our responsibility to create a work environment that nurtures and supports all staff. By implementing these strategies, we can empower our RBTs to grow professionally, develop their skills, and feel appreciated for their hard work and contributions. Investing in the well-being of our staff ultimately benefits our clients and leads to a more cohesive and successful team. Building a supportive work environment for behavior technicians should be an ongoing commitment, especially since it fosters a positive culture and contributes to the long-term success of your learners.
