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Employee burnout in ABA: 3 sustainable solutions to combat it

Increasing employee pay or PTO are fast and obvious ways to reduce YOUR staff turnover. However, ABA practices don’t always have the revenue to meet such long-term costs, especially with the uncertainty of the pandemic. Here are three sustainable, affordable and efficient methods to help reduce staff turnover and increase employee satisfaction while optimizing your ABA practice. 

High employee turnover can be costly and disruptive for organizations and directly affects the rest of the team. What is commonly experienced is an increase in workload and a decrease in morale, ultimately resulting in a drop in performance. This domino effect can have a profound impact on employee well-being and the overall workplace environment in ABA.

According to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in August 2021. That’s a 2.9% increase in the U.S. workforce, the highest percentage ever reported by the BLS. As the pandemic continues, the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) industry is feeling the brunt. With enormous demands on ABA therapists and operational staff, agencies need to assess their company culture and current practices to ensure their employee retention rates remain high. 

Employee burnout usually results from a lack of control, unclear job expectations, dysfunctional workplace dynamics, lack of social support or notably, work-life imbalances. When looking to reduce employee turnover, organizations should consider their employee growth tactics, invest in better systems and improve communications through clear channels. 

Encourage Growth

Within the ABA market, growth, retention and learning are key outcomes agencies aim for with patients. Employees should be no different. Enabling your team to attend industry conferences, ABAI-Accredited Degree Programs or encouraging them to read scholarly literature can inspire them to build their careers. By showing your team that you are willing to invest in them, they will naturally feel a greater sense of appreciation and reciprocation. This bilateral commitment to continual learning helps foster growth from within and ultimately impacts the success of outcome-based care. As this industry shows no signs of slowing down, it is imperative that companies commit to better employee satisfaction. According to a report by the BCBA there has been a strong and increasing demand for behavior analysts throughout the US over the last 10 years. 

At Lumary, we encourage our team to continue learning through our LumaLearn sessions and Rise training programs. Rise is an online platform where Lumary employees can access free courses on topics that support personal development and team members are encouraged to explore a growth mindset. Not only is continual further education critical in healthcare, it is also needed in our fast-changing technological world. One of our core values at Lumary is Always Growing. Seeking out learning opportunities, both personally and professionally, is a big part of our company culture. 

“Learning and personal development are vital to professional success. There may be situations that push us to think differently, and it is important to approach everything we do with a mindset of learning and growth. ” – Joseph Mercorella, Lumary CEO.

 As ABA is an evolving healthcare market, it has an ever-changing professional infrastructure. By including learning and development in your company culture, you can always stay up to date on the industry regulations and requirements. At Lumary, we support ABA providers by reducing the admin workload as much as possible. By sending alert notifications on expiring certifications and tracking supervision, employees have more time to deliver quality care and focus energy on their personal and professional growth. Our referrals feature also shows you where your employees are being referred from and their turnaround timeline. This data can be a crucial element in getting a holistic understanding of your workforce and what the best ROI will be

Improve Clinician Experience

Tech can feel like a curse or blessing in our ‘always-on’ world. The wrong software platform can cause significant disruption and place unnecessary stress on your team. Downtime, poor scheduling systems, inoperable software, and data silos are just a few of the areas where outdated tech can contribute to your high staff turnover. The daily concerns around providing high-quality care are top priority and tech must enable you to perform at your best.   

At Lumary, we see you as a provider and our partner. This partnership is pivotal in enabling scalable and sustainable growth. Lumary ABA is an intuitive platform designed and developed by ABA experts and tech engineers. The platform integrates with best-in-class applications to create one digital solution for your entire ABA practice. By operating with a single source of truth, you can alleviate the frustrations your team may be feeling and focus on providing excellent care to your clients. However, adopting a new system or process may propose new challenges. Gaining ‘buy-in’ from the entire team is necessary for impactful change. For steps on how to successfully implement new software, you can read our blog about effective change management here.

Employee retention will ultimately depend on whether your employees feel valued or not. By investing in better tech, you can not only increase your profits, but you can also empower clinicians and enhance their experience.

Those who operate in ABA know it can be a highly demanding industry – emotionally, mentally and physically. If you are experiencing high turnover, perhaps it is the right time to reassess how you’re supporting your team. By reaching out and asking them how they feel about the current systems they’re using, you’ll improve effective engagement and better understand some of the pitfalls that may lead to employee burnout. 

Lead With Heart

Clear channels of communication with your team will allow for more open-hearted conversations. With Lumary ABA, you can facilitate quick check-ins and ensure your staff are being supported. Casual conversations using the Chatter feature within the Lumary ABA solution brings teams together in a more holistic way. The formality of email can be kept for client communication to have more powerful conversations with your employees. No matter where your team is located, you can quickly connect and share updates, tasks and guidance on client matters. 

“In the past, jobs were about muscles. Now, they are about brains, but in the future, they’ll be about the heart.” – Minouche Shafik, Director, London School of Economics.

Supervisors or mentors who show vulnerability, humility, transparency and empathy allow themselves to connect more with their team. Connecting on a deeper level makes it possible to identify burnout within your own team before it is too late. 

Reach out for a demo today to learn more about how Lumary ABA can support you and your team.