An ABA therapist’s experience is greatly dictated by the decisions that their employer(s) make. ABA companies get to determine which professional development course are offered, what’s the compensation, who else is on a care team, what tools are used for data collection, session note generation, and timesheet formation. However, the impact of a therapist’s caseload is likely to be the most influential. Some benefits you know but some may not be as top of mind as they could be. Scroll down and test yourself to see if you can list out all the employee benefits to ABA therapists from better scheduling. Scheduling and staffing automation often leads to better scheduling. Teamwork’s ABA staffing and scheduling platform increases therapist utilization, speeds up onboarding times, and supports cancellation management.

Table of Contents

1. Impacts to Therapists
2. Conclusion

Can you list out all the ways better scheduling and staffing impact therapists?

More hours equal more pay

Okay, this isn’t a tightly held secret. Many therapists are not paid a salary, but rather they are paid hourly. By optimizing the availability of supervisors, technicians, related services and client waitlists, you are also likely increasing the number of therapy hours they can provide. Teamwork’s matching and scheduling platform drives therapist utilization up by 33% within 6 months.

Lower commute time reduces wasted time

Automated scheduling tools factor in commute time and can suggest cases that minimize commute time between therapy locations. This reduces physical and emotional strain on ABA therapists, allowing them to allocate more billable time to their clients. Reduced commute time also results in greater energy and focus during sessions. It also prevents anger because there’s no worse feeling than knowing you got staffed on cases at the opposite ends of town. Teamwork’s platform is directly integrated with Google Maps to automatically pull commute time both by public transit and drive time.

More appropriate caseloads

Quantity and length of billable appointments matter but it’s also important to ensure that therapists are staffed on an appropriate mix of cases as well. Certain therapists are not experienced with supporting certain clients. Some therapists can’t handle working a full day of challenging behaviors. Certain therapists need the right setting to thrive (i.e. they are not a fit for telehealth). Staff more appropriately to allow therapists to succeed and not burn out from a full week of highly challenging behaviors.

Choice gives more ownership and flexibility

Staffing can incorporate the input of ABA therapists. Through our matching tech platform, we allow therapists to express interest in working with certain waitlisted or active clients that fit their flexible schedule. This sense of ownership in selecting their preferences and potential cases can lead to increased job satisfaction and retention.

Faster onboarding

For ABA therapy providers, one of the largest issues with switching or picking the right company, agency or ABA clinic is that ramping up to a full caseload takes a long time. This matters if you’re a therapist paid hourly without a consistent salary. With companies that use scheduling software, they can start staffing therapists while still being recruited and the company will know when availability changes ahead of time so they can forecast and staff more efficiently. 

Better cancellation management

Life happens, schedules change, and so every day the “morning rush” at centers is a huge issue. Better scheduling technology with Teamwork’s automated text or email messaging will kick into action when replacements or schedule changes occur to the whole team. This leads to far more effective use of therapists’ time and energy.

Focused non-billable and overtime management

Commute time isn’t the only thing therapists spend time on. Rest breaks and meal breaks are mandatory in California but also provided by ABA providers in other states. Properly timing those breaks can provide the reprieve that providers need to get through long days as front line therapists. For some companies, therapists even end up getting staffed on too many hours. Teamwork’s platform allows all parties to see what therapist utilization looks like both from desired hours and available hours in order to get to 100% utilization but not cross over that limit.

Less overhead, more pay

With less human resources spent on schedulers, intake coordinators, recruiters and clinical directors for staffing and scheduling, more money for ABA companies is left to spend on improving therapists’ wages!

Conclusion: Better Retention and Better Job Satisfaction

Strategic improvements to staffing and scheduling highlight at least eight multifaceted benefits for your ABA therapists. Improved hours, appropriate caseloads, less commuting, faster ramp up times, and improved autonomy are all huge benefits for therapists. A well-structured schedule and an automated system to handle the inevitable changes in schedules help ensure that therapists have visibility and confidence in their organization to adjust and maximize their availability. We’re all looking for perks to make our therapists happy because therapists who are happy, retained and engaged are able to provide clients with better ABA therapy. If you’re interested in learning what staffing and scheduling solutions are available for ABA providers, we’d love for you to reach out by scheduling a demo! 

Interested in Teamwork? Schedule a Demo!

At Teamwork,we pride ourselves on being different from our competition. Teamwork is built specifically for ABA providers with a focus on clinical quality. We automate manual work associated with scheduling (e.g. calculating commute times) so your team can focus on what’s important: delivering quality care to your patients.

Interested? Fill out the form below to sign-up for a demo of our tool!

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