Using Performance Feedback to Increase the Billable Hours of Social Workers

One of the most frequent staff interventions is performance feedback. Programmatic simplicity, low cost, flexibility, and relative consistency have contributed to its popularity. The present study provided performance feedback to six social workers working in an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded in an attempt to increase staff productivity and self-management skills. Graphical feedback was presented using a multiple baseline across subjects design. Feedback conveyed past, present, and future performance, and allowed recipients to better manage their time. Results suggest that performance feedback was effective, producing increases of about 10%, and that self-management and consumer satisfaction were also important aspects of the study.