Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00823-y

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Professional Skills for Behavior Analysts: A Survey on the Proficiency

and Importance of Hard and Soft Skills
Landon S. Cowan1 · Tiffany Kodak1

Accepted: 8 June 2023 / Published online: 12 July 2023

© Association for Behavior Analysis International 2023

Abstract
Individuals seeking certification as board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) require training in both hard and professional
(soft) skills. Trainees seeking certification complete coursework, supervised fieldwork experience, and a BCBA exam that
assesses mastery of hard skills. However, training and mastery of soft skills is not as defined. BCBAs are also expected to
maintain these skills throughout their career. Previous research has shown that soft skills are viewed as important by clients
and their caregivers but are not consistently demonstrated from those providing services. Research also suggests that BCBA
trainees may not consistently receive training on soft skills. The current study presents the results of a survey distributed to
individuals who supervise BCBAs on the proficiency of hard and soft skills demonstrated by their supervisees. The results
suggest future directions for the research and training of soft skills for current and future BCBAs.

Keywords Professional skills · Soft skills · Graduate training · Training practices · Advancement practices · Promotion

Board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) must demon- soft skills are likely discussed and practiced as they relate
strate numerous competencies to obtain and maintain their to the performance of various hard skills, guidance on the
credential as outlined in the current BCBA Task List and training and mastery of soft skills is not well-defined. For
Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (Behavior Analyst Cer- instance, although the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts
tification Board [BACB], 2017, 2020). These competencies includes examples of soft skills critical to ethical practice
include both hard and professional (soft) skills. Hard skills (e.g., collaborating with colleagues), it is unclear how these
are those that are job specific, such as conducting functional skills should be specifically trained and assessed (BACB,
assessments and designing and implementing interventions 2020, 2.10).
to teach functional skills and decrease challenging behaviors. Researchers in human-service professions, such as health
Soft skills are those related to the interpersonal, communi- care and human resources, have identified numerous soft
cative, and organizational skills an individual demonstrates skills that are important for individuals to display in their
with colleagues, clients, and caregivers. Examples of soft daily work. For example, Dolev et al. (2021) described 10
skills include effectively prioritizing activities, giving and soft skills important for health-care workers to demonstrate
accepting feedback well, demonstrating empathy and com- including interpersonal relations and collaboration, flexibil-
passion to others, and independent problem-solving skills. ity and innovation, and empathy. The authors then devel-
Individuals seeking a BCBA credential must success- oped a supplemental tool that educators in health care could
fully complete several requirements, such as coursework, apply to existing curricula to embed the teaching of these
supervised fieldwork, and a BCBA exam (BACB, 2022). soft skills with hard skills. Richmond (2021) summarized
Much of the content covered in these requirements are hard research on the importance of communication, empathy,
skills (i.e., job specific) and the ethical practices that com- adaptability, collaboration, and problem-solving skills in
prise them. Although it is reasonable to expect that certain human resource roles. The author noted these soft skills are
frequently identified by employers as skill deficits by their
* Tiffany Kodak employees and applicants. In response, the author recom-
[email protected] mended the development of individualized or cohort-spe-
cific performance- and competency-based training curricula
1
Marquette University, 525 North 6th Street, Milwaukee, designed to address observed soft-skill deficits.
WI 53203, USA

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200 Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211

Researchers have also begun to gather information about extent to which a broader range of soft skills are demon-
the soft skills of behavior analysts through a series of stud- strated by BCBAs in their workplace. As paralleled in other
ies aimed at assessing respondents’ views on specific soft human-service professions (e.g., health care and human
skills. For example, Taylor et al. (2019) conducted a sur- resources), the broader identification of soft skills that are
vey with caregivers of individuals receiving services from important to the job of a BCBA and are being demonstrated
BCBAs to determine the quality of therapeutic relationships inconsistently can provide directions for future research on
(compassionate care). The authors found that although car- how to best teach these skills to current BCBAs and BCBA-
egivers considered empathy and compassion to be essen- trainees (Dolev et al., 2021; Richmond, 2021). In addition,
tial behaviors of their service providers, these skills were gathering data on specific soft skills that are necessary for
inconsistently observed. LeBlanc et al. (2020) conducted a advancement and promotion may encourage BCBA train-
follow-up survey with current BCBAs to determine whether ees to seek opportunities to learn these skills and encourage
respondents received explicit training during their course- training programs to teach these skills to produce leaders
work or supervised fieldwork on compassionate care. The and innovators in the field of behavior analysis. A popula-
majority of respondents reported that they did not receive tion well-suited to provide information on soft skills that are
specific training on this topic during their coursework or needed for employment and promotion is BCBAs who serve
supervised experience. Instead, most respondents indicated in a supervisory capacity for other BCBAs (e.g., those in a
they independently pursued learning opportunities on com- senior or clinical director role).
passionate care. Although Taylor et al. and LeBlanc et al. The purpose of the current study was to assess how often
investigated the proficiency and training of one soft skill various soft skills are demonstrated, which soft skills are the
(i.e., compassionate care) and found a need for further train- most important for the job of a BCBA, which are the most
ing, it remains unclear whether their results apply to other likely to lead to a promotion, and which are the most in need
types of soft skills. of improvement. We surveyed BCBAs who supervise other
Other researchers have investigated the characteristics of BCBAs to report their observations about the prevalence
skilled clinicians, some of which likely include soft skills. and importance of various soft and hard skills to the job of
For example, Zayac et al. (2021) collected data on the char- a BCBA.
acteristics and skills that BCBAs attribute to exemplary
behavior analysts. The authors first asked respondents to
submit up to five qualities they associated with an exemplary Method
behavior analyst. The authors then aggregated the responses
into a list of 35 characteristics. They then asked respondents Participants
to rate the importance of each of the characteristics and to
select their top 10. Among the skills respondents selected Individuals with BCBA or BCBA-D credentials were invited
as the top 10 skills of an exemplary behavior analyst were to respond to the survey. Similar to LeBlanc et al. (2020), we
the qualities of being an effective communicator, analytical, recruited participants through the Behavior Analyst Certifi-
and client centered. Some of the top-rated qualities from cation Board’s (BACB) email distribution service, regional
this survey were rather broad, such as being “professional.” professional organizations (Mid-American Association for
However, being professional likely consists of several com- Behavior Analysis and Texas Association for Behavior Anal-
ponent soft skills. Therefore, it would be beneficial to iden- ysis), and posts on the authors’ personal Facebook accounts.
tify more specific soft skills that may comprise these broader All individuals with BCBA or BCBA-D credentials and all
characteristics. current members of the professional organization received
Further investigation of soft skills is warranted to identify the recruitment message through the BACB’s and regional
the skills that BCBAs frequently display or require addi- organization’s email services, respectively. Due to the nature
tional training. The BACB’s Supervision Training Curricu- of the distribution modalities, it is unclear how many indi-
lum Outline (BACB, 2018) includes recommendations for viduals received and opened the recruitment message.
measuring and teaching soft skills to supervisees such as All surveys in which respondents indicated that they
time management, development of problem-solving skills, either assisted with or lead the supervision of BCBAs for
prioritizing activities, flexibility, adapting social skills to their respective organizations were included in the analysis.
the audience, and organization. Nevertheless, supervisors Respondents were not required to answer every question in
report being uncertain of how to measure and teach these the survey to participate. For example, if a respondent pri-
soft skills during supervised fieldwork experience (Sellers marily worked in a supervisory and training role but did not
et al., 2019). Although previous research has provided data assist with determinations about promotions and advance-
on the caregivers’ perspectives and training on specific soft ments within their organization, they were not required to
skills, additional research is warranted to investigate the answer questions related to those practices. Therefore, some
Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211 201

surveys included in the analysis were incomplete. A total of skills were most likely to lead to a promotion or new work
262 surveys were recorded. Forty surveys were excluded opportunities.
from further analysis because the respondents indicated that Prior to selecting soft skills to include in the survey, the
they did not assist with or lead the supervision of BCBAs for second author contacted several organizations that employ
their organization. An additional 32 responses were excluded behavior analysts who work in various settings (e.g., schools,
from further analysis after reviewing and removing all spam clinics, client homes, community settings, vocational sites).
responses (see below). Thus, 189 surveys were analyzed. Individuals in those organizations were asked to nominate
soft skills that were important for their BCBAs to display and
Instrumentation lead to success in their workplace. Based on their responses
and alignment with many of the soft skills included in
The survey was developed within Qualtrics, with enabled the BACB Supervision Training Curriculum Outline, the
settings to prevent multiple submissions and to anonymize authors included the 12 most frequently identified soft skills.
responses (i.e., omit IP addresses and location data). The The 12 soft skills included in the survey were effectively
survey allowed respondents to return to previous questions prioritizing activities, giving and accepting feedback, solu-
(except for the first question of the survey) and start, leave, tion-based problem identification, building and maintaining
and then return to the survey within 1 week of their last positive relationships and interactions, time management,
response to the survey. professional communication, demonstrating empathy and
The survey included a maximum of 25 questions. (A compassion to others, balancing results- and relationship-
copy of the survey is available from the second author upon driven behavior, flexibility, independent problem-solving
request.) Some of the questions were formatted as follow- skills, attention to detail, and effective collaboration. We
up questions that only appeared contingent on responses to included brief examples for three of the soft skills (solution-
a previous question. Questions were formatted as a mix- based problem identification, balancing results- and rela-
ture of multiple choice, rating scales, and open response. tionship-driven behavior, and independent problem-solving
Questions were divided into three sections: demographics, skills) to help respondents categorize behavior related to
observation and proficiency of hard and soft skills, and the more abstract skills. The example for solution-based prob-
training and advancement practices of the respondent’s lem identification was a BCBA “identifying that other staff
organization. Before the second and third sections of the members are arriving late to work and offers solutions to
survey, we provided respondents with a definition of both address the problem.” The example for balancing results-
hard and soft skills. The definition of hard skills was “those and relationship-driven behavior was a BCBA “balancing
that are included on the BACB's exam for entry level behav- active listening while a caregiver describes a problem with
ior analysts. These are job-specific skills, such as conduct- the identification of strategies that can be used to address
ing functional assessments and designing and implementing the problem.” The example for independent problem-solving
interventions for skill acquisition or behavior reduction.” skills was a BCBA “using available resources to solve the
The definition of soft skills was skills “related to one’s social problem before requesting assistance.”
or communication skills with clients, caregivers, or other
staff members. Examples of “soft” skills include effectively Demographics
prioritizing activities, giving and accepting feedback, solu-
tion-based problem identification, building and maintain- The first section of the survey collected demographic data
ing positive relationships, time management, professional on respondents. In particular, respondents were asked to
communication, demonstrating empathy and compassion to indicate their credential level (BCBA or BCBA-D), their
others, flexibility, and independent problem-solving skills.” primary work setting (e.g., private clinic, client’s home,
The purpose of the survey was to collect information school), and how many BCBAs were employed in their
from individuals involved in the supervision and training organization. Respondents were also asked to identify what
of BCBAs on their observations and experiences regarding percentage of their work time each week was spent complet-
the proficiency of various hard and soft skills demonstrated ing activities related to supervision or training of BCBAs,
by their supervisees. The experimenters designed questions administrative duties (e.g., authorizations, review of data),
to assess the relative proficiency of hard and soft skills of and director responsibilities (e.g., organizational manage-
BCBAs and measure the relevance of these skills for job ment). Finally, respondents were asked to indicate how many
performance and advancement opportunities. For example, of the current BCBAs at their organizations came from vari-
one question asked respondents to rank the relative impor- ous recruitment strategies (e.g., job postings at universities,
tance of various hard and soft skills. Another question in-house candidates, online advertisements, conference
asked respondents to identify and rank which hard and soft expos/job fairs).
202 Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211

Observation and Proficiency of Hard and Soft Skills (Grosjean & Ibanez, 2018), and “readxl” (Wickham &
Bryan, 2019) packages. All open-ended data (i.e., written
The next section of the survey collected information about responses) were coded into categories by two data collectors.
respondents’ observations of the demonstration and profi- First, the primary data collector (the first author) reviewed
ciency of hard and soft skills by the BCBAs in their organi- all written responses for each question and developed
zation. Respondents first indicated how often their supervi- response categories. For example, after reviewing the writ-
sees demonstrated various skills on a 5-point Likert scale ten responses for the questions, “What type of promotions
(never, rarely, sometimes, often, always). Respondents then or additional responsibilities would you offer to a BCBA
rated the extent to which their supervisees demonstrated with good soft skills,” the primary data collector created the
each skill sufficiently on a 5-point scale ranging from response categories (1) clinical responsibilities; (2) leader-
“strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” Next, respondents ship roles; (3) professional development opportunities; and
were asked to rate the relative importance of various soft (4) no opportunities based on soft skills alone. The primary
skills. Respondents provided these ratings by dragging and data collector also created an “unable to categorize” group
reordering a list containing 12 soft skills as well as a space for each question if one or more responses could not be
for them to write in an additional skill (“other”). coded due to unclear meaning or insufficient information.
This group was rarely used across questions.
Training and Advancement Practices Next, a secondary data collector reviewed approximately
33% (range: 33%–50%) of written responses for each ques-
The final section of the survey asked respondents about tion and coded the responses using the categories created by
training and advancement practices within their organi- the primary data collector. The primary and secondary data
zations. The first question asked respondents whether the collector’s categorized responses were then compared to cal-
BCBAs’ skill(s) in need of improvement tended to be hard culate interobserver agreement (IOA). An agreement was
skills, soft skills, or whether both were equally in need of defined as the data collectors coding a response in the same
improvement. The second question asked respondents about category for that question. Total agreement was calculated
the way their organization responds when a BCBA’s per- for each survey question by dividing the number of agree-
formance needs improvement (if no legal or ethical viola- ments by the total number of agreements and disagreements
tions have occurred), such as termination of employment, and multiplying the quotient by 100. Overall interobserver
a probationary period, or training/retraining. Respondents agreement for categorization of written responses was 91.3%
who indicated that their organization provided training or (range: 78%–100%).
retraining for performance deficits were then asked about A second independent data collector also collected data
their degree of confidence (based on a 5-point scale ranging on the identification of spam responses. The first author
from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”) that they have developed criteria for categorizing surveys as containing
sufficient experience and resources to provide training for spam responses (see below). Thereafter, 64 surveys (32
hard and soft skills. surveys identified by the first author as containing spam
The next two questions in this section asked respondents responses and 32 surveys not identified as containing spam
to indicate the types of skills (1) that are most likely to lead responses) were reviewed and categorized by a second data
to a promotion and (2) are most in need of improvement for collector using the criteria developed by the first author. An
the BCBAs at their organization. Respondents were able to agreement was defined as both observers assigning the same
select as many (or as few) skills that applied to their organi- categorization to the survey (i.e., both categorized the sur-
zations. Respondents were also asked to report the types of vey as a spam response, both categorized the survey as a
promotions or additional responsibilities that are available nonspam response). Total agreement for the identification
for individuals with good hard and soft skills in their organi- of spam responses was calculated by dividing the number of
zations. The final question of the survey asked respondents agreements by the total number of agreements and disagree-
their opinion on the importance of research on the preva- ments and multiplying the quotient by 100. Interobserver
lence and teaching of soft skills to BCBAs and BCBA train- agreement for categorization of spam responses was 98.4%.
ees. Respondents answered this question by indicating their The single disagreement was a result of the secondary data
degree of agreement, ranging from “very important” to “not collector scoring a response as a spam response (based on
at all important.” time stamp and duration of the survey) when the primary
data collector did not. The first and second authors reviewed
Survey Analysis and Interobserver Agreement this response; in the end they retained it for analysis because
although the duration of the survey response was relatively
All quantitative data were analyzed in R (R Core Team, brief, like other spam responses, the respondent included
2021) using the “psych” (Revelle, 2021), “pastecs” behavior-analytic terminology (e.g., “BST”) in their written
Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211 203

responses that was not included in any survey questions or Table 1  Respondents’ credentials and workplace demographics
instructions. Survey Question and Response Options n %

Procedure Which of these credentials do you currently possess?

BCBA 154 79.2
A brief description of the survey and the survey link were BCBA-D 18.8
distributed through the BACB’s email distribution ser- What is the primary work setting for your organization?*
vice, several regional professional organizations, and the Private clinic 151 42.4
authors’ personal Facebook accounts. The Facebook posts Client’s home 32.5
were initially set as visible to the public to allow for sharing School 25.2
of the survey information by others on the site; however, Community 13.2
these posts were subsequently reset to be visible only to University-based clinic 12.6
the authors’ Facebook friends due to a series of spam sub- Other 9.3
missions immediately following the post (see below). After Hospital 3.3
completing the survey, respondents were given the opportu- How many BCBAs are employed in your organization?
nity to provide their contact information in a separate Qual- 1–5 152 46.7
trics survey (i.e., a survey tab that was independent of their 6–10 17.1
answers to the main survey questions) to enter a raffle for 11–15 9.9
one of sixteen $40 gift cards. 16-20 8.6
After data collection concluded, the experimenters More than 20 (Range = 27–300+) 17.8
reviewed a subgroup of 32 surveys that were flagged as *Opportunity to select multiple response options
spam submissions for several reasons. First, the submis-
sions all occurred in rapid succession (i.e., submitted
within minutes of each other) within a 48-hr period fol- BCBA-Ds (n = 29, 18.8%). Respondents indicated that
lowing the public Facebook posts and were completed they worked in private clinics (n = 64, 42.4%), client
primarily during the late hours of the night in the United homes (n = 49, 32.5%), schools (n = 38, 25.2%), commu-
States (i.e., between 12:00 am and 5:00 am). Second, many nity settings (n = 20, 13.2%), university-based programs
of the submissions were incomplete or had a completion or clinics (n = 19, 12.6%) and hospitals (n = 5, 3.3%).
duration of 3 min or less. Third, many of the submissions Of the nine respondents who reported they worked in
contained open-ended responses that were irrelevant to “other” workplace settings, five indicated they worked in
the question or duplicated across questions. For exam- residential/long-term care facilities (55.6%), two worked
ple, in response to the question “Please explain why you in academic/university positions not directly affiliated
agree that the BCBAs you supervise demonstrate suffi- with a clinic (22.2%), one worked in a nonprofit organi-
cient ‘soft’ skills,” one respondent wrote, “Play can train zation (11.1%), and one worked in a remote (telehealth)
children’s creativity, such as imaginative play with toys.” role (11.1%). Within these settings, respondents reported
Finally, the contact information submitted for the raffle allocating their working hours to multiple responsibilities
with similar time stamps to the survey responses were including the supervision and training of BCBAs, admin-
nearly identical email addresses that varied only by a few istrative duties, director responsibilities, direct services,
numbers and characters at the end of the address. All sur- supervision of direct staff (e.g., registered behavior techni-
vey responses and entries for the raffle sharing the char- cians), consultation, and academic activities (e.g., research,
acteristics described above were excluded from further writing, teaching). Few respondents (n = 8, 5.3%) reported
analysis and the raffle. allocating more than 90% of their work each week to a
singular task.
Respondents reported working for organizations of
Results varying workforce size. Approximately 64% of respond-
ents (n = 97) reported that their organization employed
Demographics 10 or fewer BCBAs. Another 18% (n = 27) of respond-
ents indicated that their organizations employed more
Tables 1 and 2 summarize the respondents’ answers to the than 20 BCBAs. These respondents also had the option
professional and organizational demographic questions. to specify the number of BCBAs in their organiza-
Not all the 189 analyzed surveys included responses to tion. Some respondents reported working in organiza-
every question. Thus, the n for each question varies (range: tions with more than 300 BCBAs (i.e., large agencies
75–154). Respondents were BCBAs (n = 122, 79.2%) and with multiple clinic locations). Across organizational
204 Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211

Table 2  Respondents’ job task allocation and workplace recruitment strategies

Survey Question and Response Options n 0%–25% 25%–50% 50%–75% 75%–90% 90%–%

In general, what percentage of your time each week is spent engaging in the following activities?
Supervision or training of BCBAs 151 51.7 27.8 14.6 4.0 2.0
Administrative duties (e.g., authorizations, review of data) 28.9 46.3 20.8 3.4 0.7
Director responsibilities (e.g., organizational management) 43.0 32.4 18.3 4.2 2.1
Other 34.2 42.1 13.2 7.9 2.6
All > Half 50% < Half Few None
To the best of your knowledge, how many of the current BCBAs at your organization came from these recruitment strategies?
Job postings at local universities/university job fairs 144 4.5 3.8 1.5 12.0 22.6 55.6
In-house candidates completing supervised fieldwork 23.6 13.9 14.6 12.5 17.4 18.1
Online advertisements (e.g., Glassdoor, social media) 17.4 10.1 7.2 12.3 20.3 32.6
Conference expos/job fairs 0.0 0.8 0.8 7.0 22.7 68.8
Other 6.3 9.5 0.0 4.8 11.1 68.3

settings, 82% of respondents indicated that at least a few Observation and Proficiency of Hard and Soft Skills
(ranging to all) of the current BCBAs in their organiza-
tion were recruited internally. In addition, approximately Table 3 summarizes respondents’ answers regarding how
68%, 45%, and 31% of respondents reported the recruit- often the BCBAs they supervise demonstrate hard and soft
ment of current BCBAs using online advertisements, skills. Approximately 75% of respondents (n = 113) indi-
job postings at local universities, and conference expos, cated that their supervisees often or always demonstrate suf-
respectively. An additional 15 respondents indicated that ficient hard skills. About 81% and 78% of respondents indi-
“word of mouth” recruitment was a primary strategy for cated that their supervisees often or always demonstrate the
their organizations. soft skills of building and maintaining positive relationships

Table 3  Note: This data is mandatory. Please provide

Survey Question and Response Options Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always

Please rate how often your BCBA supervisees exhibit each of the following “hard” and “soft” skills.
Building and maintaining positive relationships/interac- 0.0 1.8 16.8 54.0 27.4
tions
Professional communication skills 0.0 0.9 21.2 55.8 22.1
Hard skills 0.9 2.8 21.3 57.4 17.6
Gives and accepts feedback well 0.0 4.5 22.3 51.8 21.4
Approaching conversations with empathy and compassion 0.9 3.5 23.0 50.4 22.1
Effective collaboration within teams 0.0 4.5 26.8 47.3 21.4
Time management/respecting people’s time 0.0 5.4 27.7 52.7 14.3
Flexibility 0.9 4.5 32.1 38.4 24.1
Attention to detail 1.8 1.8 36.9 43.2 16.2
Effectively prioritizes activities 0.0 5.3 36.3 51.3 7.1
Balancing results- and relationship-driven behavior 0.9 7.1 35.4 42.5 14.2
Independent problem-solving skills 0.0 8.0 46.0 36.3 9.7
Solution-based problem identification 2.7 20.4 38.9 30.1 8.0
Strongly Disagree Somewhat Neither Agree nor Somewhat Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree
Please rate the following statements: The BCBAs you supervise demonstrate sufficient
“Hard” skills 0.0 6.3 10.7 50.0 33.0
“Soft” skills 2.7 12.5 11.6 52.7 20.5

n = 105–113. All values represent percentages

Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211 205

and interactions and professional communication skills, fieldwork experiences) was insufficient. Respondents (n =
respectively. Seventy-three percent of respondents reported 47, 100%) who agreed that their supervisees demonstrate
that their supervisees often or always demonstrate the soft sufficient soft skills indicated that their supervisees have
skills of giving and accepting feedback well and approach- either received training on these skills previously, are cur-
ing conversations with empathy and compassion. Less than rently displaying these skills, or were currently making
70% of respondents (range: 38%–69%) indicated that their adequate progress in learning these skills. Respondents
supervisees often or always demonstrate the soft skills of (n = 13) who disagreed that their supervisees demonstrate
effectively prioritize activities, solution-based problem iden- sufficient soft skills reported that either they have observed
tification, time management/respecting people’s time, bal- their supervisees performing one or more soft skills incor-
ancing results- and relationship-driven behavior, flexibility, rectly (n = 5, 35.8%) or that these skills are difficult to
independent problem solving, effective collaboration within train (n = 8, 57.1%).
teams, and attention to detail. Approximately 38% and 46% Table 4 summarizes respondents’ (n = 107) ratings of
of respondents indicated that the least common soft skills relative importance of various soft skills. Respondents
for their supervisees to demonstrate often or always were indicated that the relative most important soft skill was
solution-based problem identification and independent prob- building and maintaining positive relationships and inter-
lem solving, respectively. Further, approximately 59% and actions (M = 4.16, Mode = 1). The remaining rank order
54% of respondents indicated that their supervisees only from second to fifth according to mean scores was giving
sometimes or rarely demonstrate solution-based problem and accepting feedback well (M = 4.57, Mode = 3 and 5),
identification and independent problem solving, respectively. effectively prioritizing activities (M = 5.37, Mode = 4),
Overall, 83% of respondents (n = 112) either strongly or professional communication skills (M = 5.42, Mode = 1,
somewhat agreed that their supervisees demonstrate suf- 2, and 5), and approaching conversations with empathy
ficient hard skills whereas only about 6% somewhat disa- and compassion (M = 6.08, Mode = 8), respectively. In
greed. In comparison, approximately 73% of respondents contrast, the remaining rank order from second to fifth
either strongly or somewhat agreed that their supervisees according to mode scores were professional communica-
demonstrate sufficient soft skills whereas about 15% either tion skills (M = 5.42, Mode = 1, 2, and 5), solution-based
strongly or somewhat disagreed. When asked to explain problem identification (M = 6.22, Mode = 2), giving and
why respondents (n = 56) agreed that their supervisees accepting feedback well (M = 4.57, Mode = 3 and 5),
demonstrated sufficient hard skills, they indicated that their and effectively prioritizing activities (M = 5.37, Mode
supervisees either (1) currently demonstrate sufficient hard = 4), respectively. Thus, depending on whether mean or
skills and have adequate previous training (n = 50, 89.3%); mode was used to determine rank order of importance,
or (2) are displaying sufficient progress in improving their the rankings for solution-based problem identification and
hard skills (n = 5, 8.9%). When reporting why they disa- approaching conversations with empathy and compassion
greed that their supervisees demonstrated sufficient hard differed substantially. Only one respondent nominated an
skills, all respondents (n = 7, 100%) explained that their “other” skill (effective analytic skills) and provided their
supervisees’ previous training (coursework and supervised ranking.

Table 4  Respondents’ average Skill Mean Mode Range

ranking of the importance of
various soft skills Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships/Interactions 4.16 1 1–11
Gives and Accepts Feedback Well 4.57 3, 5 1–12
Effectively Prioritize Activities 5.37 4 1–12
Professional Communication Skills 5.42 1, 2, 5 1–12
Approaching Conversations with Empathy and Compassion 6.08 8 1–12
Solution-Based Problem Identification 6.22 2 1–12
Time Management/Respecting People's Time 7.23 10 1–12
Flexibility 7.23 7 1–12
Balancing Results- and Relationship-Driven Behavior 7.27 10 1–12
Independent Problem Solving Skills 7.39 10 1–12
Effective Collaboration within Teams 7.83 11 1–12
Attention to Detail 9.32 12 1–12

n = 198. Respondents were asked to rank soft skills from 1 (most important) to 12 (least important)
206 Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211

Training and Advancement Practices behavioral skills training (BST); components of BST,
or other similar training modalities (n = 64, 80%); (2)
Table 5 summarizes respondents’ answers regarding whether mentorship programs or performance meetings (n = 13,
hard or soft skills deficits were more common for their 16.3%); and (3) referrals to workshops, CE events, and
BCBAs and how their organization responds when perfor- relevant readings (n = 17, 21.3%).
mance needs improvement. Overall, approximately 45% of When asked whether they had sufficient experience
respondents (n = 96) indicated that deficits in soft skills and resources to teach soft skills, approximately 91%
were more common for the BCBAs in their organization. of respondents strongly or somewhat agreed. When
Nearly 44% of respondents indicated that deficits in hard asked why respondents (n = 62) felt they had sufficient
and soft skills were equally common, whereas approxi- experience to teach soft skills, approximately 89% (n =
mately 12% of respondents indicated that deficits in hard 55) reported that their previous experiences, trainings,
skills were more common. When responding to performance colleagues, and available resources were sufficient in
deficits, nearly 80% of respondents (n = 121) reported that preparing them to teach soft skills. Nearly 31% (n = 19)
their organization provided training or retraining, 8.3% of of respondents also reported that they (or their organiza-
organizations implemented a probationary period, and 3.3% tions) have prioritized the training of soft skills and have
terminated the individual’s employment. Some respondents developed curricula and other resources for this purpose.
(n = 11) also indicated their organizations address perfor- An additional 15% (n = 9) of respondents indicated that
mance deficits via additional measures, such as mentorship they utilize resources from other professions (e.g., coun-
and learning plans (n = 7, 63.6%) and performance meetings seling and psychology) for teaching soft skills. To teach
(n = 4, 36.4%). soft skills, respondents (n = 79) reported using (1) BST;
For respondents who indicated that their organization components of BST, or other similar training modalities
provided training or retraining for performance deficits, (n = 64, 81%); (2) mentorship programs or performance
97% of respondents (n = 89) indicated that they strongly meetings (n = 29, 36.7%); and (3) referrals to work-
or somewhat agreed that they have sufficient experi- shops, CE events, and relevant readings (n = 7, 8.9%).
ence and resources to teach hard skills. When asked why In addition, two respondents (2.5%) reported that they
respondents (n = 66) agreed or disagreed on this point, were unsure of a formal training process for soft skills
approximately 77% (n = 51) reported that they had access in their organizations.
to a sufficient pool of literature, continuing education Table 6 summarizes the percentage of respondents who
(CE) events, workshops, and other training resources to marked each skill as (1) leading to promotion and (2) in
competently teach hard skills. Approximately 61% (n = need of improvement in their organization. The skills are
40) of respondents also referenced their own previous listed in rank order of how many respondents indicated
experience or training as being sufficient. The resources each skill would lead to a promotion in their organization.
that respondents (n = 80, 89.7%) reported using to Respondents (n = 73) indicated that the top four skills most
teach hard skills in need of improvement included (1) likely to lead to a promotion were good hard skills (76.7%),
independent problem solving (74.0%), building and main-
taining positive relationships and interactions (71.2%), and
solution-based problem identification (60.3%). Attention to
Table 5  Tendencies for Inadequate skill performance, organizational
detail was the skill indicated to be the least likely to lead to
response, and importance of soft-skills research a promotion (41.1%). In addition, one respondent (1.4%)
wrote in “willingness to take on additional responsibilities”
Survey Question and Response Options n %
as an “other” skill to consider for promotion. In comparison,
In general, when a BCBA’s performance is in need of improvement, the top four skills that respondents (n = 71) reported were
is the skill typically a “hard” or “soft” skill? in need of improvement were independent problem solv-
“Hard” skill deficits are more common 96 11.5 ing (52.1%), solution-based problem identification (50.7%),
“Hard” and “soft” skill deficits are equally common 43.8 balancing results- and relationship-driven behavior (49.3%),
“Soft” skill deficits are more common 44.8 and both flexibility and time management/respecting peo-
In general, how does your organization respond when a BCBA’s ple’s time (45.1%). Effective collaboration within teams was
performance is in need of improvement?*
the skill identified as least in need of improvement (26.8%).
Termination of employment 121 3.3
One respondent (1.4%) wrote in that their organization was
Probationary period 8.3
specifically targeting skills related to diversity, equity, and
Training or retraining 79.3
inclusion for improvement.
Other 9.1
Table 7 summarizes the types of promotional oppor-
*Opportunity to select multiple response options tunities that respondents indicated were available for
Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211 207

Table 6  Type of skill leading Professional Skills Skills Leading to Skill in Need of
to promotions and in need of Promotion Improvement
improvement in organizations
Rank % Rank %

Hard Skills 1 76.7 7 40.8

Independent Problem Solving Skills 2 74.0 1 52.1
Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships/Interactions 3 71.2 10 36.6
Solution-Based Problem Identification 4 60.3 2 50.7
Gives and Accepts Feedback Well 5 57.5 10 36.6
Balancing Results- and Relationship-Driven Behavior 5 57.5 3 49.3
Professional Communication Skills 7 54.8 9 39.4
Effective Collaboration within Teams 7 54.8 13 26.8
Flexibility 9 46.6 4 45.1
Time Management/Respecting People's Time 10 45.2 4 45.1
Approaching Conversations with Empathy and Compassion 10 45.2 10 36.6
Effectively Prioritizes Activities 12 43.8 6 43.7
Attention to Detail 13 41.1 7 40.8
Other* 14 1.4 14 1.4

n = 71–73. These questions instructed respondents to select which of the following hard and soft skills are
most likely to lead to a promotion and are most in need of improvement in their organization. Respondents
could select all that applied

individuals with good hard and soft skills. Overall, eight respondents (21.7%; 8.7%) also reported that addi-
respondents (n = 67) indicated that individuals with good tional clinical responsibilities and opportunities for contin-
hard skills were primarily eligible for both leadership, ued professional development were available to individu-
director, trainer, and research opportunities (n = 44, als with good soft skills, respectively. Similar to reports
65.7%), additional clinical responsibilities (more clients/ for hard skills, 10 respondents (10.1%) also indicated that
billable hours, more clinical responsibilities, etc.; n = there were not opportunities for promotion or for promo-
35, 52.2%), and opportunities for continued professional tions based on soft skills alone in their organizations.
development (e.g., paid conference attendance; n = 8, Of the 75 respondents who provided their opinion on the
11.9%). Ten respondents (14.9%) reported that there were importance of research on the prevalence and teaching of soft
not opportunities for promotion or for promotions based skills to BCBAs and BCBA trainees, approximately 89% of
on hard skills alone in their organizations. Respondents (n respondents indicated soft-skills research was very impor-
= 69) overwhelmingly indicated that leadership, director, tant and 9% indicated that it was somewhat important. One
trainer, and research opportunities (n = 52, 75.4%) were respondent indicated that they did not have an opinion on this
available for individuals with good soft skills. Fifteen and statement.

Table 7  Promotions Available to individuals with good hard and soft skills
Survey Question and Response Options n %

What type of promotions or additional responsibilities would you offer to a BCBA with good hard skills?
Clinical (more clients, more billable hours, tougher clients, etc.) 67 52.2
Leadership/clinical director/training positions/research/etc. 65.7
Opportunities for continued professional development (e.g., paid conference attendance) 11.9
No opportunity for promotion at organization or not for hard skills alone 14.9
What type of promotions or additional responsibilities would you offer to a BCBA with good soft skills?
Clinical (more clients, more billable hours, tougher clients, etc.) 69 21.7
Leadership/clinical director/training positions/research/etc. 75.4
Opportunities for continued professional development (e.g., paid conference attendance) 8.7
No opportunity for promotion at organization or not for soft skills alone 10.1

Opportunity to select multiple response options

208 Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211

Discussion relative importance), this skill may be likely to lead to

a promotion because of the likelihood that a supervisor
The current survey data extend the literature on the identi- will need to be successful in resolving these types of
fication, prevalence, and importance of various soft skills problems for their supervisees who do not have these
in the daily work of a BCBA. In particular, the results of skills. Thus, BCBAs who are proficient in these prob-
this survey provide information on the current strengths lem-solving skills seem well-positioned to differentiate
and weakness of BCBAs of a subset of soft skills as themselves from their peers for promotions.
observed from supervisors across various employment set- Many supervisors also indicated that soft skills like effec-
tings. These data replicate and extend the results of Zayac tively prioritizing activities, attention to detail, balancing
et al.’s (2021) assessment of the qualities and behaviors of results- and relationship-driven behavior, and flexibility
exemplary behavior analysts. The authors found that cur- only rarely or sometimes occurred relative to other hard
rent BCBAs characterized an exemplary behavior analyst and soft skills. This may be particularly concerning given
as someone who displays a variety of hard and soft skills that supervisors ranked balancing results- and relationship-
such as being data driven, analytical, and professional. driven behavior as one of the most important soft skills for
Given that being “professional” was listed as 1 of the top supervisees to demonstrate. Effectively prioritizing activities
10 rated characteristics, identifying the specific soft skills was also ranked as one of the top four most important soft
that would lead to someone being perceived as profes- skills, and this soft skill is also listed in the BACB Supervi-
sional is warranted. Our data contribute to this task by sor Training Curriculum Outline 2.0 (BACB, 2018). Grad-
identifying specific soft skills that are viewed as impor- uate programs and fieldwork supervisors should consider
tant, in need of improvement, and likely to lead to promo- prioritizing training of these soft skills during fieldwork
tion. The results of this survey suggest that supervisors of experience to assist trainees in entering the job market as
BCBAs find soft skills equally as important as hard skills exceptional candidates.
and in need of improvement in many cases. In fact, nearly Strategies for training these skills by graduate programs,
45% of supervisors reported that deficits in soft skills were fieldwork supervisors, and supervisors of current BCBAs
more common than deficits in hard skills, and about 44% appear to be limited, however. Ninety-one percent of
reported that they were equally as common. respondents reported that they possess sufficient experience
Perhaps one of the clearest patterns was the impor- and resources to address deficits in soft skills, which differs
tance of independent problem solving and solution-based from the 18%–42% of respondents in Seller et al. (2019)
problem identification as skills that are likely to lead to who reported not knowing how to measure or teach the soft
promotion (ranked ­2 nd and ­4 th, respectively) while also skills of time management, organization, and prioritiza-
being the top two skills in need of improvement. Inde- tion. Nearly all respondents in the current survey indicated
pendent problem solving was ranked lower in terms of that they typically utilized their own personal experiences
importance ­( 10 th) relative to other soft skills. This may when delivering this training. In addition, 31% reported
suggest that although independent problem solving is that their organizations have developed a training protocol
not as necessary of a skill for entry level BCBA posi- to address soft-skill deficits. This suggests that supervisors
tions, it is a skill that appears to be in the greatest need have encountered enough supervisees with deficits in soft
of improvement and one that is likely to lead to promo- skills that a formal training protocol was warranted. Further,
tion. For example, a BCBA talks with a caregiver who it appears that these protocols are based upon the previous
is concerned about the quality of services provided by experiences of supervisors within these organizations in the
the staff members working with their child. A BCBA absence of published resources. Organization-specific pro-
who engages in independent problem solving might tocols are also not accessible to external graduate programs
respond by gathering information and discussing this and fieldwork supervisors who could target these skills with
concern with the caregiver, communicating the concern trainees before they obtain employment. Therefore, the
to their supervisor, and describing a plan for providing development and dissemination of empirically validated
feedback and training to the staff members to address soft-skills training protocols is warranted. One outcome that
the problem. A BCBA who does not engage in inde- could arise from these data is the creation of supplemental
pendent problem solving might instead communicate tools for measuring and teaching various soft skills that edu-
the caregiver’s concern to their supervisor and expect cators and supervisors could embed in their current training
the supervisor to provide a solution to solving the prob- curricula primarily focused on hard skills (e.g., Dolev et al.,
lem or become involved in resolving the issue. Although 2021; Rohrer et al., 2021).
these problem-solving situations may not occur as often In comparison, about 97% of respondents indicated
as opportunities for other soft skills (thus reducing their they possessed sufficient experience and resources to
Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211 209

train supervisees who display deficits in hard skills. These fewer opportunities (thus a lower level of importance) to
respondents reported having access to a sufficient pool of lit- display the skill in a given job setting. For example, a BCBA
erature, CE events, workshops, and other training resources providing in-home services to clients will likely have fewer
to support this. This is likely because the teaching of hard opportunities to collaborate with a team of other profession-
skills is required to prepare BCBA-trainees for certification. als compared to a BCBA working in a school or hospital.
For example, Iwata et al. (2000) and Ward-Horner and Stur- Future research should assess the relative importance and
mey (2012) described procedures using BST (or components opportunities to demonstrate various soft skills across job
of BST) for teaching trainees to conduct functional analyses. settings.
In the current survey, about 79% and 81% of respondents The results of this survey offer some initial data to assist
reported utilizing BST (or components of BST) to train their instructors and fieldwork supervisors in identifying soft
supervisees to engage in hard and soft skills, respectively. skills to prioritize for training. Graduate training programs
This is promising because it suggests that supervisors are could begin by targeting skills that were identified as rela-
frequently incorporating evidence-based training practices tively most important and in need of improvement, such
into their organizations. In addition, these data indicate that as problem solving and building and maintaining positive
the development of additional training packages comprised relationships. It may be helpful to begin by breaking down
of methods like BST to teach soft (and hard) skills is war- relevant soft skills into individual component skills. For
ranted. That is, many supervisors reported implementing example, Rohrer and Weiss (2022) identified 11 subskills
BST in their clinical practice, which suggests that BST train- that comprise compassionate care skills. All or a portion
ing packages targeting these skills are comprised of compo- of subskills could then be measured and targeted through
nents that are familiar to supervisors, within their clinical both coursework and fieldwork experiences. For example,
repertoire, and have a high degree of social validity. course instructors could develop class activities that involve
Taken together, these data suggest that supervisees are going through a series of problem-solving steps for a sce-
not consistently demonstrating several important soft skills, nario related to the class topic. Researchers have also dem-
and there are few systematic approaches available to train onstrated the teaching of soft skills with BST (Rohrer &
these skills. However, it would be incorrect to conclude Weiss, 2022). Outcomes of this training could include social
that these concerns relate to all soft skills. For example, validity measures completed by course instructors, fieldwork
respondents reported that their supervisees demonstrate supervisors, and consumers. In addition, outcomes of train-
the soft skills of building and maintaining positive relation- ing in courses could be directly applied to fieldwork experi-
ships and interactions and professional communication at ences so that trainees have natural opportunities to practice
higher relative levels than hard skills. This suggests that these soft skills with consumers.
graduate programs and fieldwork supervisors are already Some limitations of the current study should be noted.
sufficiently targeting these soft skills and may not need to The extent to which our sample is representative of the popu-
increase training or research on these skills. In addition, the lation of BCBA supervisors in the field is unclear. This is the
soft skill of approaching conversations with empathy and case for two reasons. First, we did not collect demographic
compassion was ranked as one of the lowest skills in need data on some respondent variables such as age, ethnicity,
of improvement (­ 10th out of 1­ 3th). In fact, nearly 73% of gender identity, years of experience in the field, and cur-
respondents indicated that their supervisees often or always rent job title. Second, and related to the first, it is unknown
demonstrate this skill. Given previous surveys on this topic how many BCBAs currently work in a position that includes
conducted by Taylor et al. (2019) and LeBlanc et al. (2020), the supervision of other BCBAs. We are not aware of any
these data may seem contrary to their findings. One reason statistics from the BACB or other researchers that show
for this could be that these publications, and presentations the demographic makeup of BCBAs who supervise other
at professional conferences that have provided guidance on BCBAs, which we believe would be a subset of the total
how to provide services with empathy and compassion, have number of BCBAs. That is, even within a large organization
increased training and instruction on this topic. Another rea- with dozens of BCBAs, only a proportion of these individu-
son may be that BCBAs view and evaluate the compassion- als work in clinical supervisory positions. Future research
ate skills of other BCBAs differently than do the caregivers should investigate this subpopulation of BCBAs to deter-
in Taylor et al. (2019). A third reason could be that we did mine how many individuals work in this type of role so that
not define compassionate skills as specifically as Taylor et al. future studies have a representative sample with which to
(2019) and LeBlanc et al. (2020). compare their findings.
For other soft skills ranked lower in importance, such as In addition, the survey included 12 soft skills for respond-
effective collaboration within teams, it is possible that these ents to evaluate. There are certainly other important soft
skills are not as important for entry-level BCBA positions skills that could have been included and should be measured
(similar to independent problem solving) or that there are in future surveys. For example, we did not include specific
210 Behavior Analysis in Practice (2024) 17:199–211

options related to cultural responsiveness and humility. We efficient procedures for training and refining these skills in
agree with the importance of cultural responsiveness and both current BCBAs and BCBA-trainees. The findings of
humility, and refer the interested reader to other reviews, the current study can be used to guide future research and
such as Mathur and Rodriguez (2022) and Kirby et al. practice focused on soft-skills training. Researchers and
(2022), who discuss these skills further. A dilemma inher- practitioners could prioritize research on skills identified as
ent to any investigation on the relative importance of skills most important and in greatest need of training (e.g., effec-
is determining an appropriate number to include in any one tively prioritizing activities, independent problem solving,
survey. For example, Zayac et al. (2021) included 35 char- solution-based problem identification).
acteristics of exemplary behavior analysts in their survey.
Acknowledgements We thank Maria Clara Cordeiro, Stephanie Hood,
In one series of questions, the authors divided this list of Marisa McKee, Jessi Reidy, and Jeffrey Tiger for their helpful com-
characteristics into smaller groups for respondents to provide ments in the development of the survey used in this study. We thank
an initial rating of the importance of each skill. In the subse- Brittany Brown for her assistance with data collection.
quent question, the authors asked the respondents to select
Funding This study was funded by a John Schiek Immediate Impact
their top 10 characteristics from the full list. Some of the Research Grant.
characteristics, therefore, were ranked as having a high level
of importance but fell lower on the full ranking. The authors Data Availability Deidentified data can be made available upon request.
suggested that these outliers in the top 10 rating may have However, data will not be deposited in a repository.
been influenced by participants having to respond to many
characteristics at once. We attempted to limit this issue by
Declarations
selecting relatively fewer skills to investigate. In addition, we Editorial Process This article has not been previously published and has
included an option (“other”) to add in an additional skill on not been (or will be) submitted elsewhere during the review process.
questions asking respondents to rate the soft skills; however,
only one respondent wrote in an additional skill (data collec- Conflicts of Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to dis-
tion), which was best categorized as a hard skill. close.
Dr. Tiffany Kodak is on the editorial board for Behavior Analysis in
We developed this subset of 12 soft skills through a Practice.
review of the BACB Supervisor Training Curriculum Out-
line 2.0 (BACB, 2018) and an informal inquiry with employ-
ers of behavior analysts in the United States. These employ-
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