So You Want to Do OBM Fieldwork?

What Makes OBM Fieldwork Behavior Analytic

Griffin opens with a short definition. OBM stands for Organizational Behavior Management. It applies behavior analysis (changing behavior with tested methods) to people in organizations. The goal is better performance and better outcomes. The science stays the same. Only the setting changes. She stresses this point for BCBAs (board certified behavior analysts) who feel like impostors in OBM. Many are already doing this work. They just call it training, development, or performance work.

So what makes work behavior analytic (built on behavior science methods)? Griffin uses a five step loop: define, measure, analyze, intervene, and evaluate. Run that loop and stay true to the principles of behavior. That holds true in a clinic. It holds true in an office too.

OBM is not a title. You will almost never see the word OBM in a job posting. Griffin knows of one rare group of consultants who carry the title. They focus mostly on performance improvement and behavior based safety (reducing injuries by changing unsafe actions). Everywhere else, look for other names: performance improvement, continuous improvement, training and development.

OBM is not a tool either. A process map (a drawing of work steps) is not OBM by itself. Drawing boxes, words, and arrows is just drawing. It turns behavior analytic when you map the process to find environmental variables (things around a person that affect behavior). Those variables are what drive performance. The same goes for surveys. A survey alone proves nothing. A survey used to find the function of behavior (why the behavior keeps happening) can count.

Analyze, intervene, and evaluate.

From the talk — Maya Griffin

The Sub-Areas of OBM and Why They Shape Your Fieldwork

OBM is a big field. Griffin walks through several sub-areas under the OBM umbrella. She also points to an article that lists about 350 ways to apply behavior analysis. Most supervisees arrive knowing only two of these sub-areas: performance management (improving how people do their jobs) and training and development.

That gap is why she runs an early activity. She walks the supervisee through each sub-area and explains what it covers. The supervisee can then say what pulls them in. Griffin also sends them into the literature for each area. That shows how each area gets defined. It also shows which skills they already have.

One attendee asked about consumer behavior analysis (studying how people make choices) and behavioral economics (the study of choice and money). Griffin said the two overlap a lot. Consumer behavior analysis is about choice making. Marketing is one type of it, but far from the only type. She tied the idea to the matching law (choice follows the better payoff). Behavioral economics also studies choice, but it does not always apply behavior analytic principles. A common view there treats people as fairly unpredictable. Prediction sits at the base of behavior analysis. Griffin pointed listeners to Derek Reed for a fuller answer on that field.

Sub-areas also set the limits of your own practice. Griffin works mostly in performance management and behavioral systems analysis (improving how a whole system works). She has done almost no behavior based safety work. When a supervisee wants that, she refers them out.

Because I want to practice within my competency.

From the talk — Maya Griffin

Can OBM Hours Count Toward BCBA Fieldwork?

Yes. Griffin gets this question a lot, and her answer is short. OBM hours can count, as long as the work meets the fieldwork rules from the BACB (the board that certifies behavior analysts). That caveat does the heavy lifting, so read the rules closely.

She then lists what OBM work can give a supervisee: define and measure behavior, assess variables that affect performance, and design and evaluate interventions (planned changes meant to improve behavior). All of that can happen at the individual, group, or systems level. You are not stuck improving one person at a time. Team performance counts. So do organization wide outcomes.

The handbook stays the reference point. Griffin says the BACB will point you right back to it. The handbook was not written with OBM in mind, so it takes reading and judgment. She checks her own supervision against it on purpose. She also keeps a list that translates the handbook into OBM terms, with acceptable activities on one side and unacceptable ones on the other. Supervisees can then see what counts before investing time in work that will not qualify.

OBM fieldwork can give supervisees opportunities to define and measure behavior

From the talk — Maya Griffin

Where OBM Fieldwork Actually Happens

The short answer is almost anywhere. Griffin shared real examples from her own supervisees, with no names attached. One manages a company that operates across the United States. One is an animal trainer, and the supervision targets the business side of the training company, not the animals. One led product work at a credit card company. One runs operations for a clinical group inside a health care and insurance organization.

That last supervisee is a licensed therapist with no ABA background. Griffin says several of her supervisees have never been RBTs (registered behavior technicians). Some have never set foot inside an ABA clinic. Every one of their hours comes through OBM. Others do their work in ABA clinics or in a group home.

This is good news for people who did not come in through the usual door. The real entry point is interest in the science of behavior.

You can literally do this.

From the talk — Maya Griffin

How to Find and Pitch an OBM Fieldwork Site

Griffin's rule of thumb is simple. Wherever people work toward a shared goal, there may be an opportunity. You still have to be given the chance.

The easiest site is the job you already have. That includes an ABA clinic, in home services, telehealth, or any other employer. Most supervisees pitch it to their own leaders. Griffin hands them a one page explainer to use. It says what OBM is in plain words. It also says what the company gets. That second half matters, since many companies care most about their own results. Some do invest in staff growth, which is wonderful. Either way, lead with outcomes.

Volunteering is the other open door. Nonprofits are usually short on help. Griffin does pro bono (unpaid service) OBM projects with arts and culture nonprofits. She reached out and named the exact work she wanted to do. They were glad to say yes.

Clubs, groups, and religious organizations work too. One person collected supervision hours with a Rotary Club. Someone else asked Griffin about hours with an ultimate frisbee team. Business owners can use their own company. She has supervised co-owners, a sole proprietor, and the owner of an ABA organization. Any system where people need help working better is a candidate.

So there are tons of opportunities.

From the talk — Maya Griffin

How to Evaluate an OBM Supervisor, Including Observation

Not many BCBAs offer OBM supervision. You still have choices, so ask questions. Griffin's first suggested question is blunt: what kind of OBM work have you done? Reading about OBM is not the same as doing it. There are plenty of good articles and books, but none of them replace field time. She keeps taking on consulting work for that reason. That hands on experience feeds her supervision.

The second question is fit. Does the supervisor's experience match what you want to learn? Behavior based safety will not match every supervisor. Behavioral systems analysis or consumer behavior analysis might.

The third question is observation. Ask how the supervisor will watch your work and give feedback. Observation is required in OBM supervision, just as in clinical ABA. Griffin uses two methods. In the first, the supervisee records themselves doing OBM work, such as running a training or giving feedback. She reviews it live or later, then gives feedback. In the second, they share a screen and work in real time. She watches them build the protocol or work the problem, and coaches as they go.

That second method exists for a reason. The organization is the entity she serves, and it is full of people and teams. Workplace culture expects a lot of solo project work. Nobody sits beside you while you write a process improvement protocol. Griffin reads the handbook and the ethics code as a call to respect that culture. Live screen work keeps the observation real without breaking workplace norms.

Contracts, Clients, and Permission Before Hour One

Settle the logistics before the work starts. Griffin's first question is who receives your behavior analytic services. Make sure the fieldwork supervisor and the site both agree to the plan. Put it in writing.

When there are two supervisors, split the roles on paper. Griffin gave an example. A supervisee works in a group home and has a clinical supervisor on site. Griffin does not work there herself. She holds a contract with the site supervisor and the supervisee. She provides OBM services only. Her clients are the people who work at the group home. The other supervisor's clients are the people receiving services there.

The contract should also say what the work will be. You do not need every small detail. General categories are enough, such as evaluating problems and interviewing staff. Confirm the access and permission you need. Protect client identifying information. Protect sensitive employee information too, since OBM work touches plenty of it. Last, write down how the site supervisor will take part. Will they observe? Will they give feedback? Decide that in advance.

Two Paths Through OBM Supervision: Skills First or Project First

Griffin shared her own process, and she called it hers, not the only way to do it. Step one is a skills self-assessment built on the Test Content Outline (the BCBA exam content list). Her tool asks more than what someone knows. It asks what they can do in the real world. Supervisees rate each area as not familiar, basic understanding, or able to do with support. They also mark a priority for supervision. That gives a score for each area.

The scores point to one of two paths, and they choose together. New supervisees usually take the skills based path. It breaks OBM into single parts to practice in the field. Strong, mostly independent supervisees take the OBM project path instead. Supervisees with only a couple hundred hours left often go straight to a project. A full project is still possible for a beginner, though it takes longer since they learn the skills while running it.

The skills path covers one domain per session. Griffin uses a slide with a plain definition and an OBM example. They talk about how that concept shows up in the supervisee's workplace. They may role play what it would look like. Then she offers take home practice. It is optional and on the supervisee's own timetable. They come back, show what they built, and walk her through it. They review the steps, the outcomes, and the barriers. Skills stack up fast, and then people want a project.

The project path has six phases: define the problem, assess the current status, analyze the evidence, design the intervention, implement it, and evaluate it. The early phases are light. The later ones get heavy, with measurement and design work inside them.

Griffin narrows the options with the supervisee, then hands over the choice. The end product is a case study or portfolio piece. It shows the behavior analytic skill set and, just as much, the outcomes. That matters for anyone moving out of clinical work. Employers often care more about results than about method.

They're the ones that choose the project.

From the talk — Maya Griffin