How to Know If Recruiting BCBAs & RBTs Is Actually Working

You post the job. You get applications. You schedule interviews. But three months later, you’re posting the same role again. Sound familiar?

If you lead an ABA clinic, you’ve probably experienced this cycle—recruiting that looks busy but doesn’t produce lasting results. Measuring recruiting effectiveness isn’t about counting applications. It’s about whether your hiring process brings in people who start, succeed, and stay.

This guide gives you a practical framework: a simple funnel, clear metrics you can track weekly, and an ethics-first approach that protects both your team and the families you serve.

You’ll walk away with a definition of “working” that goes beyond vanity metrics, a ready-to-use scorecard, and diagnostic questions that help you fix bottlenecks instead of guessing.

Start with the Right Definition of Recruiting Effectiveness

Before you measure anything, you need to agree on what success looks like. Here’s a definition worth writing down: recruiting is effective when it reliably produces qualified people who accept and start, who can do the job safely and ethically, and who stay past the early drop-off period.

Notice what’s missing. There’s no mention of “more applicants” or “faster time to first interview.” Those things might matter, but they’re not the goal. More applicants is not the same as better recruiting. A flood of unqualified or mismatched candidates just means more screening work and more disappointment for everyone.

This is where vanity metrics can trick you. A vanity metric is a number that looks impressive but doesn’t lead to stable staffing—total applications received, social media impressions on job posts, or interviews scheduled. These feel productive. But if your offer acceptance rate is low or your 30-day retention is poor, you’re not building a team. You’re just staying busy.

Ethics should come before efficiency in every recruiting decision. That means you don’t trade dignity, safety, or honesty for speed. You don’t oversell the role to get an acceptance. You don’t hide the hard parts during interviews. And you don’t pressure candidates into decisions they’ll regret.

A Simple Test: Would You Be Proud to Explain Your Process to a New Hire?

Imagine explaining your process to someone who just accepted your offer. Would you feel comfortable describing how you wrote the job post, what you said in the interview, and how you handled their questions? If yes, you’re probably on solid ground.

Strong recruiting processes share a few things in common. They include a clear job preview that shows what the day really looks like—cancellations, travel, session types. They feature respectful communication and realistic timelines. And they avoid pressure tactics or bait-and-switch offers.

A Realistic Job Preview (RJP) deserves special attention. This is a hiring approach where you show candidates a balanced, honest view of the role before they accept. RJPs reduce early quits by setting real expectations. They help candidates self-select out early, saving time for everyone. And they build trust because your clinic looks honest instead of salesy.

You can deliver an RJP in several ways:

Add a “What to expect” section to job posts covering travel, cancellations, session times, and pay structure
Create a short day-in-the-life video for RBTs and BCBAs
Use structured shadowing or observation with appropriate privacy safeguards
Include scenario-based questions during interviews to surface expectations

Want a simple way to track this weekly? Copy the [weekly recruiting scorecard template](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/recruiting-dashboard-template) in this guide and start with just six metrics. You can also review [ethical hiring basics for ABA clinics](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/ethical-hiring-in-aba) for more detail.

Map Your ABA Recruiting Funnel

If you can’t name your funnel steps, you can’t improve them. A recruiting funnel is the path candidates take from first hearing about your clinic to becoming a contributing team member. Each stage needs a count so you can see where people drop off.

Here are the stages that work for most ABA clinics:

Awareness (they learn you exist)
Apply
Screen (quick check for credentials and fit basics)
Interview (structured questions and scenarios)
Offer
Start (pre-boarding and day one)
30/60/90 days (early retention and performance check)

The BCBA funnel and RBT funnel follow the same stages but have different physics. RBT funnels often move faster and require more volume because turnover tends to be higher and the talent pool is broader. BCBA funnels typically require deeper clinical vetting, more negotiation on compensation or caseload, and longer decision timelines.

The definition of “qualified” also differs. For an RBT, qualified might mean reliable transportation, schedule availability that matches your cases, and coachability. For a BCBA, it might mean the ability to explain clinical decisions clearly, experience with your population, and realistic expectations about supervision and caseload.

Use one funnel diagram with two lanes—one for BCBAs and one for RBTs. Track the same stages but note different quality signals at each step. If you need help setting this up, see how to [set up a simple hiring funnel for an ABA clinic](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/hiring-funnel-setup).

Write your funnel steps down before you change anything. You need a baseline before you can improve.

The Non-Negotiable Recruiting Metrics

Once you have a funnel, you need a short list of metrics that show whether recruiting is producing starts and stayers. Here are the essentials, with plain-language definitions.

Applicants per week by source tells you how many new people entered the funnel from each channel. This is your volume indicator.

Qualified applicant rate is the percentage of applicants who meet your minimum requirements. Divide qualified applicants by total applicants. If this number is low, your job post may be attracting the wrong people.

Screen pass rate is the percentage who pass your first screen—phone call, video chat, or rubric review. If this drops suddenly, check whether your screening criteria match what you’re actually looking for.

Interview-to-offer rate is the percentage of interviewed candidates who receive an offer. Low numbers might mean your interview process isn’t testing for the right things, or decision-making is taking too long.

Offer acceptance rate is the percentage of offers accepted. If candidates are declining, your offer may not be competitive, or expectations set during the process may not match reality.

Start rate is the percentage of accepted offers that show up on day one. This is where pre-boarding matters. Silence between acceptance and start date often leads to no-shows.

Time to fill is the number of days from job requisition approved to offer accepted. This measures your full process speed. A related term, time to hire, measures just the candidate’s journey from entering the pipeline to accepting.

Cost per hire (if you have the data) is your total recruiting costs divided by number of hires. Include job ads, recruiter time, agency fees, background checks, referral bonuses, and onboarding admin costs.

30/60/90-day retention is the percentage still employed at each milestone. This is your recruiting quality feedback loop. If people leave fast, recruiting is not really working, no matter how good your funnel numbers look.

You can learn more about [how to track time-to-fill without HR software](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/time-to-fill) or grab a [simple cost-per-hire worksheet](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/cost-per-hire).

Pick three metrics you can track today, even in a notes app. Then add the rest over time.

Build a Weekly Recruiting Scorecard

A weekly scorecard keeps you from reacting to one bad day. It also creates a rhythm that turns recruiting from a crisis response into a predictable process.

Your scorecard should cover three pillars: volume (how many candidates at each stage), efficiency (how fast things are moving), and quality (conversion rates and retention signals). Track the same day each week. Add one notes column to capture what you changed and what you observed.

Here’s a template you can adapt. Use one tab for BCBAs and one for RBTs.

Weekly Recruiting Scorecard

Track the following for each week: date, role, source, new applicants, qualified applicants, screens completed, screens passed, interviews completed, offers sent, offers accepted, starts, 30-day retention, 60-day retention, 90-day retention, top drop-off stage, and notes or themes.

Above the table, add a short definitions box so everyone counts stages the same way. Define “qualified” based on your written must-haves, and define “screen passed” based on your rubric.

A brief weekly review meeting keeps the scorecard useful. Run it in 25 to 30 minutes if the scorecard is updated beforehand:

Start with wins and changes since last week
Discuss offers and starts first: who’s accepting, who’s at risk, what are the start dates
Review pipeline bottlenecks to see where candidates are dropping
Check role calibration to confirm alignment on what “qualified” means
End with actions: assign an owner and deadline for each

Learn how to [run a weekly recruiting review meeting](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/recruiting-review-meeting) for more detail.

Set a 20-minute weekly review meeting. One owner. One recruiter or lead. One scorecard.

Define Qualified for BCBA vs RBT

You need a written definition of “qualified” before you can measure quality. If your definition lives only in someone’s head, it will change week to week. That inconsistency introduces bias and makes your metrics unreliable.

Keep your criteria job-related and consistent. Use the same rubric for all candidates applying for the same role. Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves so you don’t reject strong candidates for missing optional preferences.

Structured interviews are essential. A structured interview means using the same questions for every candidate, scoring responses with a consistent rubric, and capturing notes in the same format. This reduces bias and creates a defensible rationale for your decisions. It also makes it easier to compare candidates fairly.

For BCBAs, always verify credentials through the BACB Certificant Registry. Check expiration dates, disciplinary actions, and supervisor eligibility if relevant.

BCBA Quality Signals

Focus on signals tied to ethical care and sustainable operations:

Can the candidate explain clinical decisions simply, both to caregivers and to staff?
Do they prioritize safety, assent, and rapport in their approach?
Are their expectations about caseload and supervision realistic for your model?
Can they supervise and train using Behavior Skills Training (BST)?

You might also assess scope fit—setting, age range, and supervision expectations. Use case examples or scenarios to see how they think through clinical decisions.

RBT Quality Signals

For RBTs, focus on observable, job-related signals:

Does their schedule match your session times and travel radius?
Do they have a history of reliability (explore through behavioral examples)?
Are they coachable—do they respond well to feedback in a role-play or practice scenario?
Do they understand what the role actually involves, including active work like playing, teaching, and data collection?

Remember that RBT is a trainable role. Strong onboarding matters as much as strong screening. Tie your quality definition back to your RJP and 30/60/90 check-ins.

Review the [structured interview guide for ABA roles](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/structured-interviews) and grab a [simple interview scorecard rubric](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/interview-scorecard-rubric).

If your “qualified” definition is only in someone’s head, it will change week to week. Write it down and score it.

Compare Sources and Channels

Knowing where your candidates come from is essential for improving quality, not just volume. Track applicants per week by source so you can compare channels based on outcomes, not opinions.

Common tracking methods include UTM source codes on links (for example, utm_source=linkedin), ATS source fields and reports, and standardized source naming so your reports stay clean. The goal is to see which sources produce candidates who make it through screening, accept offers, start, and stay past 90 days.

Use categories rather than specific tool names when analyzing: job boards, referrals, university partnerships, community outreach, and professional networks. Referrals often look small in volume but tend to be high quality. Some sources create lots of unqualified applicants, which means more screening work.

For employee referrals, keep your program simple and ethical:

Set a clear bonus amount and payout timing, often after 90 days of employment
Define eligibility, usually employees in good standing
Track referral source like any other channel
Don’t pressure staff to recruit “anyone”—keep your quality standards consistent

Explore [ABA recruiting channels beyond job boards](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/sourcing-channels) and learn how to [build a simple employee referral system](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/employee-referral-system).

Run one two-week test: pick one source, improve one step (like screening speed), and track what changed.

Grow Your Own vs Hire Now

When you need BCBAs or RBTs, you have two basic strategies: hire experienced people now, or build your own pipeline over time.

Grow your own means developing internal staff into future roles. You might hire and train RBTs, including paid training models. You support RBTs who want to become BCBAs by offering school support and supervised fieldwork hours. You create a visible career ladder so people stay.

Hire now means bringing in experienced BCBAs or RBTs quickly to fill urgent gaps.

Your choice depends on urgency, supervision capacity, training capacity, culture stability, and budget.

Choose hire now when:

You have urgent open cases you cannot staff safely
You lack supervision or training capacity this quarter
You need an experienced BCBA for leadership coverage

Choose grow your own when:

You can staff safely while people train
You have stable supervision capacity
You want retention leverage and a long-term bench

One important warning: do not grow a pipeline by overloading current staff. If you build a training program by piling more supervision hours onto BCBAs who are already at capacity, quality will drop and retention will suffer. Fix the system before scaling the training pipeline.

Learn more about building a [grow-your-own pipeline for ABA clinics](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/grow-your-own-pipeline) and how to [partner with training programs without overpromising](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/university-partnerships).

Choose one path for the next 90 days. Mixing both without a plan usually creates chaos.

When Recruiting Looks Good but Turnover Breaks It

Here’s a painful truth: if people leave fast, recruiting is not really working. You might hit your time-to-fill targets and get great offer acceptance rates, but if new hires quit at 30 or 60 days, you’re just refilling the same bucket.

This is why 30/60/90-day retention belongs in your recruiting metrics. It’s the fastest feedback loop you have. Use it to ask: Did we describe the job accurately? Did we train enough before expecting independence? Are workload and scheduling sustainable?

Look for patterns. Which role is struggling? Which supervisor? Which site? Which schedule? Retention problems are often workload and support problems, not “bad hires.”

What to Check Before You Blame Recruiting

When early turnover spikes, investigate these areas first:

Was there a mismatch between the job preview and the real job?
Were there training and onboarding gaps?
Was supervision quality sufficient?
Were caseload expectations realistic?
Was the schedule stable, or did travel demands overwhelm new hires?

Add one question to every exit conversation: “What would have made the first 30 days workable?” Track themes over time. If three people mention the same issue, that’s your signal.

Explore the [30/60/90-day retention plan for new hires](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/early-retention-30-60-90) and the [onboarding checklist for BCBAs and RBTs](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/onboarding-for-rbts-and-bcbas).

Common Failure Patterns and Quick Fixes

Once you’re tracking metrics, you can diagnose problems faster. Here are common patterns and what to try.

Low applicants per week usually points to a visibility or role design problem. Your job post might not be reaching the right people, or the role itself might not be attractive. Try improving your job post title and first paragraph, posting to more channels, or asking current staff where they’d look.

Low qualified rate often means unclear requirements or a misleading job post. If people apply but don’t meet your must-haves, your post may be attracting the wrong audience. Revise your requirements and make the realistic parts of the job more visible.

Low screen pass rate suggests a mismatch between your screening rubric and what you actually need. Review your rubric with the hiring manager. Are you screening for things that don’t predict success?

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Low interview-to-offer rate might mean your interview process isn’t testing for the job, or decisions are taking too long. Streamline your process and make faster decisions.

Low offer acceptance rate often means your offer isn’t competitive or expectations weren’t clear. Review your compensation against local benchmarks. Make sure the offer matches what was discussed during interviews.

Low start rate means something goes wrong between acceptance and day one. Common causes include slow onboarding, poor communication, and competing offers. Increase touchpoints: send a welcome call, preview the first week’s schedule, and confirm start details early.

Low 30/60/90-day retention points to role support, workload, onboarding, or supervision issues. This is where recruiting hands off to operations. If early retention is poor, fix those systems before scaling recruiting.

Use the [BCBA job description template](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/job-description-template-bcba) and [RBT job description template](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/job-description-template-rbt) to improve clarity and honesty in your posts.

Pick one bottleneck. Fix one step. Measure again next week.

Ethics, Privacy, and Compliance Notes

Strong recruiting processes protect candidates, staff, and clients. Here are the essentials.

Use structured interviews and document your decisions. Same questions for each candidate. Job-related criteria only. A consistent scoring rubric. This protects you from bias claims and helps you make defensible decisions.

Keep candidate data secure. Store information in an ATS or secure system. Limit access by role. Collect only what you need. Get consent where required, such as for background checks.

For most recruiting data, HIPAA does not directly apply because employment records are typically excluded from protected health information. However, you still must protect privacy with strong security practices. And critically, never bring client PHI into recruiting. If a candidate asks for examples of treatment plans or data sheets, use de-identified samples only.

Be honest about workload, travel, and support to prevent harm and early turnover. If a tactic would increase starts but increase burnout, it’s not a win.

Review [privacy basics for hiring and recruiting data](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/hiring-data-privacy) and learn how to [reduce burnout with workload systems](/recruiting-bcbas-and-rbts/burnout-and-workload-systems).

Frequently Asked Questions

What does recruiting effectiveness mean for an ABA clinic?

It means you hire people who start, succeed, and stay. Applicant volume alone is not enough. Tie effectiveness to ethics: an honest job preview and sustainable workload are part of what makes recruiting truly work.

What metrics should I track for BCBA and RBT recruiting?

Start with applicants by source, qualified rate, screen pass rate, interview-to-offer rate, offer acceptance rate, start rate, and 30/60/90-day retention. Add time to fill and cost per hire when you have the data. Begin with three to six metrics and expand over time.

How do I define a qualified BCBA or RBT applicant?

Use written must-haves versus nice-to-haves. Keep criteria job-related and consistent. Use a simple rubric and structured interview questions. BCBAs need clinical judgment and supervision skills. RBTs need reliability, coachability, and a clear understanding of the role.

What’s a good offer acceptance rate or time to fill?

Avoid one-size-fits-all benchmarks. Use your own baseline and improve over time. Compare by role and by source. Focus on ethical improvements like clarity, speed, and support rather than pressure tactics.

Why do people accept offers but never start?

Common causes include slow onboarding, unclear start details, poor communication, and competing offers. Fixes include faster timelines, a clear start plan, pre-start check-ins, and realistic expectations set during hiring.

How do I know if turnover is a recruiting problem or a retention problem?

Use 30/60/90-day retention as your fastest signal. If early retention is low, recruiting wins won’t hold. Look for role design, workload, training, and supervision issues. Track patterns by site and team.

Should we grow our own BCBAs or hire experienced ones?

It depends on urgency, supervision capacity, training capacity, and retention health. If you need coverage in weeks, prioritize hiring now. If you can plan six to eighteen months out, invest in pipeline building. If retention is poor, fix retention before scaling recruiting.

Bringing It Together

Recruiting effectiveness comes down to a simple question: are you hiring people who start, succeed, and stay? That requires more than posting jobs and scheduling interviews. It requires a defined funnel, a short list of metrics you track weekly, and a commitment to honest job previews and sustainable workloads.

Start by mapping your funnel. Pick six metrics and build a weekly scorecard. Run a 20-minute review meeting every week for the next four weeks. Each week, identify one bottleneck and test one fix.

Most importantly, keep ethics at the center. Recruiting tactics that sacrifice dignity, safety, or honesty might fill seats temporarily, but they won’t build teams that last. The clinics that win the staffing game are the ones that treat recruiting as a system, not a scramble.