Affiliations: The National Research & Training Center on Blindness & Low Vision, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Michele McDonnall, Ph.D., CRC, The National Research & Training Center on Blindness & Low Vision, P.O. Box 6189, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA. Tel.: +1 662 325 2001; Fax: +1 662 325 8989; E-mail: m.mcdonnall@msstate.edu.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:The passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act has placed renewed emphasis on employer engagement for vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, but many rehabilitation counselors are not comfortable with this activity. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a business development training created specifically for rehabilitation counselors for the blind. METHOD:We utilized a switching-replications design that included providing the 19-hour training to counselors within four VR agencies at two different time points, and we collected outcome data over an 18-month time span. Outcome measures were self-efficacy for business development, adherence to the dual customer approach, business development knowledge, and self-perceived business development knowledge, skills, and comfort. RESULTS:Results indicated that the training was associated with an improvement in all outcomes, although its effectiveness for some outcomes differed by agency. The effectiveness of the training over time differed by agency. One agency, in particular, exhibited significant increases on all outcome measures that were retained over the course of the study. CONCLUSIONS:Agency context was relevant when implementing this training, and incorporating agency-wide changes to support counselors in conducting business development activities may be necessary for such a training to be effective over time.
Keywords: Business development, employer engagement, vocational rehabilitation counselors, training effectiveness
