Responding to Feedback: Employment-Related Soft Skills Training for Persons With Disabilities

Workplace soft skills are critical factors to consider when seeking and maintaining employment. One beneficial workplace soft skill is responding to feedback on a job. This pilot study used a pre-and post-group design to evaluate a small group intervention that utilized a Direct Skills Teaching approach to instruct participants in responding to feedback in an employment setting to persons with disabilities. A four-session group intervention (“Responding to Feedback”) was delivered by graduate counseling students to 38 participants with various disabilities in six separate groups. Participants reported greater confidence in responding to feedback from potential or current employers at the end of the intervention. Also, participants were highly satisfied with the group. This study provided positive outcome data on soft skill interventions and provided support for its usefulness to teach help-seeking skills in a group setting, with a preplanned curriculum.