Toll Free: 877.880.

4477
Phone: 281.880.6525

Employee
Assistance
Programs May
Be Valuable
Resources

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Employee assistance programs (EAPs)

originated decades ago as confidential
resources for employees struggling with
alcohol and substance abuse problems.

In recent years they've evolved to offer a

broad spectrum of services. Here's how
the industry's trade group, the EAP
Professionals Association, defines these
programs:
"In general, an EAP is a set of professional services specifically designed to
improve and/or maintain the productivity and healthy functioning of the
workplace and to address a work organization's particular business needs
through the application of specialized knowledge and expertise about human
behavior and mental health."

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Manager Training
Some EAPs provide training for supervisors to help them spot employee issues
that might, with gentle encouragement, be addressed proactively, before they
spin out of control.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Disability
Employment Policy, EAPs have been shown to contribute to:

Decreased absenteeism,

Reduced accidents and fewer workers' compensation claims,

Greater employee retention,

Fewer labor disputes, and

Significantly reduced medical costs arising from early identification and

treatment of individual mental health and substance use issues.

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Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employer-provided health insurance is

required to cover mental health issues no differently than other health
conditions.
Also, the ACA deems mental health and substance abuse treatment to be
"essential health benefits.

But unlike the typical scenario in the traditional doctor-patient behavioral

health service delivery model, when well-run, EAPs can connect employees
with professional help before they reach a crisis point. And, as noted, the
scope of services offered is broader than those delivered purely in a medical
environment.

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Vendor Categories
EAP service providers fall into three general groups:
1. Stand-alone "boutique" firms primarily organized to deliver standard
services to relatively small employers,

2. Larger stand-alone EAP providers with regional or national comprehensive

serviced areas, and
3. Divisions of large managed care and health insurance companies.

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Whatever the structure of the program, the key ingredient to any EAP's
success rests both with the employer and the EAP provider, in terms of how
they communicate with employees. The message to staff needs to be one that
makes them comfortable seeking out needed services.

Fortunately, that job is becoming easier as younger employees who have

grown up in an era of diminished stigma around mental health disorders are
becoming a more prominent demographic. In a survey of EAP professionals,
the Department of Labor found them "rich with stories of younger workers
approaching EAPs with less reticence than their older co-workers, actively
seeking information on mental health issues, and energetically pursuing
solutions."

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Maximizing Utilization
Here are some best practices for encouraging employees to take advantage of
EAP services when they are needed:

Maximize the use of online technology, with interactive self-assessment

tools that help employees gauge their level of stress, other mood issues,
and excessive use of alcohol or other drugs,

Update educational materials, both electronic and print, to highlight EAP

services and the issues they address using bold graphics and simple,
colorful text,

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Offer brown bag lunch-'n-learn events with presentations on topics such

as time management, overcoming financial challenges, and stress
management, and

Put any work-life balance initiatives you have under the EAP umbrella,
because many employees are more comfortable exploring them than
behavioral health-related service. But use the work-life initiative as an
entre, where appropriate, counseling on depression, anxiety and other
issues potentially triggered by a life balance deficit.

How can you distinguish one EAP provider from another? As with any other
vendor category, you'll need to perform due diligence. Getting off to a bad
start with an unsuitable EAP provider could damage the credibility of EAP
programs with your employees generally. Even if you eventually replace a
faulty program with a better one, it may be harder to get employees to trust
the process.

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Picking a Vendor
Here are some ways you can "kick the tires" of a vendor before signing up:

Staffing. It's not enough to have just a sympathetic ear on the other end
of a 24/7 hotline that is intended to field questions from your employees.
Ideally it will be a clinician with an advanced degree.

Multiple modes of communication. Some employees will be more

comfortable with an initial online chat than a phone call, and others will
feel the opposite way.

Face-to-face meeting capacity. How soon and easily can an employee

meet in person with a professional counselor? For employees in remote
locations, are video conferences with counselors an option?

Lead time. What is the guaranteed maximum interval of time that can
lapse between an employee's initial contact and the receipt of EAP
services? Three days is a good rule of thumb.

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Counseling follow-up procedures. Employees can't be abandoned after a

single counseling session, even when it appears that their issues have
been addressed.

Scope of services. The service menu of some EAP vendors might

overwhelm you, but that's better than the alternative, as long as you
don't have to pay for services your employees don't use or want.

As with other service providers, you will want to choose an EAP vendor that
will work with you to design the most appropriate program to fit your needs
and budget. In addition, you should work cooperatively to assess the
program's effectiveness after a year or two. It isn't a simple pass or fail
proposition; a good EAP vendor will offer the insight and flexibility to modify
the program, improving its effectiveness for employees and value to you.

Although the Employee Assistance Professionals Association is geared to

individual EAP practitioners, it can be a helpful resource to learn more about
how such programs operate if you'd like to learn more.
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14550 Torrey Chase Blvd., Ste. 360 Houston, TX 77014 USA

Toll Free : 877.880.4477
Phone : 281.880.6525
Fax
: 281.866.9426

E-mail : info@hrp.net

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