Employee Assistance Program

Client Service

Introducing the Benefit

The way your employees perceive this benefit will dramatically effect the value your organization will derive from this program. If they see it as a management tool, they will not use it. In order for your company to derive full benefits from this program, your employees must trust its confidentiality and understand when and how to use it.

This new and exciting benefit should be introduced to your staff through an orientation meeting. The provider should explain the features of the program and give each employee documentation that describes the EAP. A brochure should explain the program, how it works, when to use it and how to get counselling. Refrigerator magnets and other communication tools can be employed. This type of meeting is ideal for explaining how this program can benefit your employees personally. You should give many counselling examples and discuss your employees' concerns.

Ongoing Communication

The provider should enthusiastically encourage employees to get help before their personal problem becomes a performance problem. We will provide quarterly newsletters, or articles for your company's publication. Such education will equip your employees to recognize problems early. They can then resolve conflicts before they become crises.

If your EAP is presented as an employee benefit, we will provide descriptive wording for your benefit booklets.

Management Training in Early Detection

The provider should meet with your supervisors and managers and help them recognize the early signs of distress. We will teach them how to deal with crisis situations. We will explain when and how to encourage employees to use the EAP.

Monitoring Utilization

We give you a statistical report every quarter. This report shows the quantity of sessions provided. It also provide details on the types of problems counselled, initial vs. ongoing, employee vs. family, and usage by region.

If your organization would like to be sure of the accuracy of the statistical reporting, we will cooperate fully with an agreed upon independent auditor.

Measuring Success

The provider should help you set performance standards by which to measure the success of the EAP. You can use confidential employee surveys to gauge our adherence to the standards.

The following are some of the more common criteria:

All Employees

  1. Understand the key features of the program.
  2. Believe the EAP is totally confidential.
  3. Know who to call to get counselling.
  4. Understand when to use the EAP.
Employees Who Have Received Counselling
  1. Satisfaction with timeliness and courteousness of response.
  2. Ability to relate to their counsellor.
  3. Satisfaction with the quality of counselling.
  4. Found the counselling helpful in resolving their problem.
  5. Noticed an improvement in their attendance after counselling.
  6. Noticed an improvement in their work performance after counselling.
Managers and Supervisors
  1. Spend less time counselling employees with performance problems related to personal issues.

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