Employee Assistance Programmes (aka EAPs) give businesses an opportunity to support their staff throughout various life events and particularly during times of financial and emotional stress

24/7 confidential telephone / online assistance is available for advice and information on a variety of matters, including

• psychological issues
• relationship problems
• bereavement
• addiction
• childcare
• eldercare
• debt and legal worries
• redundancy
• house moves
• harassment
• Human Resource Best Practice
• Employment Law

 

Employee Assistance Programmes Help Your Employees in Difficult Times

Provision of an EAP can help demonstrate Duty of Care for employees and shows your support in helping employees during periods of stress

 

10 Facts About Employee Assistance Programmes

1. Employee Assistance Programmes provide confidential information, support and counselling to employees with personal or work-related issues;

2. Counselling is usually included and depending on how comprehensive the EAP is, this may be in the form of Telephone, Online, CBT or Face to Face

3. General well-being, such as weight management and giving up smoking are also often promoted through an EAP with many offering online resources and/or mobile apps

4. The majority of services provided in an EAP are also available to an employees’ dependents

5. Most EAPs offer support for Line Managers, including how to be an effective manager, how to support employees with long-term health conditions and how to conduct effective annual appraisals

6. EAPs can be purchased as a stand-alone benefit or may be offered free as part of another benefit (e.g. Health Insurance, Disability Insurance, Medical Insurance, Income Protection or Health Cash Plan)

7. An EAP can save a business money due to fewer days sickness, lower staff turnover, increased productivity and a more engaged workforce

8. Anonymous Management Information can assist in identifying common issues which the business can then tackle early to avoid more serious problems

9. An EAP is a very low-cost benefit and can be regarded as a business expense

10. A global professional body (EAPA International) sets standards, discipline and ethics worldwide for EAPs

Missed Opportunity for Your Business?

EAPs can be a valuable tool and have great potential as a wider service for well-being and engagement, tackling issues that affect organisational performance and productivity as a whole

Unfortunately EAPs are under-promoted and underutilised with average usage often below 5%.

 

What To Consider When Considering an Employee Assistance Programme

Communication

Increased and regular promotion of the EAP to both employees and managers.  The services that are available should be outlined and examples of circumstances in which they can be used could be provided along with emphasis on the anonymity of the service

The format of the communication should be considered – this needs to be easy to access not hidden away in a handbook or intranet and should be in line with your employee demographic to ensure maximum impact.  Many EAP providers will offer resources to help, but you may also wish to add any apps as standard to pcs/laptops or company mobile phones

Embed the EAP Into Your Culture

Introduction to the EAP should form part of your induction process

Inclusion of referral to the EAP within Line-Manager training – Managers should be aware of the support available to them as a manager and the EAP should be one of their tools when dealing with employee issues

Health and Wellbeing Strategy

Integrate the EAP into your wider strategy – invite the provider to your Well-being week or continuously signpost to the EAP if you are using a Well-being calendar to discuss various topics with your employees

Measurement of Impact

Not just the financial aspect to the business through monitoring absence rates and productivity but the physical and mental well-being of employees via employee surveys.

 

Talk to us About Your Companies Employee Assistance Programme

If you would like to consider offering an EAP as part of your Health and Well-being strategy or would like a review on your existing EAP or any other Employee Benefits please contact us today.