Employee Assistance Programs

[hitechleongatha]

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Hi All,

Bit of a weird one for my first post on this forum!

Just wondering if any of you with employees have an Employee Assistance Program running as part of your employee benefits?

We only have a small team of 6, however, I think something like this could be really beneficial and the small amount of providers I’ve looked at offer a subscription service with hourly minimums per month that I just think are unlikely to be utilized (some offer roll overs, but on basic tiers this seems not to be their offering), so I’m also on the look out for a “pay per contact” kind of provider if one exists as an option also.

Cheers,

Rachel

[bb1]

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Not directly answering your question, as my understanding is there aren’t to many that would do it on a needs only basis, as if there is no need, they don’t get much income accept for a small potential retainer, which is why most go for a minimum hourly spend.

But having worked for an organisation which did have a program, there was a real mixed reaction by staff, based on a reluctance to use the service as they were concerned about their privacy and independence of the service, as the opinion was that as the boss was paying for it, there must be some feedback to the boss. Plus I know some information was ”leaked” back.

Not saying don’t do it, as personally I think anything to support your employee’s is a bonus, but, just a cautionary thought as to will it actually get used, and is there a better way to support your employees.

[Mischelle]

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bb1, post: 260889, member: 53375 wrote:

there was a real mixed reaction by staff, based on a reluctance to use the service as they were concerned about their privacy and independence of the service, as the opinion was that as the boss was paying for it, there must be some feedback to the boss..
Hi Rachel,

I agree with Bert, many employees who are part of a company that offers an EAP don’t use it.

You have a very small team, so I would suggest a more direct approach to offering support, which will be more cost effective and your employees will actually use it, have bonus days off, if they needs counseling services, they can choose their own provider and you offer to help with the payments, up to a limited etc etc.

I also think, involve them in choosing their support options.

I asked my staff what they wanted (within reason) LOL

They get extra paid days off without worry
Paid Birthday day off – as a present
Free flu shots for them and their families – if they want it
Salary sacrifice for the private health insurance – this is a big one
etc etc

Cheers
Mischelle

[bb1]

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Mischelle, post: 261072, member: 60404 wrote:

Paid Birthday day off – as a present

I’ll PM you my birthday

[Mischelle]

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bb1, post: 261073, member: 53375 wrote:

I’ll PM you my birthday
LOLOL, of course I will give you a day off on your birthday

[Paul – FS Concierge]

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[USER=110650]@hitechleongatha[/USER] ,

I support the comments so far – it would be a great opportunity to “waste” if you paid monthly and nobody used the service.

When you think about it, if you sign up for a service you are effectively budgeting for a wellness initiative.

To that end, an alternative might be to seek out some best practice ideas and then put them to your team and see what they think. Their input will be beneficial to you and them.

For example, this initiative caught my eye.

If I worked with you [USER=60404]@Mischelle[/USER] , would you pay x 2 for my birthday? – It falls on a Public Holiday every year!

[Mischelle]

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Paul – FS Concierge, post: 261081, member: 78928 wrote:

[USER=110650]@hitechleongatha[/USER] ,

I support the comments so far – it would be a great opportunity to “waste” if you paid monthly and nobody used the service.

When you think about it, if you sign up for a service you are effectively budgeting for a wellness initiative.

To that end, an alternative might be to seek out some best practice ideas and then put them to your team and see what they think. Their input will be beneficial to you and them.

For example, this initiative caught my eye.

If I worked with you [USER=60404]@Mischelle[/USER] , would you pay x 2 for my birthday? – It falls on a Public Holiday every year!
BAHAHAHA – Paul, you get the bonus day, you are the winner !!!. My staff can choose which day they want off for their birthday, but it has to be within 7 days either side of their birthday Trust me they always choose a Monday or Friday LOL

[Paul – FS Concierge]

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Mischelle, post: 261083, member: 60404 wrote:

BAHAHAHA – Paul, you get the bonus day, you are the winner !!!. My staff can choose which day they want off for their birthday, but it has to be within 7 days either side of their birthday Trust me they always choose a Monday or Friday LOL

[USER=60404]@Mischelle[/USER] – where were you for my whole pre-soloist life?

[USER=110650]@hitechleongatha[/USER] – I used to throw no-notice parties, organise and pay for pizza or coffee treats.

I have had Massage Therapists visit the office for an afternoon , have a month of Friday afternoon BBQ’s, had guest speakers of interest to the team, gave away copies of The Road Less Travelled.

I also had some family bonding days – team bonding with family invited – they were a hit.

And I developed sales focused incentive programs. All in the name of keeping the team “up” and things fresh.

The incentive program was interesting because hitting targets qualified for rewards – they could be in the form of gift vouchers (eg, to Coles – effectively cash), movie tickets, dinners, spa treatments, gym memberships, adrenaline activities and days off amongst others – days off (guaranteed whatever day you wanted, no matter what was going on) were amongst the most popular.

Team spirit, comradeship, and personal support of team member to team member were very high in a high stress industry.

Taking a holistic approach generated very positive outcomes.

We had a corporate EAP in place at the time.

I can remember talking to people about it as a viable option for them to use when they were distressed but I can’t remember anyone actually using it.

The “team talk” suggested that it was not highly valued – generally people want immediate gratification ie, “Paul, if it is costing you $200 for each staff member to have an EAP, let me opt out and give me the $200.”

That is not to say EAP’s are not beneficial, just an insight into my observations.

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