By Valerie S. Nosek
What Role Does Your EAP Play?
As a human resource professional, a manager/supervisor, CEO or other leader, how do you view your employee assistance program (EAP)? What role does it play in the success of your organization?
Is your EAP there to help address substance abuse in the work place, or as a required referral source for employees who test positive? Do you use the EAP for management referrals to help address job performance issues? Does the EAP exist as a benefit for employees who have problems that exist outside of work and need professional assistance? Do you use your EAP as a resource for consultation – whether seeking assistance for employee behaviors, training issues, change management or organizational development?
Ask different people within an organization what role the EAP serves and you will probably receive different answers, depending on how that individual uses the EAP. An employee may say the EAP helps with personal problems. A risk officer may say the EAP is used for drug and alcohol referrals. A manager may say the main reason for having an EAP is for performance issues and management referrals. Someone in HR might cite several reasons for using the EAP, including training or that it’s an employee benefit. And, while all of those answers are valid, any comprehensive EAP should provide all of those services and more.
Using Your EAP to Support Organization Goals
We encourage those of you in HR, management and other leadership positions to rethink your view of the EAP in the workplace. Go beyond the limited role many EAPs are relegated to and start asking, “What additional value can the EAP bring to our company?”
In fact, we challenge you to begin thinking of your EAP as a strategic partner in the success of your organization.
Of course, your EAP should assist your employees in the traditional sense of an EAP. However, as a leader in your company, expand your vision of the EAP…How can it help you to be a better manager? Meet departmental performance objectives? Assist with change initiatives? Or act as a consultant in organizational development?
What Else Can the EAP Do?
In addition to counseling and substance abuse referrals, an EAP should be able to offer the following:
- Education for Managers/Supervisors about how to use the EAP for both better employee management and “soft” referrals.
- Training and education programs developed and facilitated by proven, quality subject matter experts.
- Leadership development, mentoring and individual coaching programs.
- Conflict resolution and mediation.
- Assistance with policy writing and review.
- Consultation on organizational development projects, such as performance management and needs analysis.
- Management consultations.
- Change management support.
- Critical incident stress debriefings.
- Health fair planning and coordination.
- Assistance with workplace wellness programs and initiatives.
The ability to offer the comprehensive services listed above allows an EAP to be more than a referral source…more than an employee benefit.
Your EAP should strive to understand your business and culture; understand your managers and employees; and seek to understand your organization’s strengths and vulnerabilities, so they can better serve your needs.
At Ease@Work we consider these aspects of understanding to be an advantage in preparing a meaningful approach in how we assist our client organizations, their managers and leadership. We are well-prepared and ready to be an integrated part of your organization’s strategic plan. Is your EAP ready?
