EAP Best Practices: Strategies for Maximizing Program Engagement

If your organization doesn’t have an Employee Assistance Program yet or is considering a change, here are some best practices in the industry, along with some tips based on our experience to maximize program engagement.

This checklist of services will help you select the best EAP program for your organization.

• Easy and direct access to counselling services provided by experienced professional counsellors via a toll-free telephonic service or a dedicated mailing platform.
• A nationwide network of easily available counsellors for your employees at home or job
  sites.
• Program coverage that extends to employees’ immediate family, partners, and dependent children.
• Training programs, both online and offline, for supervisors and employees.
• A regular supply of awareness materials through various mediums such as blogs, webinars, posters, etc.
• Monthly statistical utilization reports.
• Consultations to review best practices for handling group dynamics and employee behaviour.
• High standards of privacy and confidentiality.

All of the above elements ensure the robustness of your EAP. Once they are in place, the next question is, ‘How can we promote our EAP to maximize its usage?’

Today, many organizations offer EAP services; however, the utilization rate is still only 4.5%. Why is this so? It is because EAPs often fail to address the structural and attitudinal barriers to mental health care.

Structural barriers include things like:

• Counsellor Availability – Many times, EAPs take weeks to pair an employee with a therapist, and some even fail to create appointments.
• Poor User Experience and inconvenience – If your EAP processes are too complicated,
  or your therapists aren’t experienced the user can develop a resistance towards seeking help.
• The Need for Intermediaries – Most EAPs require employees to talk to a middleman like
  an agent at the end of the toll-free number before setting a therapy appointment. This can be a deterrent for many, as the fear of being out is real.

While addressing the structural barriers is important, the best EAPs also help address attitudinal barriers such as confidentiality concerns, awareness and mental health stigma. Addressing these concerns is essential to boost utilization. Hence, here are 5 tips that will help you boost EAP utilization:

1) Increase Visibility Through Effective Communication
Continuous and effective communication related to EAPs is the key to increasing access and usage. Effective communication will increase awareness of the service. It will make all the details related to the program easily accessible and visible. Share information regularly through orientation programs, company intranet, emails or new letters.

2) Make Wellness a Part of Your Company’s Dialogue
Host regular workshops or wellness fairs at your organization. These events can be opportunities to address any queries an employee has about EAP services. They can also help address the stigma around mental health by normalising conversations around the topic. The focus of such campaigns should be to promote the message that EAP is not only for crisis situations but also to help employees maintain a positive work-life balance and serve as a support resource.

3) Train Your Managers and Supervisors
A supervisor or manager is the first point of contact for any employee. Ensure that they are trained to recognize common symptoms of distress and are armed with soft skills such as communication, emotional intelligence, resilience, and authenticity that will help them become caring managers. Lastly, equip them with them all the information related to EAPs.

4) Address the Confidential Concerns
Many employees fear utilising EAP for their mental health concerns because they think it is being tracked and could cause issues at their workplace. It is important that employers address such concerns. Help appease employees’ fear, by being transparent about data collection processes and how it is being utilised.

5) Regular Feedback and Consultations
Regularly get in touch with your employees to understand user experience. This will help you address any structural issues promptly. Along with this schedule quarterly consultation with your EAP providers to analyse data and tweak the program accordingly.

In a nutshell, the key to maximising an EAP is to address its structural and attitudinal barriers and to constantly evolve.

At KelpHR we believe that having a safe, inclusive and happy workplace is the key to business transformation and growth and physical as well as mental health and wellness is the key to healthy and happy employees and workforces. Our Employee Assistance Program – Bliss provides a host of offerings for the well being of your employees. To dive deeper into the world of Bliss, visit us at https://www.kelphr.com/employee-assistance-program.html.

About KelpHR

KelpHR was incorporated in 2013 to provide the best HR solutions to organizations, and to improve workplace culture across the board. Over the last 10 years, we have serviced more than 700 clients in India and a few overseas, across various industries in the areas of PoSH (prevention of sexual harassment at workplace), D, E & I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and EAP. But the common objective of all of these services is to build safer, happier, inclusive and productive workplaces.

For our services related to Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D,E &I) or Employee Assistance programs (EAP) do get in touch with us at info@kelphr.com, call +91-95001-29652 and our advisors will help you with customized offerings suited to your organization.