Rethinking the value of EAP

• From reactive to proactive and preventative
• Mitigating risk
• Delivering stronger ROI

Across the globe now more than ever mental health and wellbeing support is increasingly critical for individuals, families and organisations. We know that the issues facing individuals and the challenges facing organisations have never been more complex. The provision of ‘traditional’ EAP plays an important role is supporting businesses but it is the additional support services and, more importantly, a rethinking of the value of EAP that delivers better outcomes for wellbeing, productivity, engagement and workplace culture.

The often-negative perception of EAP providers is that not enough is being done proactively to understand why employees get to a point of needing to reach out for support. We’re considered ‘reactive’. Across all industries an average EAP utilisation might be between 4%-5%. That’s 1 in 20-25 people reaching out for support. When you consider all the statistics around mental health in the community, the impact of financial stress, obesity rates, the prevalence of relationship breakdowns, workplace culture issues etc. that ratio is too low.

Mental Health & Wellbeing: Assure commonly see utilisation rates of 1 in 5-8 people accessing support. A good place to start in increasing program participation is removing any reference to EAP. The word (acronym) ‘EAP’ itself is tainted with stigma and connotations of being a counselling service. Promoting a holistic mental health and wellbeing program is a much more effective way to help employees and their family members understand and appreciate the scope of services available.

Consultancy: Integrating quality mental health consultancy to mitigate psychosocial hazards is the glue of a best-practice approach to improving individual and organisational wellbeing and performance. Ensuring that consultants engage with the mental health and wellbeing provider and collaborate with the organisation optimises return on investment.

Leadership Endorsement & Visibility: Well endorsed programs and active participation from senior executives, including their own story telling, has many benefits too. PwC’s Green Light to Talk program is an excellent example of this – there are many more. Upskilling managers/leaders and wellbeing ambassadors on mental health/peer support and ensuring they understand the scope and value of the wellbeing provider’s services goes a long way in developing a successful program.

Promotions: Incorporating relevant, dynamic and pragmatic marketing and communication materials might seem like a basic component of any program but when it is done well, when it is done via multiple different channels and when it is done with a consistent look, feel and messaging employees start to notice and feel the value of what is being offered. They understand the nature of the holistic support available and, therefore, they are more likely to engage.

Technology: Over the last two years we have seen a big shift from face-to-face service provision to phone and video. We expect that the evolution of ‘mode of support’ will continue and are seeing positive engagement with digital support via our Wellbeing Gateway app. Engaging with Chat in real time means that employees who wouldn’t have typically engaged with support are now doing so. Irrespective of Chat, providing employees with well curated digital content via video, podcasts, articles, e-Learnings and other personalised tools means that they can access wellbeing support at any time.

Changing perception of EAP can take time but there are many positive outcomes to achieve in doing so - increased program awareness and utilisation, more effective leadership, stronger levels of employee engagement, improved workplace culture and morale. Our experience is that when a review of EAP is undertaken in a well-considered manner and with the right partners these positive outcomes can be achieved efficiently and effectively.

If you would like to know more, please get in touch.