Increasing the ROI from Your EAP
Feb 07, 2024
Staff
retention is a high priority for organizations these days, and an Employee
Assistance Program (EAP) is an affordable and accessible way to provide the
extra support today’s employees are seeking for their mental health and overall
well-being. For every dollar an employer invests in an EAP, they receive an
average eight dollars return on investment through lower healthcare costs,
improved performance, increased retention, and lower absenteeism.
However, employers only
reap these benefits if staff and family members know they
have the benefit and utilize it. Increasing your organization’s EAP utilization
is an investment that allows you to gain maximum value from the service you
purchase and, more importantly, helps build a culture within your organization
where employees feel valued and supported. Work cultures where employees feel
well cared for attract and retain positive, productive, and loyal employees
making the investment well worth the effort!
The following strategies have been proven to improve EAP
utilization.
Promote Your EAP Regularly
While 93 percent of
employers offer an EAP, only 54 percent of employees of the benefit. Promoting
your EAP regularly is one of the most important tools to increase utilization.
During onboarding. Give employees materials describing your EAP in formats
they can share with family members. In addition to materials in your benefits
packet, dedicate time during orientation to describe what your EAP is, who can
use it, and how they can access it. Have employees download the app or go to
the website on their mobile device during onboarding, so they know where to
find the resources long after they have lost their printed benefit packet.
At regular intervals. Heighten awareness of your EAP throughout the year.
Regularly promoting your EAP brings it back to top-of-mind and increases the
likelihood they will remember it when they are feeling stressed, experiencing
relationship issues, or struggling with parenting
An example: use a weekly update in October to remind employees of
National Depression Awareness month, point them to a screener they can utilize
if they are concerned about themselves or a loved one, and give them
information about your EAP.
When something unexpected, disruptive, or potentially traumatic
impacts employees or the workplace environment. Whether the incident impacts your
entire organization or one employee, this is a critical time to remind
employees of your EAP and how to access services. Examples of these types of
events include:
- Workplace accidents
- Acts of violence at work,
within the community, or nationally
- Natural disasters
- Impending layoffs
- An employee’s illness or
death
Normalize EAP Usage
It is common for
individuals to value self-reliance when addressing concerns. Thus, it is
important for your organization to actively work to create a culture where
seeking assistance is seen as healthy and natural.
Normalizing the need to
care for one’s mental well-being and providing regular information about how to
do this is one way you support the mental health of your employees and their
family members. Additionally, fostering an environment where employee
well-being is prioritized, demonstrates your organization values physical and
mental well-being.
Awareness events. Host health fairs, etc. to provide opportunities for
employees to learn more about issues they may be facing and how they can seek
assistance in addressing these issues.
Well-being Initiatives. Host exercise classes, mindfulness training, healthy
eating challenges, etc. to promote employee health and provide opportunities to
highlight how employees can seek assistance if they are experiencing
difficulties.
Showcase success stories. Tap current employees to provide testimonials about
how they successfully faced mental or physical health issues and what EAP
services helped them during that time.
Educate and Train All Levels of
Leadership
Leaders often feel
ill-equipped when employees share relational or mental health struggles.
Regularly invest in training and equipping your leaders with good information
about how to recognize someone who may be struggling with mental health issues,
have conversations with individuals who are struggling, and what EAP resources
are available to assist with those needs.
Organize instructional sessions around how to recognize when
someone is struggling and how to have supportive conversations letting these
individuals know you are concerned and want them to feel they can seek
assistance.
Distribute resources about services available through your EAP and how
to access EAP services. When these resources are readily available, it reminds
supervisors of the resource and gives them something they can hand an employee
or walk through with an employee.
Encourage leaders to regularly mention your EAP services during team meetings and
one-on-one conversations with those they lead.
Source: Grand Rapids Chamber