Let me start this article by stating that The Priority Academy are NOT an EAP provider. Therefore, this article is not about promoting our services in this area. This article is written to help you decide on which Employee Assistance Program provider may be right for you and your business.

 

According to THIS article, it would seem that some businesses are definitely unhappy with the service they are getting. It would seem that nearly half (44%) of the businesses who have an employee assistance program are considering changing their provider. At the same time 16% are considering cancelling their EAP services. With 60% of business either wishing to change or cancel their provider or service you could say the industry has an issue. We discuss more about why that is in THIS article.

 

Below we look at the top three things you should look for when choosing your EAP provider:

 

The statistics show that only 5% of staff who are covered by an Employee Assistance Program get in touch with them. The reasons for that may be varied. However, the real statistics you should be asking for are how many of those get accepted and how many get rejected. In 2023 42% of those who contacted their provider got rejected. Of those who were accepted 60% were directed to some form of free self help resource. When speaking to a potential new provider you need to know that your staff are going to get the help they need.

 

As mentioned above, many people get referred to free online self help resources. This is not what you are paying your money for. A really good provider should be offering a range of services. These might include access to counselling, training / workshops and information packs. Just providing a telephone line where people ‘might’ get access to counselling is not what your staff need.

 

In this day and age you would expect service reports as standard and yet they are not. Very often businesses sign up for an EAP service and hear nothing else from their provider. As a minimum you should receive monthly or quarterly reports. These reports should detail how many people contacted the service, how many were accepted / rejected and what help they were offered.

 

When talking to a potential provider you should ask if they are open to an external, independent evaluation of their services. If they answer yes then they definitely get bonus points. Over 30% of businesses who use an employee assistance program have never evaluated their services. This could mean you are effectively throwing money down the drain. Would you sign off on a capital expenditure without knowing it could be evaluated? Of course you wouldn’t.

 

If you are looking to take on an employee assistance program, or, you’re looking to change yours please take heed of the above. Providing your workforce with the right services will be impactful for both them and your business. Providing them with the wrong services will be wasting your money.