I had a fantastic time at a recent conference, in no small part down to the emphasis on building the right team and looking after the staff that make our organisations great.
(Long overdue, in my opinion!)
If you were there, you’d know “Employee Assistance Programmes” (EAP) were mentioned quite a lot.
What is an Employee Assistance Programme?
A confidential helpline dedicated to helping your employees smooth out personal and work-related problems.
Yes, it might seem a bit touchy-feely, but the reality is that it really does make a difference and can help you keep your team together, turning up and functioning as you need them to.
Last year alone, mental ill health absenteeism and staff turnover ran at £56 billion – that’s how much money was lost; if an EAP can help you claw back your share of that, it really is a no-brainer.
I’m a fan of EAP because:
- It’s a non-taxable benefit
- It gets help for staff suffering from mental health issues via counselling
- It gets them back to work sooner with coping mechanisms
Since the conference, I’ve been asked a lot about EAP and whether we can help with it, and the short answer is, we can.
The investment starts at just £44.14 per month (for up to 49 employees) – that’s the total cost, NOT per employee, which is very reasonable considering the impact it can have on employee retention and the support your key staff members receive.
In addition, occupational health is built-in, which means you can get health reports on long-term sick employees and interact with employees who need additional support via counselling. It also allows managers to get specific support to help them achieve their goals.
What do you think?
P.S. EAP costs less than Death In Service, and they can use it now, while still working for you!
