'Workplace effectiveness' firm unites EAP, work/life
Workplace effectiveness’ firm unites EAP, work/life
Unified services important business strategy’
Proponents of employee assistance programs (EAPs) and work/life programs have long sung their praises as a means of helping employees face life’s problems and challenges, thus, optimizing both their mental and physical health. But now, a newly formed organization has set forth another rationale for such programming: It’s good business strategy.
Minneapolis-based Ceridian Performance Partners was formed early this year through the merger of Ceridian’s Employee Advisory Resource (EAR); Employee Assistance Associates of Ann Arbor, MI; and The Partnership Group of Blue Bell, PA. With this diverse expertise, the organization can provide both employee assistance and work/life programs under the same umbrella, which it calls Lifebalance.
This combination helps foster optimal workplace effectiveness, explains Linda Hall Whitman, MSW, PhD, president of Ceridian Performance Partners. "In our minds, [workplace effectiveness] spans an array of issues that can get in the way of a person not only being physically at work but at full capacity," she says. "It ranges from dealing with addiction disorders, personal relationships, grief, depression, or anxiety, to harassment or job insecurity. It also can include going through a divorce, problems with your landlord, credit problems, finding summer camps for kids, picking a college, child care, adult care, nursing care." In the past, she notes, most families had one adult at home who took care of these types of issues. "Less than 7% of American families meet that standard today," she asserts.
"When you have employees who are expected to work 8 to 5 or 7 to 4 and they have things they need to take care of in their personal lives, employees will typically take a lot of time out during the work day or on breaks. This program gives them the opportunity to use breaks for a break and a lunch hour for a lunch hour," notes Ann Simba, human resources manager for Performark Inc., a marketing relationship agency based in Bloomington, MN. Performark, which had been using Ceridian’s EAR program since 1993, began participating in the LifeBalance program in April.
Whitman says her clients can attest to the direct relationship between workplace effectiveness services and business success. "We have one Fortune 500 [company] that conducted a user-satisfaction survey and found that 64% of the respondents said if they did not use our services, they would otherwise have taken time off work," she observes. "That plummets directly to the bottom line."
(Work and family benefits continue to gain the favor of employers. See the story, p. 114.)
Combination makes sense
It makes good sense to unite both EAP and work/life offerings, says Simba. "Often, seemingly unrelated issues end up tying in with each other," she explains. "An employee may call the EAP program with concerns about eldercare, but they can then have access to referrals and resources as well. It’s almost like a one-stop shop."
"EAPs started in the 70s as substance abuse services and then expanded into stress management," Whitman notes. Work/life programs started 10 or so years ago with a primary emphasis on child care and then expanded into elder care. However, many companies later separated child care concerns and elder care concerns into different departments , which was inconvenient for employees. That has nothing to do with what real people and real companies do; they don’t partition their lives. An employee may call about a financial issue, but the problem may also be related to substance abuse or violence at home; you don’t want to tell them to make several different calls, she asserts."
Ceridian’s LifeBalance services, which fall within the major categories of consultation, referral, and information resources, encompass:
• parenting and child care;
• education and schooling;
• elder care/adult disabilities;
• everyday issues;
• legal and financial issues;
• work issues;
• personal and relationship issues;
• addiction disorders;
• management/employee relations.
Ceridian also offers employers these additional services:
• stand-alone EAP and work/life services;
• short-term counseling sessions;
• managed care for behavioral health;
• emergency/back-up child care reimbursement;
• substance abuse case management to meet federal regulations;
• personal and professional development training;
• crisis prevention and management;
• wellness services;
• nurseline.
From the company’s perspective, Whitman adds, it’s far less expensive for it to "sole-source" these services. Ceridian’s fees vary, based on how much the company utilizes them, but typical costs range anywhere from $12 to $36 per employee per year.
In-house interface critical
Even though companies "outsource" Ceridian’s services, it’s extremely important that close communications are maintained with in-house health promotion or benefits professionals.
"We collect all data on a quarterly basis so we can be partners with the benefits or medical departments," notes Whitman. "While we always protect employee anonymity, we can identify significant trends, such as a lot of calls about addiction or stress. Then, we put our heads together and think about some proactive program that could address that particular issue." Besides this formal quarterly report, Ceridian’s account executives maintain weekly contact with the company, she adds.
"We are very definitely involved in the process," says Simba. "Our representative pretty much leaves the level of involvement up to us. For example, I wasn’t familiar enough with the program at the outset to handle employee orientation, so she did it for me."
Although the program has only been in place for a few months, Simba says the dedication of one counselor in particular has already provided her with a benefit impossible to measure in terms of dollars. "He stuck with us for two hours in a crisis situation, until we were able to convince the employee to go in to see someone face to face," she recalls. "I definitely know we saved a life that day."
[Editor’s Note: For more information about linking EAP and work/life programs, contact: Linda Hall Whitman, Ceridian Performance Partners, 8100 34th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55425-1640. Telephone: (800) 788-1949. Fax: (612) 853-5270. E-mail: ceridian.performance.partners @ceridian.com.]
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