Employee Assistance Program

An employee assistance program, or EAP, is a counseling and referral service for employees and their eligible dependents to assist with personal or workplace problems. Everyone has problems from time to time. Usually they can be worked out. Sometimes, however, they persist and become serious enough to affect life both on and off the job. This is when an EAP can help.

Offering your employees an EAP is smart business. Employees not distracted by day-to-day problems are more likely to be alert, motivated and focused on their jobs. This makes your business more productive. Furthermore, it costs more to hire and train a new employee than to keep a current employee.

The EAP can handle a wide range of problems, such as those related to emotional, family, marital, stress, financial, legal, bereavement, substance abuse, workplace, and elder care.

Core Services:

As a benefit and workplace management tool the EAP offers multiple services. Here are some facts about the EAP:

• Three (3) in person sessions at no cost to the employee

Confidential Assessment, Referral and Brief Counseling. When problems arise, all covered employees and their family members may contact the EAP  for assessment, brief counseling and, when necessary, referral free-of-charge to them. All contact is strictly confidential.

• Appointments are made quickly

When you want to access EAP services, just call 706 549 6658 or 1-800-286-2207. These phone numbers provide you one-point access to all our services. You can also contact EAP via the web site feature of ASK EAP

• Self-referral and supervisory referrals

Self Referrals: A simple telephone call starts the process and there is no red tape.  Appointments are scheduled at your convenience.

Supervisory Referrals: It is the responsibility of an organization's supervisors to appropriately confront an employee whenever they see changes in performance that do not respond to corrective actions.  Examples of appropriate times to intervene and initiate a referral to your EAP:  positive drug screen; policy violations; critical incident; or performance problems that have not responded to previous corrective actions.

• Management consultation
  

  Consultation. Ongoing, we provide coaching by phone or in person to administrators and supervisors to assist them in working with a troubled employee and utilizing the EAP within your organization.

  
  Upon receipt of your Enrollment Application from us, our EAP provider will send you welcome information including brochures and wallet cards, as well as add you to their list for email EAP tips and news.

  To enroll your employees, contact Matt Oppriecht. Once your coverage is activated, our provider will include your charges in our monthly consolidated invoice; we will then bill you.

Other questions about EAP:

Can an EAP  meet the needs of Small Business?
Yes. In the whirlwind of growing a business, it's easy to get blown away. The groundwork for success is often rooted in employees who are vital to organizational growth. Nothing impacts an individual's on-the-job performance more than personal problems. Particularly for small business, these issues quickly translate into lost days, declining performance, missed deadlines, and inevitably, higher costs. In a small group environment, one person's personal problems can rapidly spread and negatively impact others. Providing a resource for employees to address "problems of daily" living can pay for itself.

There are numerous benefits to having an EAP as a part of your company.  An EAP is a resource and benefit to all employees.  Research has shown that implementing an EAP benefits companies financially, in part, due to fewer days missed form work, lower turnover, and lower medical claims of employees, spouses, and dependents, lower recruitment and training costs, lower workers' compensation costs, and fewer on the job accidents.

How long have EAP's been in existence and how many organizations employ them?
Various forms of EAPs have been around for 30 years starting in organizations such as Kodak and Dupont. Today, approximately 82% of work sites with 1000 or more employees have EAPs and 52% of organizations with 250-999 employees have EAPs. The popularity of the EAP benefit has increased as organizations have placed more emphasis on using benefit packages to attract and retain the best employees.