EAP Account Manager
Today we feature Client Development Manager, Pauline Bratton of FirstAssist and ask her to tell us about “A life in the day of….”an EAP Account Manager
I first came across EAP in the early 90’s whilst working as a HR director in the public sector. Impressed by their direct impact on employee performance I moved into the EAP field in 1993 talking my
Why it is different from other work you have done?
Client management is very similar to HR work in that it deals with relationships and outcomes; I just deal with a more varied and disperse customer base.
What does your work involve?
My main responsibility is to ensure customer satisfaction through demonstrating the added value of their EAP services. So listening to the customer needs is probably the number one priority! Management information on scheme usage and shared knowledge coupled with employee training and awareness are probably the main features of the role.
- Projects you have been involved with that might have been interesting?
Working on the initial EAP Standards Committee in the early days of EAP in the
- What do your customers get out of their EAP?
Customers are looking for professional support to help them achieve optimum performance from their employees whilst at the same time supporting employees to recognise and address the every day challenges in personal and work life which all employees face. The fact that as a provider we can share (anonymously) our experiences across a whole range of issues helps managers who are facing what they think are one off challenges.
- Any other snippets of interest?
I am always encouraged by the number of employees who approach me at briefings/training days to share, unsolicited, their very positive experiences of the support they have received from their EAP, its good to be able to relate that back to the counsellors and legal teams.
Management Information from schemes is now very much reflecting the effects of the recession, from employees seeking debt counselling to expressing their fears for their own jobs or those of their partners. This uncertainty shows up in all aspects of EAP usage.
Managerial consultancy is finally starting to take its place in the
EAP training or events you have held?
The most effective EAP training/events I have attended have been at the annual EAPA conferences in the States. To be able to spend a couple of days immersed with EAP professionals on EAP’s home ground was inspirational.
Small acts of heroism remain in the mind such as the security guard who after a terrorist bombing in a shopping centre risked his life by returning into a store to rescue what he thought was an injured shopper. It was a shop window mannequin.
Many thanks Pauline, really interesting!
