EAPs and the cost of quality

Last week, EAPA UK chair, Eugene Farrell wrote an article for the Mad World newsletter that explored EAPs and the increasing costs associated with delivering high standards and quality EAP services.

In the article, Eugene highlighted how the smooth operation of an EAP service is down to the professional counsellors and psychologists who directly support employees but also vitally important are the EAP staff and management who manage the day-to-day operations. These practitioners, like counsellors and psychologists, also work to professional standards that must be adhered to such as clinical guidance and ethical standards.

The article explains that while affiliated with EAPA, the global professional body, UK EAPA has developed a set of standards specifically created for the UK market. All UK EAPA registered providers of EAP services work very specifically within this standards framework which covers the work of the counsellors and psychologists but also the staff delivering support, administration, affiliate management and overall service and delivery management.

For employers, knowing that both the counsellors and the way that the EAP itself is managed are covered within this standards framework, are an important part of the confidence and subsequent trust needed when it comes to selecting and using a service. Eugene also points out that providers too will each have working practices and standards that they operate to in addition to the UK EAPA standards.

IT and the safety of information is another consideration of quality to ensure that personal and sensitive data remain secure and delivering this is also a cost of service quality.

This is why EAPA UK urges employers, who are thinking of purchasing an EAP programme or changing providers, also think about the unseen standards and practices that really go into making a good programme. Achieving these standards requires design, process creation, implementation and monitoring and it goes without saying that such management and delivery has a cost associated with it, and this is part of the fee that purchasers pay for their EAP.

Eugene also highlights how the EAP industry is already seeing an increase in the use of services, reflecting the rise in mental health awareness and action in the workplace and that while a positive step forward, this puts a greater strain on resources across the EAP industry and again has cost implications when it comes to the delivery of a quality EAP service.

“While the cost of EAP provision has fallen over many years making it a very cost-effective workplace intervention, if we are to continue to meet, and in many cases, exceed quality standards while delivering on this rise in demand, EAP pricing may have to increase and become an accepted part of the cost of supporting mental wellbeing at work,” he explains.

You can read the full article here and don’t forget that all EAPA members are entitled to a 50% discount using code EAPA50 when registering for the Mad World Summit in October.

EAPA partners with Employee Benefits to support EB Live 2019

EAPA is pleased to announce that it has once again partnered with Employee Benefits to support EB Live in 2019. Now in its 21st edition, EB Live is Europe’s largest employee benefits and reward event and will take place on 1-2 October at the ExCeL, London.

“We are delighted to once again to be a partner with Employee Benefits Live in 2019. It’s vital that businesses have wellbeing programmes in place that support their employees and help create healthy workplaces. As partners of the event, we can continue to raise awareness and understanding around the role EAPs can play in helping organisations to achieve this,” said Eugene Farrell, chair of UK EAPA.

Employee Benefits Live is a two-day event for HR, reward and benefits professionals, featuring an extensive exhibition and a comprehensive multi-stream conference programme. Delegates will be able to gain insight from leading industry experts and specialists as well as network with their peers, colleagues, industry providers and consultants.

Register today for free.

EAPA is pleased to support the Mad World Summit again in 2019

EAPA is delighted to again be supporting the Mad World Summit 2019, taking place on 9 October in London. Good mental health in the workplace is fundamental to business success and Mad World is playing a key role in this by putting mental health at the heart of the business agenda.

With an impressive line-up of cross-industry speakers, the focus of the event is about moving from stigma to solutions when it comes to workplace wellbeing. The comprehensive agenda features interactive roundtables, in-depth conference steams, an exhibition and networking opportunities throughout the day.

“As partners of the summit, we are pleased to continue to raise awareness and understanding around the role EAPs can play in helping organisations to support their employees and develop positive mental health throughout their workplaces,” said Eugene Farrell, chair of UK EAPA.

As a supporter of the event, EAPA is pleased to be able to extend a 50% discount on the delegate price to all EAPA members who may be interested in attending the event in October.

If you would like to take up this opportunity, register here and input the discount code: EAPA50.

UK EAPA elects new Chair, Eugene Farrell

The UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association is pleased to confirm the election of Eugene Farrell as its new Chair.

The election took place last week at the Association’s Annual General Meeting, held at the Health & Wellbeing at Work conference on 5 March 2019. Speaking on his election, Eugene, who is the Mental Health Lead at AXA PPP healthcare, said:

“There has never been a time where mental health has been talked about and promoted as much as it is now. EAP’s have a very important role to play in the promotion and support of mental health in the workplace and are a key component of mental wellbeing for many organisations.

“It is a challenging time too, with growing awareness creating greater demand upon wellbeing services and their delivery. Workplace demographics are changing with increasing numbers of young professionals joining the workforce. Having grown up using the internet, mobile devices and social media, they expect to be able to access support services via mobile apps and web-based platforms as well as more traditional routes.

“I am looking forward to working with the Board to continue establishing UK EAPA as the voice for the EAP industry, by demonstrating the value and return of EAP programmes and promoting the role of EAP’s in the workplace.”

A full report on the new Board and the recent AGM will be made available to members in the coming weeks.

New ROI tool removing barriers to employer workplace health promotion

The final report from the Institute of Employment Studies (IES) on Designing and Testing a Return on Investment Tool for EAPs has now been published and is available to download from the UK EAPA website.

Created by the IES on behalf of UK EAPA, the tool responds to a lack of evidence for the cost-effectiveness of workplace health initiatives, as identified by the Stevenson-Farmer, Thriving At Work report.

An interim study report highlights that, despite evidence of the business case for investment in employee mental health promotion, previous data have not sufficiently related to the conditions of UK small- and medium-sized businesses – data are from large businesses in the United States.

Therefore, this tool aims to capture data of sufficient quality to demonstrate cost-effectiveness and workforce health benefits. IES drew on analysis from the field of human capital to calculate reliably the organisational productivity gains associated with improved wellbeing as a result of the use of EAPs.

In order to estimate the direct and indirect costs of sickness absence to an employer, the tool adds realism to cost estimates borne from the human capital approach, by making assumptions about the balance between direct and indirect costs.

Early indications from the data collected from the tool suggest that the ROI of EAPs is positive, even with lower absence and utility figures. IES will publish core findings of the study later in 2019.

IES Research Fellow and co-author of the report, Zofia Bajorek, commented: “There is a wealth of evidence available to suggest that the health and wellbeing of the workforce is important to focus on, yet the personal and financial costs of poor mental health for individuals and their employers suggest that more needs to be done to help those with mental health problems at work. In this context, it is important to ensure that health and wellbeing interventions should be evidence-based to be of greatest value to organisations.”

Neil Mountford, Chair of EAPA, commented: “While EAPs are among the most commonly used wellbeing interventions in the UK with close to half of the workforce (a total of almost 14 million) having access to an EAP, very few providers or employers have been able to collect data beyond basic take-up and satisfaction surveys.

“Data from the first users of the tool have shown that EAPs have a significantly positive return-on-investment in terms of organisational, as well as individual, outcomes. As we gather more data from EAP providers, IES will be able to further develop the tool and provide more in-depth analysis of financial outcomes – meaning increasing levels of credibility for the figures and their use with senior management and for wellbeing strategy investment.”

Getting evidence on good mental health ROI

While support for employee mental health and wellbeing generally has become the norm, there’s still a lack of hard evidence of ROI – limiting investment and making the HR approach look woolly. We’ve reached the stage where depression and anxiety is talked about, out in the open rather than dealt with behind closed doors, and people are more able to be people, not forced to adopt a rigid employee persona.

According to the Government’s Thriving at Work report, the cost of poor mental health among employees is costing employers between £33 and £42 billion. UK employers bear much of the burden of the costs of ill-health in general, chronic disease and incapacity, and HR need to have a better grasp of which particular interventions help them mitigate against these costs. In other words, talking about new attitudes to mental health, providing yoga sessions and free fruit, may feel the right thing to do, but there need to be hard numbers on Return on Investment.

There’s been some research on the ROI of some workplace health interventions over the last 30 years. But much of it originates in the USA where employers bear significant healthcare costs and have a direct financial interest in improving workforce health and promoting early intervention. The more reliable research includes a study by the large US insurance firm insurance firm LifeSolutions which found a return of between $5.17 and $6.47 (in terms of increased work productivity) for each dollar spent on the EAP. An academic study involving work with the Australian Fire Service found that mental health training for managers led to real impact on work-related absence and an ROI of £9.98 for each pound spent; while the Government’s Thriving at Work highlighted a significant return for employers investing in mental health interventions: an average of £4.20 for every £1 (with a range up to £9).

And while EAPs are the most commonly used workforce health intervention in the UK with close to half of the workforce (a total of almost 14 million) having access, very few providers or employers are able to collect systematic evaluation data beyond ‘take-up’ or utilisation statistics and satisfaction surveys. To help bridge this gap, EAPA launched the EAP calculator in October last year. Independently developed by the Institute of Employment Studies (IES), this new tool can be used by HR professionals to estimate the value of their EAP investment. Since the launch, there are now 529 users with the average return on investment calculated at £10.44 per £1 investment.

The more the calculator is used, the richer the dataset becomes. In turn this data can be used to revise and update the methodology, building the rigour and realism of the figures put forward to senior executives in boardrooms. There’s then a clear basis for investment in more specific mental health initiatives for employees. And over time, as the UK dataset grows and the anonymous data is collated and analysed, there is the detail needed for organisations and HR teams to benchmark returns and value against comparative employers in their sector and region.

The web tool available here and is available to everyone. We encourage EAPA members to try the EAP calculator and share with their clients to help build the data available. The full calculator has more detail, variables and greater intricacy and can handle employers with over 15,000 employees. Plans are underway to make the full calculator available in the coming months and we will keep members updated as this progresses.

EAP calculator delivers ROI figures for a future of benchmarking

Earlier this week, as a partner of the Mad World Summit, EAPA was pleased to write an article for the summit website explaining why it has funded the Institute of Employment Studies (IES) to design and develop an EAP calculator.

The article explains how buy-in for employee wellbeing initiatives has always been hampered by a lack of hard data. Making a case for investment into mental health benefits has meant scratching around for impact on absence rates or relying on intangibles like the value for engagement and employer branding. It had become clear, following the first phase of EAPA UK funded research with The Work Foundation, that there was an urgent need for evidence and attention to real-life figures, particularly when the cost of poor mental health among employees is costing employers between £33 and £42m (Thrive at Work report). To help fill this critical gap, EAPA UK stepped in, funding the Institute of Employment Studies (IES) to design and develop an EAP calculator.

You can read the full article here.

UK EAPA is delighted to be supporting this important event, taking place on 9 October in London. Good mental health in the workplace is fundamental to business success and Mad World is playing a key role in this by putting mental health at the heart of the business agenda. The focus of the event is about moving from stigma to solutions when it comes to workplace wellbeing and attendees will hear from an outstanding line up of speakers. The comprehensive agenda, which features keynote presentations, roundtables and networking opportunities, has been designed to help delegates learn how to integrate mental health into existing wellbeing strategies, gain inspiration from innovative leaders, uncover the right solutions for your organisation and share ideas and experiences with peers.

As a supporter of the event, EAPA is pleased to be able to extend a 30% discount on the delegate price to all EAPA members who may be interested in attending the event in October. Click here to register for the event and use the discount code: EAPA30 to book your place today.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2018

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week next week which makes it the perfect opportunity to review workplace health and wellbeing and think about what more employers could be doing to create, and promote, a culture of acceptance around mental health.

While the majority of work-related stress is attributed to workload, around 1 in 7 people say it is due to a lack of support despite EAPs being the most popular wellbeing initiative provided by employers in the UK. So why the disparity? “While awareness is growing, there’s still a significant disconnect between the EAP services already being provided by organisation to support workplace stress and wellbeing and awareness among employees,” explains EAPA UK chair, Neil Mountford. “There are a number of issues at play that are focused around a lack of understanding of what an EAP is and how it can help but also employee concerns about the confidentiality of these types of services. If employers are serious about creating mentally healthy workplaces, a good first step is dispelling the myths and improving the knowledge that exists around EAPs within their organisation.”

This starts with educating managers about the EAP and its services so that they can better communicate this to their teams and signpost more effectively when needed. Organisations could also think about hosting regular EAP awareness and mental health education sessions. By improving knowledge around EAPs, employers can help increase usage of the service and help mitigate mental health issues from escalating to the level of requiring clinical intervention and time away from work.

“We would encourage employers to talk to their EAP providers about working together to develop tailored communications and education sessions to increase knowledge and awareness around the wide range of services provided by EAPs. Organisations that do this will see the long term benefits of a successful EAP and the positive impact of employees wellbeing on the organisation through improved productivity and fewer days lost to mental ill health,” said Neil.

So if take-up of your EAP is low, Mental Health Awareness Week could be the perfect opportunity to start educating employees about what an EAP is and the different ways it can help.

New ROI tool for employers and EAPs

Last month, at our AGM, EAPA UK announced the launch of the UK’s first EAP ROI tool. This new tool, funded by EAPA UK and developed by Professor Stephen Bevan at the Institute of Employment Studies (IES) is the culmination of two years of research, resulting in the development of an algorithm that enables employers and EAP providers to now measure return on investment.

“For the first time EAP providers and employers will be able to demonstrate the value of their EAPs, using the results to better inform their health and wellbeing strategies and deliver even greater value to employees. Importantly, over time, this ROI tool will also provide a UK benchmark of EAP providers to help employers make more informed judgements of EAP value and quality,” said EAPA UK Chair, Neil Mountford.

Now available on the EAPA UK website, we would like to encourage our members and the organisations they work with to test out the EAP ROI tool. We’d also love to hear your thoughts and feedback at info@eapa.org.uk so that we can continue to refine and enhance the tool.

EAPs can help support mental health among middle managers

Last week, the CIPD launched the UK Working Lives survey, the first comprehensive measure of job quality in the UK. Combining previous research on the factors that affect job quality with a 6,000 sample survey, representative of the whole UK workforce, the results show that while overall headline satisfaction with work and jobs is reasonable, there are significant numbers who feel differently, and importantly some major systemic issues with overwork, stress and a lack of training and development.

It reports that while two-thirds of workers (64%) are satisfied with their job overall, one in four workers (25%) feel their job negatively affects their mental health, while nearly a third (30%) say their workload is too much. In particular, the survey highlights a concerning trend among workers in middle management, indicating that they have too much on their plate, a factor which is having a detrimental effect on their wellbeing. Among its recommendations, the CIPD advises employers address cultures of presenteeism, place a greater focus on wellbeing and encourage more flexible working.

“While many organisations already have an EAP in place to support the wellbeing of their employees, there appears to be a lack of awareness around the coaching and guidance element of many EAP programmes which are there to support line managers specifically,” said Neil Mountford, chair of the UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association. “We urge employers to talk to their EAP provider about these services and to work together to more actively promote the training and coaching services available to line managers which can help them manage their day-to-day pressures more effectively.”

You can ready the CIPD’s UK Working Lives Survey here.