You're Nothing Without Confidentiality

As an EA professional, do you acknowledge clients in the hallway when they say hello? What about public settings like groceries stores? If a client approaches you in the hallway, do you fail to minimize the amount of time engaging with him or her? Do you accept invitations to Christmas parties? Are you an assistant Scout Master with the local Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troop that happens to be the same troop where an employee (not a client) in your organization also volunteers? Would you attend the wedding of an EAP client--you know, the one you helped get sober three years ago who is now an outstanding worker and is so grateful for you "single-handily" saving his life?" There is nothing inherently wrong with engaging clients in the community, but this activity--the appearance, no matter how slight, of having a different kind of relationship with one employee over another can destroy your EAP's confidentiality in a flash, demotivate and cause would-be clients to stay away, and increase risk to your organization because these same employees might also be the most at-risk. There are only three types of employees in the entire world of work on planet earth--supervisors, employees, and employee assistance professionals. This metaphor exaggerates the point I am trying to make here. You can't afford to look and be more friendly or emotionally close with clients or potential clients in your organization. And every employee is a potential client. Doing so creates a dual-relationship that undermines your appearance of neutrality-a source of confidential help. This happens because it instantly appears that you a have closer non-professional relationship with some over others. This makes you suspect as to being unable to keep a secret to some employees who have different or no relationship with those same employees. The thought will cross an employee's mind, "Can you be trusted?" Being friends or having informal social engagements with clients, employees, or supervisors is a recipe for frightening away potential clients and undermining your program. If employee X does not trust employee Y, but you appear to be friends with employee Y, what happens? Answer: X stays away from the EAP. The dominoes fall from there.


#eap employee assistance program

DOT Drug Alcohol Treatment Supervisor and Suspicion Education Training

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Should We Stop Recommending Client's See a Doctor Before Starting an Exercise Program?

There is no need to tell employees to see their doctor before starting an exercise program. Research appears to show it is a harmful idea and contributes to fewer people exercising and thereby contributes to morbidity. In other words, the recommendation is a roadblock that health professionals and EAPs often mention in articles and presentations -- one medical society recommends stopping this practice. One issue they do not discuss is the litigiousness of society problem, and the desire to sue others, which I suspect is really what motivates health professionals to recommend that a client or patient or employee see their doctor before starting an exercise program. (i.e. "You told me to exercise and I had a heart attack. I blame you.") Here's a link to the study.
http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2015/11000/Updating_ACSM_s_Recommendations_for_Exercise.28.aspx

Depression in the Workplace Awareness Video Motivates Employees to Seek Help

View a Sample of a Web Course with Explanation of Benefits and Features

Imagine giving us any PowerPoint presentation or any sort of presentation, and letting us turn it into an Online Training Program-- a Web course.  How much leverage would this give your program. What advantages. What monetary payoff? See an example of such a program below.

Online training can leverage almost every skill and ability you possess and it can lead to increased utilization, better outreach, reduced risk, better competition, more opportunity, and endless ideas for improving the value proposition of your services.


Click the Web Course Image below IF:

• You need enhanced program/services or EAP utilization
• You need to add value to your EAP or workplace consulting practice
• You need to reduce costs associated with third party subscription content
• You want the prestige of "your own stuff" on your Web site.
• You need to improve your image with your logo on the content, not a 3rd party provider.
• You need to reach more family members to educate them and improve access to your services
• You need to stop the subscription fees, per user fees, licensing fees, restrictions, and rules on rented third-party content for your Web site
• You need to stop worrying about what else you can do to add value to your services
• You need to compete more successfully with other providers/vendors
• You need to make more money from your program’s services, find new revenue channels, or be able to charge for more features added to your core services
• You keep asking staff for new ideas about program improvements, but only getting blank stares.

See the Sample Web Course and link to the order form which gives you price information starting about $17 a slide -- you send your PowerPoint and we return a Web Course in three formats.

Here’s what you’ll get back below, but fill out the form to get a complete estimate.

Typically, your course can include:

• Professional narration,
• Animated and voice syncing of the program
• A link to your handouts, policies
• Special links within the program to anywhere you want viewers to go on your Website or on the Internet
• At the end of the course, learners are forwarded to anywhere you would like them to go next.
• Test questions of any kind—T/F, multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, and more;
• Your logo on your content
• No mention of our name, our logo, or the origin of the online training program
• Your copyright on your content
• 100% ownership of the final product
• Web course files that easily load to your server (restricted so learners can’t jump ahead)
• A second form of the same course with unrestricted movement (for your use),
• CD of the course that runs on any laptop for live stand-up presentations
• A Web Video(movie) of your course.

If you don't have a PowerPoint topic to turn into a web course right now...talk tome about doing the same for your easel notes, sheets of paper, video of any presentation, or scratches on a napkin!

See a short example of a web course

Daniel Feerst, MSW, LISW-CP
Publisher

1-800-626-4327    Updated Catalog

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EAP Utilization Hack #124: Create At-Risk Interview Schedules for Clients By Job Type

Don't hate me for this, but, I do not have a collected list of 124 EAP Utilization Hacks exactly, but someday I would like to go to an EAPA conference and make such a presentation. I admit, the #124 was to catch your attention, but if you read this blog regularly, you may have counted that many suggestions along the way combined with my 20 years of emailing EAPs to a list over 8,200 EAP, HR, and other workforce management professionals. Nevertheless consider the following idea.

When an employee comes to your EAP assessment interview via self- or supervisor referral, be knowledgeable about the risks that employee faces in their job. I am not just talking about stress. You will need to research individual professionals. Try the dictionary of occupational titles. Google "job risk and problems ___________. Take librarians for example. Sounds like a quiet job. Hmm. You will discover that  that they are accosted frequently by strangers and the homeless, threatened, and harassed. See what I'm saying? But they may not talk about these things. So, create mental list of specific questions to help screen these employees when they visit your office for routine personal problems to help identify any emerging problems, health crises, or ticking time bombs in their lives. By the way, sell this ability to organizations if you are an EAP vendor....and link it to cost-benefit, recovery from loss, and reduced exposure. And if you have a free time, consider how to link up with property casualty insurers...however.. I digress.

Police, truck drivers, nurses, Latino workers, firefighters, spouses of emergency responders are only a few, but there are many more professions. For example, truck drivers:  Long-haul truck driving is one of the deadliest professions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Truck drivers are involved in an estimated 250,000 crashes each year, with 1 to 2 percent resulting in fatalities. If you are a truck driver, new research points to how they can reduce risk for a crash. The study sought to identify health and occupational factors that may contribute to crash risk. These include: 1) frequent fatigue after work; 2) using cell phones while driving; 3) having elevated blood pressure. The researchers surveyed 797 truckers who underwent a basic physical exam. Two indicators of poor health management – high blood pressure and fatigue – were highly associated with crash risk. High pulse pressure exacerbated by stress, long hours, heavy lifting, and lack of sleep, and exercise are suspected in contributing to these conditions. Now...complete my post and consider, what questions might you ask such an employee who comes to your office complaining of financial problems? A skilled interviewer could find out much more and do much more than refer such an employee to the local Community Credit Counseling Center.  http://healthcare.utah.edu [search “truck drivers fatigue”]

Should EAPs Give a Hootily about Customer Service?

If you have been reading this EAP blog for a number of years, then you know I like to discuss how to apply EAP skills, knowledge, advantage, the attractive element of legal confidentiality, leverage, relationship building, risk identification opportunity, and organizational access to reach into organizations and spot new and emerging problems and opportunities that will save more lives and deliver more black ink to the bottom line. This is how you get management tostand up and notice how the EAP core technology works. (Especially since their CFO and managed care have sold them a bill of goods that are not true EAP.) Indeed, an 800# service as a substitute for a comprehensive workplace focused program is really a farce when you consider all that EAPs do and can do. For example, take customer service training. Of course EAPs were never designed to train employees in how to deliver customer service. But let me ask you this: Is it appropriate for EAPs to deliver seminars on stress management? What about relationship effectiveness in general? Would you say that helping employees to improve engagement, attitudes, optimism, and manage conflict better are worthwhile and appropriate for the EAP role? Of course you would. So, what do you think customer service is all about? I think you are getting my point. EAPs can REACH into risk. And these sorts of services, training in this case smartly delivered, can elevate your program and give it a permanent spot at the strategic table in the employer's boardroom. After all you have a perspective that no one else can give.