Employee Assistance Program (EAP): 9 Best Providers

No two EAPs are the same, with some providing a full-spectrum of preventative care solutions for mental and behavioral health such as daily meditation apps and counseling, while others are more focused on crisis management of life challenges. Here are just a few of the practical ways the right EAP can help your organization:

• Reduced healthcare claims costs: EAPs result in a 5:1 return on costs, with 85 percent of the savings due to decreased medical claims.
• Health and safety regulation compliance: A fair amount of onsite accidents can be traced to substance abuse and mental health issues. EAPs can reduce work related accidents by 65 percent.
• Workforce attendance and performance: EAPs can reduce sick leave usage by 33 percent, as employees receiving proper care and attention will be less likely to misuse sick days to deal with depression or addiction-related issues.
• Staff issue mitigation: By ensuring that your team is cared for, you boost employee morale. A properly implemented EAP can reduce grievances by up to 50 percent.
• Less burdened management: When performance issues stem from addiction or mental health problems, managers can lack the tools necessary to help the employee and rectify the situation. By getting employees the help they need to perform at their best, EAPs can reduce the time spent on supervisor reprimands by 74 percent.‍
• Better HR team utilization: Mental health and addiction issues are often too complicated and personal for HR teams to handle on their own. EAPs help employees address their issues with a skilled professional, allowing HR teams to focus on their people more strategically.

An effective EAP provides a custom range of services that fits the needs of the organization — both employers and employees. But there are many pitfalls that can prevent a program from effectively serving an organization. Let’s take a look at a few of them:

• Poor Communication / Misunderstood Benefits: Employee Assistance Programs rely on active enrollment in any/all of their initiatives. If employees don’t understand the ins and outs of your program or how it may serve them, then not only will your investment be wasted, your employees won’t be getting the help available to them when they need it.
• Value vs. Cost: If your program is underutilized, or a poor fit for your organization, the expense of providing an EAP may outweigh its possible benefit. If the available services aren’t clear and easily accessible, employees and management may view it as money better spent on more traditional employee benefits, such as revamped health insurance, child care or elder care.‍
• Stigma and Cultural Acceptance: Everyone knows that life isn’t perfect, and has its share of ups and downs. However, employees won’t feel comfortable seeking help from an EAP if they fear that they will be looked down upon by management or colleagues alike. Organizations should take an active role in promoting company-wide acceptance of the utilization of these programs, and the common life circumstances that make them necessary.
• Inability to Prove ROI: The initial and continued buy-in of an EAP by upper management relies on the data to prove its efficacy. Without proper tracking of enrollment, as well as pre-and-post implementation statistics on absenteeism, medical costs, and more, organizations might dismiss EAPs as ineffective. ‍
• Perception of Confidentiality: Besides the services offered in response to drug test results or onsite behavioral incidents, EAP services should be completely confidential for employees or their family members. However, this is often not clearly communicated —- or if it is, the employee lacks the confidence that their privacy will be respected and that seeking treatment could have professional repercussions.‍
• Quality of Services: The effectiveness of your EAP not only relies on its communication, but the quality of the services offered, which depends heavily on the level of expertise possessed by EAP providers and counselors. Organizations should always vet the experts under an EAP’s umbrella to ensure that the advice and counseling employees receive is beneficial.‍
• Employee Misuse: Unfortunately, employee misuse of EAP services to avoid a disciplinary action is all too common. Such employees will claim they are struggling with substance abuse problems or other traumas to avoid penalties, demotions, or dismissals, sometimes even promising to seek help through the employer’s EAP to tackle the issue. This type of behavior ties the hands of an employer, as the employee is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• ‍Clunky Technology: No matter how great a program’s benefits are, if the app or website used to access them is difficult to use, employees will be too frustrated by the platform to engage with the EAP. This is especially important if the one of the major EAP offerings is a virtual coaching app or platform for relevant, helpful content.

As an organization, you have an obligation to help your employees care for themselves, and that extends outside of the office. But doing the right thing is far from the only benefit to be gained from providing an Employee Assistance Program. According to research from the Center for Prevention and Health Services, workplace costs of mental illness and substance abuse disorders range from $79 to $105 billion each year. An Employee Assistance Program can help these employees and combat absenteeism, lack of engagement, workplace distress and personal strife.

An EAP is a proven, cost-effective solution to many of the problems employers face today, and translates into very tangible ROI. According to the Department of Labor, employers save an average of $5 to $16 for every dollar invested in an effective Employee Assistance Program. In a recent WOS annual report, companies saw an average of 10.92 hours of work missed over a 30-day period due to mental health related issues before implementing an EAP system. After program implementation, this number was nearly cut in half to 5.64 hours — an improvement of 48 percent.

While EAPs keep identities confidential, in most cases, you will receive a usage report from your EAP provider that shows how many employees are taking advantage of your program and how they are using it. These reports can tell you if you’re getting your money’s worth by offering an Employee Assistance Program.

The cost of an EAP varies widely depending on the type of program desired, the size of the organization, the industry, and the quality of service offering. In addition to these variables, the approach to pricing can vary across providers. Providers charge on a “per use,” “per call,” or “per employee” basis.

• “Per use” pricing models offer services like telephone support and online resources for a fixed monthly fee, applying additional charges for other services such as face-to-face counselling.
• “Per call” pricing on the other hand offers their EAP service cost at a fixed cost, minus a flat rate for every call their employee makes to the EAP.‍
• “Per employee” pricing is by far the most popular option amongst EAP providers, charging a fixed price per employee based on the expected use of the service.This fee usually ranges between $10-$50 per employee each month, but can be higher depending on the number of services provided and the size of the organization. Smaller organizations tend to have a higher per-employee price, and can have a more difficult time finding an affordable EAP as many providers have an employee enrollment minimum.

According to recent studies, an estimated one in four adults in the United States have a diagnosable mental disorder, one in five adults have an alcohol use problem, and one in eight adults have a drug or other kind of addiction. Untreated mental health disorders and addictions can damage your employees in many ways, increasing their risk of illness, personal problems, incidents at work or school and even a family breakdown. However, more than half of employees don’t tell their employer about such problems for fear of losing their job.

Due to both their flexibility and confidentiality, EAPs allow your staff to get the help they need, when they need it. From emergency response to onsite traumatic incidents to custom content like videos and podcasts, EAPs can cover a broad spectrum of features that enhance well-being in a confidential manner and prevent absenteeism or sick leave.

Common features of top EAPs include:

• Crisis Management and Incident Support: Accidents happen and crises can arise, from employee deaths to organizational violence. When these incidents occur, every second counts. Ensure that your employees are supported 24/7 with an EAP that provides immediate expert workplace crisis management and incident support, from on-site debriefings and in-person counseling services to rapid response from a specialized crisis management team.
• Substance abuse: According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the majority of adults with substance use problems are employed, and an estimated 29% of full-time workers engage in binge drinking, 8% engage in heavy drinking, and 8% have used illicit drugs in the past month. Due to the recent pandemic, these numbers are expected to rise. EAPs can help sufferers of substance abuse by offering preventive services and screening, early identification, short-term counseling, and referral to specialty treatment.
• Mental Health Services: As of 2017, 1 in 5 U.S. citizens has reported a mental illness, and U.S. Employers spend about $31 billion a year in lost productivity due to depression alone. By providing access to free therapy for behavioral and mental health conditions, and encouraging employees to take advantage of these surfaces, employers can alleviate suffering, help offset costs and contribute to a culture of prevention.
• Holistic Wellness Content: One of the more advanced features available in some EAPs, online portals or apps can provide custom wellness content for employees, from meditation training to establishing work-life balance. In addition, these portals and apps can keep track of any program progress, important contact info, and more.
• Workplace Concern Hotline: While this may not fall under the umbrella of every EAP provider, the most holistic providers will often offer a toll-free, confidential number to report workplace concerns that can affect your employee’s emotional and physical well-being. Harassment and discrimination, workplace violence or threats, on-site substance abuse, fraud, and other issues can be caught early when employees feel they have a safe place to turn.

When it comes time to choose a provider, one of the first steps is to attend a demo. This is one of the best opportunities your organization has to get your concerns addressed, and ultimately ensure that you’re choosing the right provider. We recommend coming up with a list of questions about the use cases most relevant to your business to have in hand during every demo you attend.

Here are a few topics to brainstorm your own questions:

• What qualifications do the staff possess? All staff members employed by the EAP provider to interact with your employees should be licensed, EAP-trained counselors with a master’s degree from an accredited university. As these professionals will often be providing services to employees when they’re in a time of crisis, it’s critical that they possess the necessary training and experience to manage all manner of life issues.
• How are employees referred to affiliates? When your employees are facing a crisis or dealing with mental health issues, it can be an impossible burden to call various affiliates and determine both availability and appropriateness or their particular case. The best EAPs will assign your employees to a compatible counselor and verify their availability directly, instead of simply providing referral services.
• Do they offer continuity in care? Counselor-client relationships can be tricky and tiring to establish, as sometimes it takes several counseling sessions for an employee to feel comfortable. For continuity and comfort, employees should be able to speak with the same counselor they’ve worked with in the past. Any EAP staff fielding calls should be able to determine which counselor the client has seen in the past and help schedule a repeat session if so desired.
• How are cases monitored? Cases shouldn’t be closed until the EAP counselor confirms that the employee is satisfied with the referral(s) received and has resolved their issues.
• How adaptable is the EAP? An effective EAP team is agile, and collaborative, drawing upon all of its available professional resources to help your organization in whatever way is necessary. Whether the crisis is immediate or ongoing, the EAP should be equipped to handle it.
• What management resources are available? An employee in trouble can be a difficult issue to face for any manager. Supervisors often struggle with how to handle the situation or dread taking necessary corrective action. Many EAP vendors have trained interventionalists or organizational mediators on staff who can deliver services onsite.
• Does the EAP offer online or In-person training? Whether the EAP offers in-person or on-line training options could make a big impact on the program’s ROI. In-person training tends to be more engaging, but online offers instant accessibility and can be more easily prolonged for employee development. 
• Is there an assigned account manager? Many EAPs have a designated account manager who oversees all aspects of implementation, and acts as a single point of contact for any problems or concerns.
• Does the EAP offer promotional materials/activities? As we’ve covered previously, EAPs offer little value if employees aren’t aware of it’s assistance or don’t understand how to use it. Several EAPs will offer a variety of promotional/informational materials, such as printed and digital flyers, orientation sessions, and manager training.
  

Once an EAP provider has been chosen, there are several steps an organization should take to get their program up and running. First, an organization should draft an internal EAP policy that explains the following:

• What the business hopes to accomplish by offering an EAP
• A step-by-step procedure for employees to follow in order to access available services
• How the business intends to maintain confidentiality and employee privacy.

After the EAP policy is completed, both the launch of its program and its policy should be publicized within the organization, via internal newsletters, websites, and social networks. These communications should list any and all services available through the program, and stress that confidentiality is assured. In addition, human resources departments should set aside office hours for employees to come in and speak with the HR team about any questions they might have.

Remember that without engagement, your EAP will fail in its mission. Communication is key: speak directly to your employees about the benefits, and make sure they understand what it can do for them. Pamphlets summarizing the benefits and business cards are handy here — leave them in shared spaces, at the front desk, or anywhere else they can be easily picked up by interested employees.

What is an EAP?

An Employee Assistance Program (EAP), as defined by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is a voluntary workplace program that provides free, confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-ups for employees facing personal or work-related issues.

EAPs tackle a wide range of mental and emotional well-being issues, including substance abuse, stress, grief, family issues, and psychological disorders. They also offer consultative support to managers and supervisors for employee and organizational challenges and are instrumental in preventing and managing workplace violence, trauma, and emergencies.

How much does an EAP cost?

Pricing of an employee assistance program varies by provider. However, you should be prepared to pay per user, per call, or per employee.

Is EAP free to employees?

Yes, EAP is employer-sponsored, so it’s free to employees, their dependents, or household members.

An intelligently structured, comprehensive, and well-implemented EAP can have a huge positive impact on your organization’s morale, productivity, and bottom line. But before we leave you to your decision-making process, we offer a word of caution: what you pay for is what you get. Many EAPs have been advertised with a cost as low as $1 per employee, but don’t count on these providers to give the necessary support your employees are looking for. Instead, please take a look at our vetted list of providers above, and ask for a demo with the 2-3 best bets for your particular case.