Cutting edge research webinar slidespptx

CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH:Two Studies of

the Current State of EAPs

in North America & Europe

Funded with support by the

Today’s PresentersDirk Antonissen, MS

ISW Limits/Leuven University, Kessel-lo, Belgium

Manuel Sommer, PhDClinica CAPA/CIP-UAL, Lisbon, Portugal

Stan Granberry, PhDNational Behavioral Consortium, Baton Rouge, LA

Terry Cahill, LCSW, CEAPPerspectives LTD, Chicago, IL

Moderator: Bernie McCann, PhD, CEAPEmployee Assistance Research Foundation

What is the EARF...?

The EARF was founded as a 501(c)(3)nonprofit foundation to stimulateinnovative, rigorous, and theory-basedresearch activities which demonstrate theability of EAPs to maximize employeecontributions to the success of workorganizations.

…and why now?There is simply not enough existing, credibleresearch to critically demonstrate the valuablecontribution of EAPs and related services toworkplace productivity.

The EARF seeks to advance the quality of EAservices by sponsoring relevant research anddisseminate these findings to employers, laborunions, EAP and HR professionals, and otherstakeholders.

Funded Research Projects to Date

EARF funded its first 2 research projects in 2011:

1) The Eureka Project - EAPs in Continental Europe: State of the Art and Future Challenges, conducted by ISW Limits & Clinica CAPA

2) National Behavioral Consortium Industry Profile of External EAP Vendors conducted by the National Behavioral Consortium

New Research in the Pipeline

• Our next research grant has been awarded to the OMNI Institute in Denver, CO for the study: The Impact of Employee Assistance Services on Workplace Outcomes.

• Study site is the Colorado State EAP, duration is 14 months, and grant amount is $100,000 plus 12% for overhead costs.

• This research effort will be one of the most complete EAP outcome studies ever undertaken, with findings expected in late 2014.

Eureka: An Employee Services Perception Study in Continental Europe

Introduction to the Study

• Are EA needs in Continental Europe different than in the US?– Intervention for prevention & health promotion

– Services are provided for individuals & organizations

• In many countries in Europe EAPs as such are not very well-known, so to investigate, we asked about employee support services at the workplace without using the language “What should an EAP offer?”*

8

*Language similar to that used in Buon & Taylor (2008) A Review of the EAP Market in the United Kingdom and Europe. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health 23(4): 425-444

Research Questions

1. What type of EA-related services are currently available?

2. What type of services should be made available?

– According to employees

– According to HR managers

9

Methods

Survey Sample

Composed of responses from 6 Eurozone countries:

1) Northern Europe: Belgium, France & The Netherlands

2) Southern Europe: Portugal, Spain & Greece

“Representative” database of respondents from:

• HR and non-HR staff positions

• Companies by size of workforce

• Companies with & without formal EAP services

11

Questionnaire

Based on 2008 Buon & Taylor article*– Content– Delivery mode (website, phone, etc.)?

• Currently present or not?• Satisfaction with?• Externally or internally?• To what extent needed?

*A Review of the Employee Assistance Programme Market in the UK & Europe

12

Description of the Sample(n = 327)

Responses from Six Countries (HR/non-HR)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Belgium TheNetherlands

Greece Spain Portugal France

HR Non-HR

48%

18%

2%5%

26%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

White collar workers Executives Other Blue collar workers Management/board

Respondents by Staff Category

Number of Persons Under Supervision

68%

12%

7%5%

8%

41%

28%

9%6%

10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

none 1<5 6<10 11<20 >20

benchmark ISW Limits

our sample

Workforce Size

92%

7%

1% 0%

29%

21%17%

33%

12% 11%

20%

57%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

<10 10<49 50<249 >250

micro small medium large

% of total number of enterprises in EU-27

% of active workforce in EU-27*

our sample

Industry Sector

29%

6%

18%

7%

15%

25%

34%

1%

18%

2%

17%

26%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

public admin,education,

health, services

agriculture industry construction finance distribution,horeca, transport

& comm

% of employment EU-27

our sample

Global Results

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Internet based (online) counseling

Childcare/eldercare services

Concierge services

Stress management

Other specialist training (healthy lifestyle)

Workplace mediation

Alcohol & other drug

Expatriate support services

Work-life

Critical incident and trauma

Harassment, bullying or grievance investigation

Couns2_stress&motivation

Counseling/advice for employees with depressive, panic or…

Fin/legal

Coaching

Performance management

Management training

HR consultation

Services Present

Type of EA Services Present

20

4.50 4.60 4.70 4.80 4.90 5.00 5.10 5.20 5.30 5.40 5.50


Counseling depressive, panic or anxiety

Counseling_stress&motivation

Concierge services


Fin/legal

Workplace mediation

Management training

HR consultation

Work-life



Coaching





Stress management

Satisfaction Ratings

Scale: Low need = 1, High need = 7

Satisfaction with EA Services

Couns. Depres/Anxiety

Couns. Stress & Motiv

Alcohol/Drug

CI & trauma

Internet/online

Financial/legal

Work-life

Child/Eldercare

Expatriate

Concierge

Coaching HR cons & infoPerf. Mgt

Mgt training

Spec. Training

Stress Management

Harassment

Mediation

3.60

4.10

4.60

5.10

5.60

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Ne

ed =

=>

Presence ==>

Needs x Presence – Gaps?

22

Harassment & Motiv


Alcohol/Drug

CI & Trauma

Internet/Online

Financial/legal

Work-lifeChild/

Eldercare

Expatriate

Concierge

CoachingHR Cons & InfoPerf. Mgt

Mgt Training

Spec. Training

Stress Management Harassment

Mediation

3.60

4.10

4.60

5.10

5.60

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Ne

ed

==>

Presence ==>

Service Growth Potential

23

Couns. Depres/Anxiety


Alcohol/Drug

CI & Trauma

Internet/Online

Financial/legal

Work-life

Child/Eldercare

Expatriate

Concierge

Coaching HR cons & infoPerf. Mgt

Mgt training

Spec. Training

Stress Management

Harassment

Mediation

3.60

4.10

4.60

5.10

5.60

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Ne

ed =

=>

Presence ==>

?

Future Opportunities...?

24

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Couns_depressive, panic or anxiety

Couns_stress&motivation




Fin/legal

Work-life



Concierge services

Coaching

HR consultation


Management training


Stress management


Workplace mediation

% of service provided by external person/organization

desirable situation

present situation

Potential for External Partnerships

25

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

website

brochure

indiv cc

Hotline

online ass+treatment

Family

Delivery Mode

% desired

% present

Potential Delivery Modes

26

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Phone

e-mail

Chat

Contact With Counselor

% desired

% present

Preference for Contact

27

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

comm.

work-life

Stress

Healthy lifestyle

Workplace Training

% desired

% present

Desired Workplace Training Topics

28

Country-Specific Analysis

Services - Comparison by Countries

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

The Netherlands Belgium France spain portugal Greece

Needs - Comparison by Countries

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

5.00

5.50

6.00

6.50

The Netherlands Belgium France spain portugal Greece

Belgium

couns. depres/anxiety


Alcohol/Drug

CI & Trauma

Internet/Online

Financial/legal

Work-life

Child/Eldercare

Expatriate

Concierge

CoachingHR cons & infoperf. mgt

Mgt training

Spec. Training

Stress Management

Harassment

Workplace Mediation

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

5.00

5.50

6.00

6.50

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Ne

ed =

=>

Presence ==>32

Belgium – Present Services

-15% -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%


counseling stress/motivation




Fin/legal

Work-life



Concierge services

Coaching

HR consultation


Management training


Stress management


Workplace mediation

Belgium – Need vs. EU Mean

-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6






Fin/legal

Work-life



Concierge services

Coaching

HR consultation


Management training


Stress management


Workplace mediation

Belgium: Need vs. EU mean

Portugal

Depres/Anxiety


Alcohol/Drug

CI & Trauma

Internet/Online

Financial/LegalWork-life

Child/Eldercare

Expatriate

Concierge

Coaching HR cons & info

Perf. Mgt

Mgt Training

Spec. Training

Stress Management

Mediation

3.50

4.00

4.50

5.00

5.50

6.00

6.50

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Nee

d =

=>

Presence ==>

Portugal – Present Services

-30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20%






Fin/legal

Work-life



Concierge services

Coaching

HR consultation


Management training


Stress management


Workplace mediation

-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6






Fin/legal

Work-life



Concierge services

Coaching

HR consultation


Management training


Stress management


Workplace mediation

Portugal - Need vs. EU Mean

Major Conclusions

• HR Managers (‘buyers’) report higher needs, more presence and better quality of services than employees (‘end-users’)

Often employees are not well informed of available services

Communication about EA-services towards employees is an important area for improvement of the services

• The need for EA services reported in different countries are much less diverse than the availability of services –this indicates possibilities for global expansion

38

Opportunities and Challenges for EAPs in Europe

Challenges & Opportunities for EAPs

Opportunities

– Other motives for employers (see Buon & Taylor, 2007):

• External & internal image of “caring company” (perception)

• To support employees suffering from stress (reactivity)

• To promote work-life balance & well-being (proactivity)

• To cut costs & increase performance (economic motives)

– Accent on primary prevention to broaden scope for EAPs with risk assessments, programs/tools for higher uptake

– Evolution from negative to positive outcomes (from stress and harassment to satisfaction and engagement) and etc.

Challenges…how to turn them into Opportunities

– Cultural diversity & different stories = innovation

– Other criteria /arguments when answering to RFP = creative thinking about marketing strategies

– Internal key roles for prevention within companies (HR, prevention advisors, company doctors)

• EAP providers can profile themselves as complementary services, providing support to key people

• More referral models for EAP: direct or indirect

• Internal key people as promoters for EA services

• Collaborating towards more integrated support systems41



Challenges, continued– External organizations that offer similar services to companies

• the case for Belgium: ESPP

• sickness insurance companies (‘mutualities’)

When evidence-based approach & best practices permit, shift from competitors to promoters/partners

– Social dialogue in work organizations cannot be bypassed;

Union representatives may be suspicious, need to be convinced of the value of EA services

EAP providers should present themselves as a neutral partner; Employee representatives can be involved as referral agents

© N

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Stanford W. Granberry, PhD

Primary Investigator

Mark Attridge, PhD, MA

Terry Cahill, MSW, LCSW, CSADC

Patricia Herlihy, PhD, RN

Co-Authors

2013

www.nbcgroup.org

NATIONAL BEHAVIORAL

CONSORTIUM

INDUSTRY PROFILE OF

EXTERNAL EAP VENDORS

The NBC study was supported by a $40,000 grant from the Employee Assistance Research Foundation

(EARF).

The Foundation exists to stimulate innovative, rigorous, and theory-based research activities in the

field of EAP.

www.eapfoundation.org

44

The NBC study shines a flashlight

in a dark closet, it does not

turn on all the lights in the house.

46

Terry Cahill created the first version of

the NBC EAP Vendor Survey 5 years

ago.

47

Actual pictures of Terry Cahill

taken before and after the Survey

This is the first study to provide

publicly available, comparative

information based on such a large and diverse

set of External EAP providers.

Originally US Centric

Canada added

Then Global

52

Panel of Industry Experts

Generated 71 items

That was pared down to 44 Items

Pilot tested & revised

53

1. Corporate Structure

2. Staffing

3. Client Companies

4. Utilization Metrics

5. Survey Tools & Outcomes

6. Business Management

7. Business Development

8. Forecasting the Future of EAP 54

157 total unique data

points if all 44 items are

fully answered

Survey participants primarily: US and Canada

• Included 12 other countries

• Respondents included local to global providers.

130 visitors accessed the online survey

48 responses rejected as invalid

• 40 incomplete questionnaires rejected

• 8 duplicate responses identified & rejected

82 EAP companies provided valid questionnaires

55

1. Over 29,000 customer organizations

2. Over 62 million employees

3. Over 146 million covered lives

56

STEP 1

Targeted large EAP carriers in US and Canada

Sampling frame based on number of covered lives

US vendors > 2 million covered lives

Canadian vendors > 1 million covered lives

57

Targeted 16 large EA providers in US & Canada to

participate.

US: 8 of 11 (72%) > 2 Million covered lives

CA: 5 of 5 (100%) > 1 Million covered lives

58

STEP 2

Multi-stage snowball sampling method

Press Releases and targeted email invitations

Two recruitment waves during 2012

May-July = 66 / October-November = 16

Article

o Scholarly: Peer Reviewed

o JWBH Volume 28, Number 4, Nov/Dec 2013

o 119 pages and 29,251 words

Slide Deck

o Applied: For EAP Vendors

o Companion resource to the article

o www.nbcgroup.org/home.html

1. Greying effect of external EAP owners

2. Mergers and Acquisitions

3. Staying ahead of the technology

61

Issue #1- Marketing claims vs. actual industry

metrics

o NBC Study Data

• Average EAP Counseling utilization rate

• Median 3.6%, Mean 4.5%, Range 0.1 - 15.6%

• Average # of sessions per EAP Counseling case

• Median 2.36, Mean 2.47, Range 1.15 - 4.68

• Percentage of EAP Counseling cases that do not

access the mental health/substance abuse benefit

• 82%

Issue #2 – Is that level of utilization enough OR Are we reaching our client companies?

o NBC Study Response to Areas of Client Company Difficulty –6 of 7 areas identified as “most difficult” relate to this question:

• Face time with client company management, Relationship building activity with client company, Opportunities for a proactive strategic role with client companies (3)

• Promoting the program to family, managers, employees (3)

o The other main identified area of difficulty with client companies was “Quantifying the value of EAP”:

• At current utilization levels, need either another metric or to boost utilization. Only 42% of surveyed EAP orgs used a validated outcome survey tool (Chestnut Global Partners’ Workplace Outcome Suite was the most often utilized)

Issue #3 – Regarding utilization, an EAP is not an EAP is not an EAP

o NBC Study Data – Comparative Metrics Across Dominant Pricing Models (Capitated vs. Fee for Service vs. Embedded “Free” EAP)

• EAP Counseling Utilization Rate:

• Capitated 4.7%, Fee For Service 6.0%, Embedded “Free” EAP

1.6%

• EAP Organizational Service rates for Capitated and Fee for

Service were respectively 7x & 5.5x those of Embedded “Free”

EAP rates

• Embedded “Free” EAPs had 3.8x & 3.3x the number of covered

employees per EAP staff than Capitated and Fee for Service

EAPs

NBC Study Response to Most Difficult Internal

Operations

o Educating Brokers on EAP Value

o Outcomes Measurement Strategy

o Maintaining Information Technology

NBC Study Response to Factors Impacting

Client Renewal, New Sales & Client Erosion

o Product Pricing almost 2x any other variable

o Switch to “Free” EAP

NBC Study Response to Factors Impacting Client

Renewal and New Sales

o EAP Product Improvements

o New Strategic Partnerships

o Enhanced Broker Engagement

o Enhanced technological delivery capabilities

NBC Study Response to Level of Optimism For

External EAP Industry

o 83% Optimistic or very Optimistic. Why?

• Expanding role in psychosocial aspect of behavior change

• Focus on behavioral risk management

• Filling the Wellness Gap

• Technology facilitates EAP reach

Audience Questions

• Any questions for our presenters to clarify any information from their studies?

• Any questions about the EARF?

• Any recommendations for EARF-funded research in the future?

For further information about the EARF, please visit our website:

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