Success in any endeavor brings its own set of challenges.  EAPs have demonstrated time and again that providing timely, proactive service to employees in times of crisis and transition brings benefit to the employees and their organizations.  Initially targeted toward problem employees whose substance or behavioral issues created difficulties in the workplace, EAP services continue to expand in breadth and depth of specialty.  EAP professionals now support employee and management development, assist human resource professionals in framing and implementing policies, train supervisors and employees in a wide range of human dynamics, and facilitate employee access to a widening range of services and support.  The more EAPs have shown they can do for their client organizations and their employees, the more they must specialize while also demonstrating value-added benefits and return on investment.  This is a challenging proposition because specializing adds cost.

Changes in the “core technology” for employee assistance professionals, fueled by technology-driven performance improvement standards in business and industry, continue to drive EAPs.  Many of the tried and true essentials in the early days of the industry have given way to multiple refinements, and the levels of training, preparation, certification necessary to deliver today’s services at today’s standards have evolved with them. Contemporary drug and alcohol polices, for example, reflect changes in the industry’s understanding of substance abuse, and its approach to effective treatment.  The industry has weathered modifications in how payment for services is brokered and how access to service is managed.  Although the changes have been extensive, EAPs and their professional providers have grown with the challenges to provide a continually improving standard of responsiveness and care while also demonstrating efficiency and return on investment.  The same evolution is taking place now with respect to critical incident response services....

Read Full Article