Actively offer Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services throughout the employee journey
Word has spread throughout the HR departments of corporate companies and larger medium-sized businesses about what the acronym EAP stands for and the wide range of ways in which Employee Assistance Programs can support employees—including during challenging life situations. However, even today, most employees are still unfamiliar with both the term and the concept behind it. This makes it all the more important for companies to repeatedly explain the various services offered by an EAP to their employees and to actively promote them. This is the only way an EAP will actually be used, and the only way it can fully contribute to employee loyalty and employer branding. To effectively communicate EAP services, the “Employee Journey”—that is, the employee’s journey from application to departure—serves as a useful framework.
Suppose the IT department of a large company is introducing a new team calendar. The software is super useful and runs smoothly. But once the implementation is successful, the IT staff think they’ve already done their job. No one in the company knows about the calendar—and that’s why no one uses it. A scenario that’s far from reality, isn’t it? When introducing software, communication and training opportunities are always an integral part of the process. In contrast, the implementation of Employee Assistance Programs sometimes does indeed follow the pattern described. Everything is in place, but employees are not told—or are not fully informed—about what the employer is willing to do for them.
However, EAP services can only be fully effective if they are clearly explained to employees and actively offered to them on a regular basis. How can this communication process be structured effectively and carried out systematically? The Employee Journey is a useful framework in this context, especially since it supports not only communication but also the planning, commissioning, and implementation of EAP services. Ideally, a company should offer a wide range of EAP services throughout the entire employee journey —from recruiting and onboarding through career development to offboarding.
Positive Experiences Throughout the Employee Journey
Just like various other HR tools, the ” employee journey” is a concept borrowed from marketing. For some time now, there has been talk of a “customer journey” that extends from the moment a customer first becomes aware of a company, through the purchase and use of a product, to the end of the relationship. And just as with this “customer journey,” the shared journey of employers and employees is all about creating positive experiences at specific “touchpoints.” This is where employee benefits come into play. Effective employee experience management ensures that, throughout the employee journey, employees are consistently made aware of both internal and external benefits at appropriate touchpoints.
The individual phases of the employee journey are defined inconsistently in the literature and in corporate practice. For the purposes of this article, I will use the following, fairly common classification:
1. Recruiting
2. Pre-Onboarding
3. Productivity in the Company
4. Professional Development and Career
5. Offboarding
EAP services can be explained and actively offered during all five of these phases. This creates the opportunity for meaningful moments to arise for employees, moments that initially establish an emotional connection to the company and later gradually deepen that connection.
Phase 1: Recruiting
So far, companies have rarely highlighted their EAP services in their recruitment marketing. These can already be highlighted here as benefits for future employees, ideally using specific, concise examples. If, for example, the company offers a lot in terms of childcare, short stories or testimonials can be helpful in employer branding campaigns. “Flagship initiatives”—such as dedicated playrooms or inclusive projects—can be covered in even greater detail through PR or on social media channels.
A job interview usually provides the first opportunity to speak with potential employees in person about EAP services and thereby showcase the company as an attractive employer. This, too, works particularly well through examples and storytelling. A job interview often provides enough opportunity for a recruiter to simply share, anonymously, a brief story about an employee who was able to overcome a challenging life situation thanks to the EAP. Topics related to children, equality, and diversity are also ideal for positive storytelling. Tip: Prepare several short stories and weave individual ones into your job interviews.
Phase 2: Pre-Onboarding/Onboarding
During pre-onboarding and onboarding, EAP services can be presented to new employees in greater detail and, ideally, in writing. Signing the employment contract during an in-person meeting provides the ideal opportunity to hand out informational materials about the various benefits, who is eligible for them, and the hotline’s contact information. Companies can create a positive surprise by allowing employees to take full advantage of the entire benefits package —including child care benefits— during the preboarding phase, which takes place between signing the employment contract and the first day of work.
Even those who have to move as part of a job change and may need to find new childcare options or suitable schools for their children can already receive EAP services for this purpose. This is how the company rolls out the red carpet. During the actual onboarding process, it’s a good idea to once again specifically mention the option of life coaching. After all, changing jobs—especially when combined with a move—often brings not only a sense of new beginnings but also emotional stress. Coaching can also help you manage conflicts with other team members during the onboarding phase or process the pain of losing your old job and move on from the past.
Phase 3: Productivity in the Company
Once the probationary period has been successfully completed, the employee’s actual period of productivity at the company begins. EAP services now play a significant role in maintaining employee performance and engagement. This ranges from childcare to assistance with family members who need care, to support during emotionally stressful situations, such as separation and divorce. To ensure that employees actually take advantage of EAP services, it is important that they remain top of mind for employees and are easily accessible. Whether through conversations with supervisors, posters in hallways and common areas, or flyers on specific topics, these opportunities leave a lasting impression.
Giveaways obtained through the EAP service provider serve as effective reminders of the support services available. If the EAP hotline number is printed on an office mug or a pen, it not only ensures visibility but also signals that the service is easily accessible. If new services are added to an existing EAP, it is recommended that they be publicized through internal company communications. Flyers are a good option for this, as are articles on the intranet, newsletters, or informational events. Events that were already planned, such as staff meetings or health days, can also be used for this purpose.
Phase 4: Professional Development and Career
EAP Services as a Catalyst for Professional Development and Career Advancement? This is a huge issue, especially for women! Even today , women are often barred from advancing to leadership positions because they cannot find a suitable childcare solution. Companies expand their pool of leadership talent when they support women in balancing family and career at every stage of their careers. In addition to the HR department , supervisors, equal opportunity officers, or the works council can also highlight the opportunities offered by the EAP during one-on-one conversations. The challenges posed by providing care within the family are also primarily shouldered by working women. It’s not just flyers; initiatives such as the company’s caregiving network, for example, can also proactively highlight support services.
Employees of all genders, with and without children, sometimes encounter obstacles that stand in the way of their career advancement within the company. As soon as supervisors notice that employees are hesitant to take on more responsibility, they can point out to them —in a trusting conversation—that life coaching is an option if something in their personal lives is causing stress or getting in the way. Sometimes employees are also reluctant to take the next step in their careers because it would involve moving or traveling abroad. Through the EAP, participants can discuss and ultimately resolve psychological, family-related, and practical obstacles.
Phase 5: Offboarding
During the final stage of the employee journey, some employees may need to reflect deeply on their own situation and independently develop new career prospects. Life situation coaching helps people cope effectively with the often stressful situation of losing a job and focus on the future. Managers, the HR department, and the works council can all actively bring up this option. This is especially true when a large number of employees are affected at once as a result of a restructuring or merger.
The coach hired by a service provider acts as a neutral party during the offboarding process, allowing employees to openly discuss and address emotionally stressful issues related to leaving the company. Offboarding is always about the final positive impression employees take away from a company —even when their departure is not voluntary. In North America, it has long been common practice to view former employees as “alumni” with whom the company stays in touch and who, ideally, serve as positive brand ambassadors. The groundwork for this is laid by a successful offboarding process.
Conclusion
The Employee Journey provides a practical framework not only for strategically planning and implementing EAP services, but also for communicating them to employees on an ongoing basis. The touchpoints between companies and employees mentioned in this article, as well as the offerings cited, are merely examples. They show how EAP services ideally support the entire employee journey. To this end, it is always helpful to adopt the perspective of employees, who rarely think in terms of the EAP—a concept with which they are not very familiar—but rather start from specific situations that directly affect them.
