Consider the fact that 65-85 percent of all employee terminations are due to personal and interpersonal factors (Employee Assistance Report, 2001) and you will begin to comprehend why employers see the need to provide a resource for their employees to work on personal issues. According to the Employee Assistance Program Association, proper utilization of an EAP can result in reductions of 30 percent in lost time, 69 percent in accident and sick pay, 50 percent in grievances and 70 percent in accidents (EAPA Facts, 2000). Armed with these statistics, selling a high quality EAP is a necessity for any broker who truly cares about helping their client companies provide needed coverage. Additionally, any program you offer that can truly have a tangible effect on a company's bottom line is one that will draw management's attention.

How to evaluate EAPs

Choosing the best EAP can be a challenging task. Many brokers turn to a tag-on product associated with a disability policy that is either free or very low cost, but may offer only a fraction of the services that a company truly needs. While a web-based component of an EAP can provide good educational opportunities, it is no substitute for the face-to-face, personalized services available through a comprehensive employee assistance program.

A high quality program should always employ both certified employee assistance professionals and substance abuse professionals on staff, as well as providers who specialize in child, adolescent, family, marital and substance abuse issues. Also of prime importance is the ability to properly manage mandatory or supervisory referrals in a way that quickly moves the troubled employee back to productivity. Employees with personal problems and problem employees will have a proper avenue for resolving issues that can be very disruptive in the workplace, freeing managers and supervisors of the direct responsibility of the documentation needed for compliance with a disciplinary action. Perhaps most importantly, with the escalation of workplace violence, critical incident stress debriefing has become a frequently requested service provided by EAPs. When administered promptly by professionally trained and experienced clinicians, this EAP service helps to mitigate the impact of the incident and assists the organization in the recovery of its affected employees.

While this addresses some of the most critical services needed in an employee assistance program, the most important aspect of the service is less tangible and harder to define. In the best of EAPs, the staff will not only learn the client company's policies and procedures and apply them consistently in managing employee problems, but they will also learn the company culture and dynamics, and develop a natural, close and long-lasting relationship, with the employer being a key player in keeping his or her employees productive, and the business profitable.

Get your foot in the door

To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart, the EAP can be the start of beautiful relationship. Once a company commits to a new EAP, you have established a customer-vendor relationship with that company's human resources department and executives, rather than a salesperson-prospect relationship.

And the bottom line is this: If you bring in an EAP provider that does a really good job, then you're going to win the heart of the human resources manager who is dealing with employee issues on a daily basis. As a result, a good EAP is its own selling tool for your entire arsenal of insurance options.

It is easier to keep existing customers than it is to find new ones. While the words may change from venue to venue, any sales or marketing professional can attest to the truth behind them. With a good EAP service experience, brokers will find that they have the opportunity to offer additional and more lucrative products to the customer. Consider this the next time you have the opportunity to provide an EAP benefit to your client companies.

So, the next time you are wondering how to develop a long-term, profitable relationship with an employer, consider talking to them about employee assistance programs. You may just earn yourself a client for life.

Maureen Gleason is executive director of corporate relations and sales for American Behavioral, a Birmingham, Ala.-based behavioral healthcare and employee assistance program provider. She can be contacted at [email protected].