Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER March 24, 2014 March 24, 2014 20 FEATURES FEATURES EAPs Face-to-face — but not in-person Video counselling broadens options for employees in need By Barb Veder and Kelly Beaudoin W orkforces and work- places are changing. Organizations are re- alizing the stresses of everyday life can interfere with job perfor- mance, while more serious phys- ical and mental health issues can result in extended absences. As a result, the use of employee assis- tance programs (EAPs) is a pop- ular option — and employers are actively encouraging workers to make use of this resource when- ever they need assistance. e challenge is employees are often spread across the country and even around the world. And EAPs that help promote employee productivity must keep pace in order to accommodate employ- ees' changing needs. Fortunately, technological advancements — and a greater comfort level with using online resources — make video counselling, tele-health and tele-mental health possible and feasible support options. e driving force behind the development of video counselling was the need to provide hard-to- reach employees in remote loca- tions with an easy and convenient way to access their EAPs. The added benefit is video counselling isn't just useful for em- ployees in remote locations — it's helpful to other employees as well. It's a great choice for workers and their immediate family members who prefer to have a real-time, face-to-face conversation with a counsellor and whose work or per- sonal schedules, high need for pri- vacy, limited mobility or personal preference may create hurdles to attending in-person sessions. Since the video conferencing capability is able to link in multiple participants simultaneously, even couples and families who are in geographically diff erent locations are able to attend sessions togeth- er. ere's no commuting to an offi ce, no chance of being seen in a waiting room, no parking fees… in fact, no need to even leave the house. Ensuring security and privacy To connect with a video coun- sellor, an employee (or his family member) needs private access to a computer with a high-speed In- ternet connection, a webcam and a telephone. Encrypted custom Internet software enables both client and counsellor to see and hear each other. ey can also share and create documents in real-time. Clients can use their personal computers at home. Many popular public platforms (such as Skype) are unsuitable for video counselling services be- cause they are not compliant with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Docu- ments Act (PIPEDA), use VOIP technology (which is not as good quality as regular phone lines) and have limited technological support. When choosing an EAP pro- vider for video counselling servic- es, employers should determine whether the selected platform: •complies with applicable privacy requirements •allows for a customized, branded website •facilitates document-sharing •supports multiple participants in several locations •provides immediate tech support in French or English (and any other required languages). e video counselling session During the session, both parties are able to see and hear each other as if they were in the same room. e counsellor and employee are also able to share and create se- cure documents in real-time. However, it's important to en- sure video counselling is the best fi t for a person's needs when she fi rst accesses the service. High- risk employees and those in need of a service beyond the scope of video counselling should be tri- aged accordingly. Video counselling is not ap- propriate for cases where people present suicidal or homicidal in- tent, domestic abuse or violence of any kind, severe addictions issues, psychotic episodes or psychiatric crises, any manner of crisis that requires immediate support or where there is evidence of a child being harmed or at risk. EAP counsellors should have an estab- lished emergency triage plan in place to handle these situations. Eff ectiveness of video counselling Video counselling and in-person counselling have similar out- comes when it comes to session attendance, rates of session help- fulness, pre- and post-counselling self-assessments and rates of goal completion, according to 2013 Shepell research using data from 136 cases involving both methods. And while there is a greater im- provement of pre- and post-self- rated mental health for in-person counselling, e Eff ectiveness of Video Counselling for EFAP Sup- port found there are lower with- drawal and no-show numbers for video counselling — perhaps because employees can access the service from home. Technology savvy is not a major barrier to accessing video coun- selling. Slightly more individu- als who are 50 years old or older opted for video counselling rather than in-person counselling, found the survey. For many Canadian workers, an EAP is the easiest and most effective way to access timely, confi dential, no-cost counselling through its capacity to off er multi- modal clinical services across cli- ent demographics, locales and presenting issues. Providing employees with a variety of channels to access EAP counselling is necessary in order for them to be productive and healthy. Video counselling has proven to be a successful and highly valued service option. Barb Veder is vice-president of clini- cal services and research lead and Kelly Beaudoin is manager of clinical communications at Shepell. Beaudoin can be reached at clinicalcommunica- tions@shepellfgi.com. Expert Training for Human Resources Professionals At RT Workplace Training Inc., Learn practical, hands-on skills to manage workplace investigation and employment law problems from RT's employment lawyers and training experts. 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Email us at seminars@rubinthomlinson.com Basic Workplace Investigation Techniques & the Report Writing Workshop Learn to address inappropriate workplace behaviour before it becomes a legal issue. Join us for our flagship course in one of our locations across the country. April 22 – 24 in Toronto June 24 – 26 in Vancouver September 23 – 25 in Toronto November 11 – 13 in Calgary December 9 – 11 in Toronto has seen peaks in usage rates for some of its EAP services during the winter months. But it's diffi - cult to interpret what's aff ecting that, she says. "If we look at addictions, if we look at individual crises and if we look at general mental health, there defi nitely is a pattern that goes alongside of a season. Is it a sharp, specifi c we-know-what- this-is-about (increase)? I would suggest not, but there is defi nitely an increase over January/Febru- ary and there is, for the most part, a levelling off either in the spring or summer months." And some numbers start creeping up in December, says Morrison. " e anticipation of holidays is a big determinant," she says. "It's people perhaps hearing all the commercial comments about the happy holidays and spending time with family and how wonderful this is and perhaps they're in the midst of going through a separa- tion, as an example, so what it does is it triggers for them the negative feelings earlier as opposed to post- holiday blues." Calls regarding family, includ- ing child care and elder care, also peak in January and decline in February, not picking up again until the late fall, says Morrison. Helping people 'see the light' To help employees through a tough winter and stressful holi- days, an EAP can be a great sup- port. Employers want employees functioning at the optimal level, says Veder. "If they can encourage their employees to do something that's preventative or at an early stage, that's ideal, that's a good news story for the workplace because that means that people are quick- ly getting the help they need, that things are not spiralling and be- coming immobilizing for the em- ployees — they can come to work and feel productive, they can go home at night and be with friends and families and have a balanced life. at's good for everybody." It's about showing the per- son there is a light at the end of the tunnel, with practical advice, says Benayon. Employers can introduce interesting wellness measures that people get excit- ed about, such as an Olympic- themed event with a TV set in the offi ce lobby, he says. "It's better to put a program in place… and deal with those stress- es before it becomes a chronic condition, before depression. "If employers are going to invest (in an EAP), they should promote the hell out of it because there's a definite correlation between the strategic communication one does for the EAP and subse- quent utilization, unlike any other benefi t." And it's important to make sure employees are aware of the op- tions, so they can reach out before the issues become too diffi cult to manage, says Winston. "Sometimes, people don't even remember all the resources that are available to them, so it's incumbent on HR or (occupa- tional) health or whomever to re- mind them that there is help out there, so don't languish, don't suf- fer — there's confi dential support available." EAPs provide numerous forms of support, such as in-person meetings with counsellors or on- line or telephone sessions. People have the option to do what works best for them, as long as it's clini- cally appropriate, says Morrison. "If they're in a crisis state, as an example, we wouldn't encourage online only, we would encourage them to be seen face-to-face so we can properly assess their needs. But, generally speaking, most of- ten what they're looking for and what they're off ered is a counsel- ling intervention." While there was a time when employers didn't encourage EAP usage because of concern around costs, that's rare these days, ac- cording to Morrison. "Most of them are sold on the fact that it may be initially a higher cost or greater utilization but the end result is that this is invalu- able and this can prevent more disastrous things from happen- ing somewhere down the road — greater illness, greater disability, etcetera." Promote EAPs Promote EAPs WINTER BLAHS < pg. 19

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