Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 19, 2014 May 19, 2014 FEATUR FEATURES 13 Canada's prestigious fourth annual health and safety awards — Canada's Safest Employers — have launched a new category to recognize employers for best practices and leading initiatives in workplace mental health. To nominate your organization visit www.safestemployers.com for details. Nominations close June 2, 2014 Mental health problems will cost businesses $198 billion in lost productivity over the next 30 years, predicts The Mental Health Commission of Canada. To recognize employers that are leaders in addressing psychological issues in the workplace, Canadian Occupational Safety has launched the Canada's Safest Employers Psychological Safety Award. Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace Great-West Life www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com Presented by National Founding Sponsor & Title Sponsor Psychological Safety Sponsor Is your organization a leader in workplace mental health? BENEFITS A death in the family Funeral planning, concierge services can help grieving employees fi nd their way By Sarah Dobson I f your mother unexpectedly dies in hospital at 2 a.m. and, on top of that incredible loss, you are asked by a nurse about how you would like to proceed, it can be overwhelming — you'll have plenty of questions and few answers in this vulnerable state. By lending an ear and pointing the way, a company off ering funeral planning and concierge services can provide answers. It's like an OnStar service for funerals, ac- cording to Mark Duff ey, Hous- ton-based president and CEO of Everest Funeral Planning, which has partnered with a group insur- ance company in Canada to off er these services. " ey have somebody who's on their side, acting as an advocate for them on the worst day of their life," he says. "It's really focused on boomers that have really changed the dynamics of the whole bene- fi ts market, along with every mar- ket they've impacted, and this is just the latest iteration." Two-thirds of consumers have had nothing to do with a funeral, so often they don't know what to do, says Duff ey. If an employer of- fers this benefi t through its acci- dental death and dismemberment policy, employees can call the ser- vice for help. Call centre represen- tatives can put them in touch with an on-staff licensed funeral direc- tor who will talk to the hospital to settle things immediately after the death, and then talk again with the employee in the morning to dis- cuss options such as visitations, international travel, budget and religious concerns. " ey kind of go through and pull all that together, which is a lot of what a funeral director would do, but you're doing it with some- body who's not trying to sell you something," says Duff ey. e director can also call up lo- cal funeral homes, detailing your requirements and requests, and may be off ered a better price. Fu- neral concierge services can also include an online database of fu- neral homes across the country that provides prices for a particu- lar area. "It can be very, very helpful be- cause most consumers think all funeral homes are priced alike, and they're not — there could be thousands of dollars' diff erence for the exact same thing. So it pays to do your research," he says. "Most people, once they see what the numbers start looking like and understand the diff er- ences and 'Do I have to do this?' and 'Do I have to do that?', then they become consumers and in control, which is a big part of why people want help from us — be- cause they feel out of control and they feel like they're being taken advantage of." It's not that funeral homes are purposely trying to deceive peo- ple with opaque pricing, but many of them are small, independent businesses that don't show prices online, says Duff ey. In many ways, it's still a traditional industry and the average cost of a funeral can range from $5,000 to $20,000. "(A funeral is) the third most expensive purchase probably in a lifetime and the fact that you have to do (it) right away, and the fact " ey're under a lot of stress and they're looking for solutions." Credit: Kzenon/Shutterstock.com SOLUTIONS > pg. 15

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