Canadian HR Reporter

W hen the Co-operators fi rst considered providing more coverage for employees when it came to mental health benefi ts, it wasn't apparent there was a problem in the fi rst place. "We were not getting a lot of usage of it. It sort of fl ew under the radar, and some people felt 'If they're not even using the $500, why would we increase it?'" says Maureen Gillespie, vice-president of HR at the Co-operators in Guelph, Ont. "But when we started to delve into it a bit more and talk to people about it, what we found was happening was people weren't even getting started on any course of treatment or any kind of counselling because a $500 benefi t isn't enough to really give them the number of appointments they would need to get the help they needed." As a result, the insurance company decided to increase coverage for mental health benefi ts to $5,000 per year, per family member, and expand the number of eligible prac- titioners beyond psychologists and social workers to include family therapists, clinical counsellors and psychotherapists. While there will be higher costs to providing the benefi ts, there should be a net benefi t overall to the 5,000-employee organization, says Gillespie. "Whatever we spend in counselling expenses will be more than off set by creating condi- tions where we can allow people — who have mental health issues or personal things that are impacting them — to continue to stay at work and be productive, versus having to leave work and go on a medical leave, which is a huge cost to the organization," she says. "If you think about the cost of someone's salary for even one day, it doesn't take long to make up the cost of us paying for their counselling to enable them to continue to be productive at work." is boost in coverage follows the lead of other employers in Canada such as Sun Life, RBC, Manulife and Starbucks that are looking to better sup- port employees — while potentially reducing costs in other areas. 100 per cent employer-paid at RBC Since instituting a higher mental health benefi t for em- ployees and their dependants in July 2017, RBC has seen a drop in short-term disability (STD) claims, according to Nadine Orr, vice-president of pen- sion and benefi ts at RBC in Toronto. "We'll continue to monitor it and if it continues over the next year or two, then I think we can prob- ably speculate that it is somewhat related." e expense of the upped benefi ts would defi nitely help off set costs in areas such as disability management, she says. " e cost of having someone off work is signifi cant, it's more than $3,000... and then having to replace them or stressing other co-workers because the work has to be disseminated, it pays for itself." Previously, this type of benefi t was part of a fl exible benefi ts package at RBC, so employees would select various options and pay premiums, then re- ceive coverage for $500 or $1,000 as part of paramedical coverage, says Orr. "We pulled it out completely from there and said, 'You know what, ev- erybody should have access, the same amount of access, and a much higher amount of access'.'" RBC decided on an annual amount of $3,000 that is 100 per cent employer-paid. "We were thinking that mental health was defi nitely something that our em- ployees were having issues accessing," she says. "Defi nitely for a portion of our pop- ulation, $500 probably wasn't enough, people were probably thinking, 'OK, I'm going to go for two sessions, and then I'm going to have to pay for it, it's going to be cost-prohibitive.'" As for choosing the amount of $3,000, Orr says RBC looked at a few things, such as what other employers were off ering and the costs of counselling. "We'll probably, like all limits, revisit it on an annual basis," she says. "As our employees are using it, we may review the amount depending on what services cost, and depending too if the government comes out and is covering a certain service." Previously, the benefi t covered only psychologists, but now the list of services has ex- panded to include social workers, family therapists, psychotherapists, marriage counsellors and clinical counsellors. "Part of it is that people are now accessing it for diff erent purposes, and things like cognitive behavioural therapy, which wasn't covered before, for children for instance, is now covered," says Orr. And while it's still early days, usage rates thus far are high, she says. "What I've heard the most is parents accessing it for their children, it's been a huge help, and I think it's a Credit: Faces: pio3; Maze: CHIARI VFX; Clouds: Sabphoto; Forest: Smileus (Shutterstock) DECREASING > pg. 24 IN FOCUS HEALTH & SAFETY Employers such as the Co-operators, Sun Life and RBC offer more to support employees, hope to reduce costs in other areas By Sarah Dobson

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