With an eye toward your growing business, consider what you have in place now and what you aim to build. Assessing your needs toward this goal will give a more full understanding of where to start, and next will come prioritizing then planning the next steps.

In most organizations, talent is somewhat organic with growth. In some cases, new leadership (related to training) can be a single person, but with growth you may want to have a group of instructors with specialties before you expand to an entire training team/department.

Many organizations turn to external experts to help. In this case, it is important to consider contracting with another organization that can advise, coordinate and develop component parts of a training program. Teaming with one or more organizations can make the move faster so your organization can make its own breakout moves sooner. There’s an adage about good planning and timing being the path to hitting the target.

An employee assistance program (EAP) is a variety of services offered to employees by their employers. Most people, if they’ve heard of EAP, think of “5 free therapy sessions” but there is so much more available. The goal is to help employees deal with personal or work-related problems that may be affecting their job performance or causing them distress, which may involve a workplace issue itself and the EAP can help find solutions in this area. EAPs help people find resources and assistance when they need it most to overcome or manage a variety of issues, including family problems, financial difficulties, substance abuse problems, physical health issues, and legal issues. EAPs are often provided on-site at companies or off-site, and sometimes the services are available via phone or video conference. The services offered are confidential and there are myths and misinformation on this topic that unfortunately leave many people reluctant to use this terrific benefit available.

You should consider implementing an EAP if:

● You have people in your organization, including yourself.

● Your organization is seeing problems with attendance or punctuality rates, which may be due to illness or stress.

● Your workers' compensation costs are high because of stress-related injuries or illness.

● Your employees are frequently absent from work due to personal/family problems unrelated to work (like alcoholism/drug abuse).

● It helps you attract top talent by showing that you care about your employees' well-being.

● It helps reduce medical costs associated with employee stress and burnout, which can lead to absenteeism and higher turnover rates.

● Employees are more productive when they're healthy.

● It can help reduce absenteeism.

● It's good for your bottom line – a recent analysis estimated a $3.25 return for every $1.00 invested in the EAP for the typical small employer in the U.S.

● It's the right thing to do—for employees and for business owners.

An EAP can exist in many forms. It could be in the form of offering free short term counseling, getting employees referrals to counseling or other support services, providing a library of self-help training and resources, and more. The program can also help employers improve their workplace culture by offering education and training to all employees on topics like resilience, stress management, and more. How the program works may depend on what is set up between the employer and the EAP provider.

Imagine having an expert available a phone call away whenever life throws you the kind of challenge that makes it hard to focus at work. As a leader, imagine a good employee is off their usual good performance and you’d like to help but don’t know how. Imagine a workplace where people feel valued, have good camaraderie (which translates into high productivity, low absenteeism, for example). Imagine these scenarios and more….the benefits of a workforce supported by EAP services are endless. EAP is more than just individual counseling sessions sponsored by the employer. Its an asset to an optimal functioning organization.

Yes! The first step in getting you the right training is to consult with you first to determine how to best suit your needs. So consultation might be more limited in this scenario.