1. What type of training or degree do the people taking my employees’ calls have?
  2. Do intake personnel work for the EAP provider or are they outsourced?
  3. Are counselors available 24/7?
  4. What type of assistance is available if we have a critical incident?
  5. Does the provider offer counseling and referrals only, or also manager training on how to spot an employee in crisis? Is such training included in the package or can we pay for them as needed?
  6. Does the provider offer employees access to a health advocate?
  7. Will we have a dedicated account representative whom we can call with questions?
  8. Does the EAP provide reporting on a regular basis? Regular reporting allows HR/benefit professionals to look for trends in calls and add training or wellness programming based on those trends.
  9. Does the EAP have a local presence and/or participate in benefit fairs? It may be important to some companies to have a smaller EAP that is locally known rather than encouraging employees to contact an organization they are not familiar with.
  10. Does the EAP have other clients in your industry? It may be valuable to have an EAP that knows about the particular stresses that affect employees in your industry. Also, if your employees work shifts, nights, or weekends, they’ll need an EAP that’s available beyond regular business hours. It’s important to find out if a prospective EAP has the capability to handle different types of employers.
  11. Does the EAP offer wellness seminars? EAPs can be a great resource to promote the stress management and work/life balance aspects of your wellness programs. Some strong EAP providers have large wellness databases and access to seminars that could greatly enhance your wellness program.
  12. How can the provider assist us in communicating benefits to employees? If employees get used to contacting the EAP for referrals for financial and legal problems, or childcare, and have a good experience, they may feel more comfortable contacting them at a more difficult time in their lives.
  13. What is the cost per employee?
  14. How many sessions are available?
  15. Are we paying per session or is a total group rate?
  16. Length of contract
  17. Usage metrics
  18. Additional training or resources for onsite or virtual training sessions
  19. Industry references
  20. General references
  21. Communication tools: website, office number, email, etc.
  22. Security of information & Meetings (data security)
  23. Leadership training

Published by Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR

Matthew Burr has over eleven years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an Industrial Relations Intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company; Burr Consulting, LLC. Prior to founding the consulting firm, the majority of his career was spent in manufacturing and healthcare. He specializes in labor and employment law, conflict resolution, performance management, labor and employment relations. Matthew has a generalist background in HR and provides strategic HR services to his clients, focusing on small and medium sized organizations. He is a retired Assistant Professor of Business Management from Elmira College, an Adjunct Professor at Alfred State University and Collin College. Matthew is also the SHRM Certification Exam Instructor at the college, his students currently have an 80% pass rate on the SHRM-SCP and 92.3% pass rate on the SHRM-CP. Matthew works as a trainer Tompkins Cortland Community College, Corning Community College, Broome Community College and Penn State University. He also acts as an On-Call Mediator and Fact-Finder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State, working with public sector employers and labor unions. Matthew has publications at the Cornell HR Review, Business Insider, New York State Bar Association, Expert 360 (in Australia). In early 2017, he published his first book, “$74,000 in 24 Months: How I killed my student loans (and you can too!).” Matthew has an associate's degree in business administration from Tompkins Cortland Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Elmira College, a master's degree from the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations in Human Resources & Industrial Relations and a Master’s in Business Administration specializing in entrepreneurship from Syracuse University. He currently holds a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) and the Society of Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certifications. Matthew has been featured on CNN Money, Fast Company, Fits Small Business, Magnify Money, My Twin Tiers, Namely, Student Loan Hero, Smart Sheet and CEO Blog Nation.

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