Shawnee Love   •  
January 26, 2011

No doubt about it, turning a problem situation around and getting an employee back on track is challenging, time consuming, and yet worth it in the end. To support your efforts in the rehabilitation process, I highly recommend a strong employee and family assistance plan (EFAP).  An EFAP (also known as an employee assistance plan or EAP) is a benefit you can easily arrange through your benefits provider. The EFAP typically offers counseling services to help employees and their immediate families with problems whether personal or work-related.

Having an EFAP in place helps you focus on the job and your employee’s performance rather than getting drawn into the role of counselor, a role which few are qualified or equipped to handle. Furthermore, when rehabilitating an employee, a good EFAP becomes the extra team member on the sidelines offering support for you and your employee as you work towards the goal of competent performance.

I have seen EFAPs that offer concierge services to help employees find a dentist in their area or a daycare, some offer legal and financial counseling and may also provide other resources such as safety in the home kits, work life balance articles and webinars, etc.which also makes them a wonderful tool when trying to prevent problems from arising in the first place. I have personally benefited from an EFAP and know of some really good ones if you are interested.