Employee Assistance Program: Training Briefs

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

Having an internal Employee Assistance Program (EAP) has proven to be a tremendous benefit to our organization. At the same time, finding a way to promote the services provided by our EAP to our employees has consistently proved challenging. At Broward County Government, the Human Resources Learning and Organizational Development (LOD) team recognized that the EAP professionals needed to improve their visibility by developing some new outreach practices. The EAP Training briefs were designed as short presentations (30 minutes) on various topics that can be included at regularly scheduled meetings such as staff meetings, division-wide meetings, safety meetings, etc. Twelve topics were developed for the 2014-2015 year. Four additional topics were added for 2015-2016. In addition, the briefs are now offered as interactive webinars so that employees can participate from their desk. EAP professionals provide employees with easy to use and effective strategies that support the topic selected. All Training Briefs include a valuable two page “info tool”, a quick reference guide that employees can refer to on the job. Most importantly, employees in attendance have the option to anonymously submit questions and contact information for EAP professionals to confidentially provide answers. Since launching the program in August of 2014, over 855 employees have participated in 53 training brief sessions. The EAP professionals have visited more than 10 different agencies throughout the County. Employees consistently indicate that they find the briefs useful, and a majority indicate that they would recommend them to others. The Info Tools were so well received that they have been developed into brochure format for distribution at health fairs and additional wellness events.