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Monday, June 11, 2007
EAPs Can Avert Crises
Think you have to fire that valuable employee because s/he has become too difficult to work with? Think employee assistance program instead.When a formerly favored employee becomes unreliable, testy and/or poorly groomed, s/he likely is going through a personal crisis that’s translating into an office crisis. While personnel laws prohibit your asking personal questions about causes, you can point out the deficiency. But rather than just hoping this behavior will change, refer the employee to an assistance program that will address mental wellness.
You don’t have an employee assistance program? OK. Surely you are foresighted enough to have mental health parity in your insurance plan. No? It costs too much, you say? How much is it going to cost to fire, hire and retrain a new person? How much has that employee cost you before you’re forced to speak to him or her about the problem?
The touchstone of crisis management is avoiding it in the first place. Make it possible for employees (and yourself) to access mental health services. The mind and body are not separate any more than the heart and lungs. One cannot be healthy and productive without the other.
Crisis management is an investment that always pays for itself.
Labels: crisis_communications, crisis_management
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