Description

Dr. Attridge reviews the science, strategies, and future trends influencing the business value of EAP services. He begins by examining the empirical evidence relevant to the return on investment (ROI) for workplace behavioral health services. Over 1,000 individual research works now exist globally that support various asepcts of the business case, including dozens of studies specifically on the outcomes and cost-offset value of EAP services. Next, he draws from the themes of this research to formulate difference strategies for making the business case for EAP. With data, he describes and illustrates four conceptual models called the Primary, Pareto, Productivity, and Partnership approaches to value. The key to effective ROI reporting is to engage the customer who is investing in the EAP in a consultative process that is aligned with their expectations for value and features their own utilization data and cost input variables. Finally, he identifies several "big picture" trends in the areas of technology tools, employee engagement, and social policy. These trends offer important new opportunities for increasing the business value of EAPs.