Attridge, MarkCahill, TerryGranberry, Stanford Wayne, 1953-Herlihy, Patricia A.2014-02-242014-02-242013-03-10http://hdl.handle.net/10713/3687This pre-print was published after some revisions as: Attridge, M., Cahill, T., Granberry, S., & Herlihy, P. (2013). The National Behavioral Consortium industry profile of external EAP vendors. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health: Employee Assistance Practice and Research, 28(4), 251-324. DOI:10.1080/15555240.2013.845050. Also included in the archive is a file of the slide deck for this study (131 total slides).It is common practice in many professions, fields and industries to disseminate benchmarking information. Absent this vital resource an individual company cannot accurately evaluate their performance against a similar cohort and therefore must rely upon anecdotal information. The findings of this study address this deficiency in the external Employee Assistance Program (EAP) field by reporting publicly available empirically derived benchmarking data for external providers of EAP services. During 2012 the National Behavioral Consortium conducted a survey that collected data from 82 external EAP vendors primarily located in the United States and Canada. The survey included a total of 44 items organized into eight categories: (1) Company Profile; (2) Staffing; (3) Customer Profile; (4) Utilization Metrics; (5) Survey Tools and Outcomes; (6) Business Management; (7) Business Development; and (8) Forecasting the Future of EAP. The survey respondents included companies that ranged in size from local providers to global business enterprises. The combined customer base represented by these vendors included over 35,000 client companies and over 164 million total covered lives. Results reveal a wide range between vendors on almost all of these factors. Primary findings for utilization include an average case level utilization rate of 4.5% of the covered employee population using the EAP for counseling in the past year (median of 3.6%), with an average of 2.5 counseling sessions delivered per each case. Counseling services were also the most common type of service provided by EAPs, accounting for over 90% of all EAP-related services provided when also considering the use levels for organizational services. In addition to EAP services, 75% of vendors also offered work/life and 49% also offered workplace wellness as “primary” services. Comparisons between smaller and larger market vendors revealed some differences whereas comparisons between countries had few differences. Select benchmarks were also explored between vendors with different pricing models. The role of the Human Resources department at client organizations and product pricing were important themes for business management. Implications for operational practices are discussed along with considerations for future research.INTRODUCTION The External EAP Market Overview of the Study BENCHMARKING The Need for Benchmarking Potential Sources of EAP Benchmarking Scholarly Studies of EAP Benchmarking RESEARCH QUESTIONS METHOD PROCEDURE SAMPLE MEASURES RESULTS & DISCUSSION Part 1. Company Profile Part 2. Company Size Part 3. Quality Indicators Part 4. Contract Features Part 5. Profile of EAP Counseling Activity Part 6. User Profile Part 7. Utilization Rates for Services Part 8. Surveys and User Outcomes Part 9. Differences Between Vendors In Benchmarks Part 10. Business Management Findings Part 11. Future of the Field IMPLICATIONS Implications for EAP Practice Implications for EAP Business Implications for EAP Research Study Limitations Epilogue REFERENCES NOTES APPENDIX TABLES Table 1. Company Profile of External EAP Providers Table 2. Company Size of External EAP Providers Table 3. Indicators of Quality Service: By Country Table 4. Features of Business Contracts for Services Table 5. Client Departments with Managerial Authority Over EAP Contract Table 6. Profile of EAP Counseling Activity Table 7. Demographic Characteristics and Referral Sources for Service Users Table 8. Utilization Rates Table 9. Survey Methods and Outcomes Table 10. Distribution of EAP External Providers: by Market Size and by Country Table 11. Comparisons of Benchmarks by Market Size and Country Table 12. Comparisons of Select Benchmark Metrics by Dominant Pricing Model Table 13. Promotional Practices Table 14. Difficulty Meeting Operational Management and Client Focus Objectives Table 15. Business Development Table 16. Business Erosionen-USThis pre-print was published after some revisions as: Attridge, M., Cahill, T., Granberry, S., & Herlihy, P. (2013). The National Behavioral Consortium industry profile of external EAP vendors. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health: Employee Assistance Practice and Research, 28(4), 251-324. DOI:10.1080/15555240.2013.845050benchmarksEAPutilizationworkplace wellnessEmployee assistance programsWork-life balancePreprintNo