Refer

Referring an Employee to the EAP

When an employee's job performance begins to decline, you, as the supervisor, face a difficult challenge. While you want to support the employee without intruding into his or her personal life, you also must maintain the effective functioning of your work area.

The EAP helps you do both. It relieves you of the role of personal counselor to your employees and allows you to focus on your job - returning their job performance to a satisfactory level.

In general, the following guidelines are important to an effective discussion with an employee and successful referral to the EAP.

Review the history of the work problems and indicate why you're concerned.

Ask for reasons and listen openly to the explanation. Indicate you have heard the explanation even if you don't fully agree with it.

Indicate the situation must change. If taking disciplinary action at this point, state the action being taken and why

Discuss realistic ideas the employee offers for improvement. Offer your recommendations. Include the EAP among your recommendations

Decide on and record specific actions to be taken and set a follow up date. A referral to the EAP does not excuse an employee from meeting job performance standards.

Call the EAP prior to, during or after your meeting with the employee. Let the EAP know that you are making a supervisory referral. We will discuss with you the job performance indicators for the referral, your expectations of the referral, and what feedback will be available to you as the supervisor.