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Questions and Answers for HR Managers
I am a Manager interested in engaging Assure Programs services for my Organisation…
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| Q: What makes Assure Programs different from other business psychology organisations? |
A: At Assure Programs, people really do matter! We consistently deliver the best outcomes for individuals and employers, founded on our passion for business psychology, our professional principles and our underlying philosophy that people matter. As a national, Australian owned firm operated by psychologists, our competitive advantage lies with our commitment to delivering evidence-based programs and world-class business psychology solutions.
Assure Programs provides a suite of integrated services to ensure the best value and results for companies serious about organisational wellbeing. We partner closely with your organisation to proactively identify organisational trends and ‘hotspots’, and deliver business solutions directly linked to productivity, engagement and customer service. Assure Programs offers a comprehensive and holistic approach to maximise employee wellbeing and business performance.
Assure Programs commitment to the ongoing professional development and continuous improvement ensures we are able to deliver the most up to date and evidence based clinical and counselling interventions. Our investment in new processes and technology ensures your program is professionally managed and support is always there when you need it.
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| Q: How will Assure Programs add value to my organisation? |
| A:
By providing Assure Programs services for your organisation, you are helping create a supportive culture and healthy working environment. Our services cater for a range of workplace concerns that your organisation may encounter. These include Employee Assistance Programs, Organisational Development services, Critical Incident Management Services, and additional services that add value to the functioning of your organisation. By having these services available, you are ensuring the best-possible preventative measures and guaranteeing the most effective solution to any workplace issues that may arise.
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| Q: How does Assure Programs add value to managers? |
A:
Managers and leaders have the responsibility of managing and showing support for employees who are experiencing difficulties impacting on their work performance, managing complex team and group dynamics, and managing stress and change in the workplace.
Assure Programs Manager Support Program (MSP) provides managers with an avenue to obtain timely support in managing personal and interpersonal work issues related to managing staff performance, work relationships and organisational change. This program does not replace your internal resources which provide support to managers, but recognises these at times may be limited and extra expertise may be required for specific issues or for short periods of time.
Assure Programs MSP is provided by a small, dedicated team with human resources, psychological and legal skills and experience and is designed to confidentially support managers as they lead. The MSP is tailored to meet the specific needs of managers, and offers flexible meeting locations and hours of operation. If you would like to access the Assure Programs MSP, please contact our office on 1800 808 374.
Through our website, managers can also download practical tips including our Leader Guide, and tips on managing stress, giving and receiving feedback and managing critical incidents.
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| Q: How does Assure Programs add value to employees? |
A:
Through the Employee Assistance Program, we provide your employees access to free, confidential, short term counselling services to assist with work or personal issues that may be impacting on their wellbeing, attendance or work performance. By providing this service, you are providing an avenue where your employees can receive effective and timely advice and support.
The EAP allows your employees to resolve any work or personal issues they may have with one of our independent, experienced psychologists. Providing this outlet for your employees can assist with improved productivity, decreased absenteeism and staff turnover, improved work-life balance, and an improved workplace environment.
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| Q: What services can you provide for my organisation? |
A:
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
An EAP is a service that enables staff to confidentially access short term, professional counselling to assist with the resolution of work related or personal concerns that may be impacting on work performance or quality of work life. While most organisations have well developed HR protocols to assist with routine people management issues, it is not uncommon for people to experience more pressing difficulties at some time in their working life. These difficulties may be better dealt with by an experienced mental health practitioner, external to the organisation, who has an appreciation of business imperatives yet can implement effective short term counselling strategies.
Organisational Development (OD) Services
This is Assure Programs’ specialist consulting division that provides a range of organisational development services. Working with both public and private sector organisations throughout Australia, we deliver best-practice employee and organisational development. Our OD team consists of experienced consultants who bring an international perspective to your organisation’s development needs. Our OD team have a rigorous approach based on a solid foundation of our expertise in human behaviour. Assure Programs OD team specialise in training sessions for employees and management, mediation, group seminars, and a range of programs.
Critical Incident Management Services (CIMS)
Assure Programs has a specialised national Critical Incident Management Service that includes a 24-hour on-call emergency access for early intervention, comprehensive assessment, and expert debriefing following any highly stressful or life threatening workplace incident.
Legal and Financial Advice
Introductory advice is provided by external contacts that specialise in legal and financial services. Consultations are conducted over the telephone, and usually run for approximately 10 – 15 minutes. To access this service, your employees can contact the Assure Programs head office.
Specialist financial counselling can also be provided as a standard component of your EAP. We have seen over the past several years that financial pressure and debt management are having a significant personal impact on many working Australians. This service is provided by a financial counsellor or coach and provides concise, solution-focused information and options as part of the employee’s EAP entitlement
Manager Support Program
Assure Programs MSP has been developed to confidentially support leaders with advice and support. The MSP is tailored to meet the specific needs of managers, and offers flexible meeting locations and hours of operation. If you would like to access the Assure Programs MSP, please contact our office on 1800 808 374.
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| Q: Do you provide a 24/7 service? |
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For any urgent counselling after hours, Assure Programs has a 24-hour pager service, where your staff members can request to speak with our on-call psychologist.
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| Q: What are the benefits of using your Organisational Development services? |
A:
Assure Programs Organisational Development services provides a number of specialised people management and development services with the ability to add value to an organisation’s existing people management and development services through the integration of business and psychology.
Assure Programs OD services are designed to enhance the performance of your organisation. Services such as training, mediation, executive coaching, and a variety of tailored programs can assist your company to achieve the best possible business practice. Our highly experienced and professional team of psychologists can develop programs to cater for the specific needs of your company or team.
When these services are combined with an Assure Programs EAP, we can develop an even more thorough understanding of your organisation’s needs.
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| Q: How much does an EAP cost? |
A:
An Assure Programs EAP is tailored to the specific needs of your organisation. Our Business Development Administrator will be happy to speak with you about our range of services and put together a business proposal for you.
Generally, we offer two main investment schedules:
Under our Capitation Model all of the services required to deliver, maintain and evaluate an effective EAP are packaged and paid for by an annual fee. In addition to ensuring an integrated set of services that work together to produce the best possible results, the advantages of this model are budget certainty and lower internal administration costs for your organisation.
Assure Programs also offers a Fee-for Service including Annual Administration Fee model. Under this model, an annual administration fee is charged to cover all Program related costs including administration, EAP reporting, promotional material, awareness sessions and manager support functions. Clinical services such as counselling and critical incident management services are then charged on a fee-for-service basis at an agreed rate.
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| Q: How qualifed are your psychologists? |
A:
Assure Programs’ psychologists have a minimum of three years of clinical or counselling experience, which is in addition to post-graduate qualifications. Our psychologists must be registered in their state, and be eligible for membership of the Australian Psychological Society.
Our psychologists also require specialist training in dealing with organisational issues. Assure Programs’ network of psychologists has an extensive range of employment backgrounds including vocational rehabilitation, education, human resources, and business and industry.
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| Q: How far must our employees travel to see your counsellors? |
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Assure Programs has an extensive psychologist network throughout Australia and New Zealand. Assure Programs maintains appropriate numbers of psychologists within various locations to cater for our contractual obligations with our customers.
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| Q: What is the expected waiting time for an appointment? |
A:
Consistent with our philosophy that people matter, we pride ourselves on providing a personal and responsive service that is sensitive to our clients’ needs. Our professional and experienced staff will always ask clients when they would like to speak with a counsellor in order to gauge their level of need and find an appointment time that is convenient for the client to attend.
If a client requires an urgent appointment, we can organise an urgent phone consultation with a psychologist on the same day. For any urgent counselling after hours, Assure Programs has a 24-hour pager service, where your staff members can be diverted to our on-call psychologist.
Assure Programs maintains appropriate numbers of psychologists within various locations to cater for our contractual obligations with our customers. For routine appointments, the expectation of our provider network is that they have appointments available within 2 – 3 days. Actual waiting times for appointments may depend in part on the flexibility the client has for accessing these available appointment times, along with client preferences such as counsellor age, gender or location.
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| Q: Why should we put a limit on the number of EAP sessions? |
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An EAP is a short term counselling service with the aim of reaching a satisfactory resolution within a designated period of sessions. Our years of EAP experience have shown that the average number of hours an individual uses is 2.5: this is constant regardless of how many hours are available. Assure Programs psychologists are trained to conduct in-depth consultations that are specific to the issue. If additional hours are required, there is the option of an extension, which would need to be approved.
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| Q: Why should we consider using branded promotional material? |
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Assure Programs can arrange personalised promotional material for your organisation that includes specific entitlement information and your company logo. By using this service you ensure that your employees are aware of the specific details of your arrangement with Assure Programs. If you would like to arrange branded promotional material for your company, please contact Assure Programs Administration Team.
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| Q: How can we be sure we are being billed correctly when the names of clients are kept confidential? |
A:
An EAP is based on the fundamental principle of confidentiality and this is an essential component of the service. As a member of the Employee Assistance Professional Association of Australia (EAPAA), you can be assured of our adherence to the highest professional and ethical standards in EAP provision.
Assure Programs has developed a sophisticated database and records management system to manage appointments, track client sessions and entitlements, and generate EAP reports. This enables us to accurately and professionally manage your account.
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| Q: What happens in the EAP Awareness Seminars? |
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Awareness Seminars involve one of our experienced psychologists explaining the EAP process and what Assure Programs can offer. The sessions outline the procedure for accessing the program, highlighting confidentiality, as well as answering any questions that employees may have about the EAP.
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| Q: As a manager, can I see a counsellor without my name being known to Assure Programs? |
A:
Assure Programs has initiated the AssurePlus service for key Human Resource contacts within our client organisations. This service accommodates the requirements of people with whom we have regular contact who may wish to seek confidential counselling for their own issues.
AssurePlus is accessed via a password protected section of our website which provides contact details of qualified and experienced local psychologists. You can make an appointment with your preferred psychologist and identify that you are covered by the Assure Programs EAP and be seen under AssurePlus.
AssurePlus is not an urgent response or crisis counselling service, rather a professional private practitioner service with additional anonymity provisions.
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| Q: What if I am unhappy with Assure Programs service? |
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If any issues arise regarding the quality of Assure Programs services, please contact our head office and we will be happy to discuss this with you. Assure Programs welcomes any feedback that you may have concerning any of our services, as we endeavour to maintain the highest possible standard in business psychology and to provide a best-class Organisational Assistance Program to you and your business.
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