HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 6942 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 6942
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c V0;?,-o To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Tune 5, 1984
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»raxPy. Subject: EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
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On May 10, 1984, the City of Fort Worth entered into an agreement with
CareUnit Hospital of Dallas/Fort Worth to provide preliminary evaluations
and referrals for employees and their dependents who may be experiencing
personal, marital, family, financial, legal or substance abuse problems.
This non-financial agreement is the initial step in the redevelopment of
the City's Employee Assistance Program.
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is designed to assist employees
and their families deal with problems which may affect the work perfor-
mance of an employee. An EAP provides supervisors with an alternative to
formal disciplinary measures or termination. The employee is given the
opportunity to seek help, in complete confidence, from counseling and/or
medical services and thereby retain his or her job and increase his or her
productivity.
Employee assistance programs are developed for two basic reasons: (1) it
is cost-effective to retain an employee who has valuable experience and
knowledge; and, (2) it indicates an employer's commitment and sincere
desire to help employees by providing formal channels for assistance.
EAP's can help an employer reduce lost productivity, absenteeism, excessive
fringe benefit costs, as well as on and off the job accidents by inter-
vening at an early point in an employee's declining job performance history,
before the performance gets so out of control and so costly that the only
solution is job termination.
CareUnit has agreed to provide additional services at no cost in addition
to the provision of basic consultation referral services to City employees
and their dependents. Those additional services include supervisory
training consisting of 4 to 6 hour sessions, providing a 24-hour confidential
telephone line, as well as supplying literature and ideas for printing and
posting.
Using an industry formula, it is estimated that the City's annual producti-
vity loss as a result of individual and family difficulties ranges from
$2,831,664 to $5,663,328. With a 3% penetration ratio (the average employee
utilization rate for a new program) , the City can expect to capture between
$81 ,840 to $163,680 in productivity savings annually through a comprehensive
employee assistance program.
Additional information will be provided upon request.
�obert L. Herchert
C City Manager
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ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER - FORT WORTH, TEXAS