Employee Assistance of the Pacific

Why Should I Use a Employee Assistance Program?

The biggest asset for most companies is its employees. Most people from time to time experience challenges – ups and downs, stress, conflicts, and the “stuff” of daily modern life. The more time an employer spends trying to help employees with these issues, the more time is diverted away from actual work. And most employers are not well-trained in how to help people with the variety of challenges:

• Marital & Divorce Stress
• Anxiety & Depression
• Family & Parenting Problems
• Alcohol & Other Drug Problems
• Budget & Debt Problems
• Legal Problems
• Eldercare/Caregiver Issues
• Bereavement & Other Losses
• Workplace Change and Conflict

Even if the employer happens to be an expert on these issues, it’s usually not a good idea for employers to try to counsel their employees on personal issues. This elevates the employer’s risk if things do not work out well. Employers should not be offering advice on domestic violence, drug/alcohol use, depression, issues with keiki or kupuna, legal problems, financial problems, etc. It’s better for an employer to say “Your company cares about you – why don’t you call the EAP and they can help – it’s free and we trust them!”

Most people resolve most of their situations on their own or with the help of family, friends, and co-workers. Sometimes, however, it helps to talk to an experienced professional.

Most employers who recognize how important each employee is to the success of the organization provide this valuable service to support the health and well-being of employees and their families. They have found what research proves – that EAP pays for itself and provides a Return On Investment.

Why should I choose Employee Assistance of the Pacific?

There are a number of reasons we are the largest EAP in Hawaii. Some of these include:

1. We’re locally owned.
2. We live here so we understand local businesses, issues, weather, traditions, etc. People from Hawaii just don’t call a 1-800-MAINLAND-EAP the way they call us.
3. You get a higher utilization and a higher Return on Investment from local services, so more value for your EAP dollar. (See our section on ROI for more information on why EAPs pay for themselves.)
4. We are familiar with all industries across the Hawaiian islands and what tends to work best for our diverse workforce.
5. We have a strong bench strength – experienced professionals ready to take your call on your worst day and guide you through often complicated situations to make things better.
6. We have a strong group of providers across all Hawaiian islands. This gives employees more choices and more convenient locations.
7. We provide extra services that other local EAPs do not, including offering free legal consultation, financial consultation, and eldercare/healthcare navigation consultation to all your employees.
8. We serve some of Hawaii’s largest employers all the way to some of the smallest employers, and know how to scale our services up or down to serve you.
9. We have great trainings and great trainers that won’t waste your company’s valuable time or make people wonder why you brought in the EAP.
10. We will help you roll out EAP services, providing orientations to leadership and employees on the benefits of using the service.
11. We provide coaching online, telephonically, and face-to-face.
12. We provide regular utilization reports and give you the data you need to make sure you are getting the most value from EAP at all your locations.
13. Unlike some Mainland EAPs, we actually encourage people who call to come in for a face-to-face visit instead of trying to convince them to use more inexpensive telephonic or website services.
14. We are available 24/7. We’ll be here for you on your worst day.
15. We have long-term relationships with both our organizational customers as well as our providers. One-third of our customers have been with us for over a decade.

How Do I Get Started?

Call us for a quote or use the online request for a quote at the bottom of this page.

Where Are the EAP Offices?

Our central office is in Honolulu, on Kapiolani Boulevard. Our affiliate providers are across Oahu, the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai, and on Lanai and Molokai.

How much does it cost?

Employers contract with us, usually on a capitated Per Employee Per Year basis. This rage can be anywhere between around $15.00 PEPM for larger companies up to $75.00 PEPM for smaller ones. The fee is based on our projected utilization for your services, and most contracts include a given number of services that are included (e.g. Trainings, Employee Orientations, Supervisor Orientations, Critical Incident Response) as well as a per hour fee for any services requested above this contracted number of hours. Smaller companies may arrange an EAP contract based on a retainer and a fee-for-service basis.

How many sessions do employees receive?

Most of our employers choose a 6-visit model for services. Employees may receive up to this contracted number of short-term, solution-focused services. We also offer a 3-visit or a 4-visit model. Employees may share these sessions with their covered family members.

Our role is not to provide ongoing counseling or long-term therapy, but to help employees sort things out, develop an action plan, and provide targeted referrals for ongoing or specialized services if needed. Many people find it helpful to talk things out with an objective, experienced professional, and most people find they can get their needs resolved within six sessions so do not need to utilize services using their healthcare benefits.

Is There A Cost to employees for EAP Counseling?

There is no cost to covered employees and their covered family members for the direct counseling they receive from EAP. If they are referred to a treatment resource beyond EAP counseling, there generally will be costs involved. Some of these costs may be covered by their medical insurance plan, and we always attempt to refer people to providers or services that are covered by their healthcare insurance.

Is the EAP Confidential?

The EAP service is strictly confidential. No one will know employees have contacted the program, and their names are not reported to the employer. Records are kept confidential and are not part of their medical or personnel records. No one has access to the EAP records except for the EAP staff. The EAP is bound by the strictest legal and ethical guidelines and cannot release any information without the client’s written permission. State and federal laws, however, mandate that in cases of child abuse, elder abuse, or where a person may be a threat to their safety or someone else's safety, the EA professional must notify the proper authorities.