Case Study

Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont

Industry: Nonprofit

Contact: Mia Comeriato, Vice President, HR

Challenge

At Goodwill, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to live independently, earn wages, and achieve their dreams. Our mission is to provide employment and training for individuals with barriers to work. Typically, the jobs we fill are related to our retail business – either behind the scenes in the warehouse or in a customer-facing retail environment. Given the nature of our mission, many of our employees come to us with significant personal issues that can impact their ability to hold a job.

Solution

I’ve been with Goodwill for 26 years, and we’ve worked with MYgroup for at least that long. In that time, their network of professional counselors has provided critical support for our staff and employees in times of crisis, as well as with everyday work and personal issues. We have approximately 765 employees, and their needs vary from person to person and the time of the year. Because it is a free, confidential service, the MYgroup EAP is a very effective way to support our team members.

Results

Because we fund our mission through the retail business, the well-being of our employees is so important to the work that we do. We strive to recruit motivated, talented people who are passionate about their work, and the support that MYgroup provides has a positive impact on that mission. If our team members are happy and productive, that makes us stronger.

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Supervisor Orientation Test

Welcome to your Supervisor Orientation Test! There are a total of 12 questions and you need to get at least nine correct to receive a passing grade. You may refer back to the Supervisor Orientation training materials if you need a refresher.

Which statement most closely describes an EAP?

A supervisor is not allowed to dispense a disciplinary action while an employee is being seen by the EAP, even if performance problems are continuing.

EAPs can reduce the risk of lawsuits by helping troubled employees resolve personal problems before they face adverse actions such as termination that can lead to expensive legal challenges.

Many professionals in the workplace may consult with supervisors, but the profession founded on the basis of helping troubled employees and consulting with supervisors in managing and intervening with troubled employees is:

Your employee says she has marital problems after you confront her about coming in late and calling in sick. As a result, you recommend that she call the EAP. The attendance problems stop. However, two months later, attendance problems return. Your prior discussion and recommendation to use the EAP was a "supervisor referral"?

Some employees have personal problems, but no performance problems. How would you respond: Your employee tells you she is having financial problems. She says if things get worse, she might have to file for bankruptcy. She has no performance problems. What would you do?

Your employee has a problem with absenteeism. When confronted, he says he will seek help from the EAP. A month later the absences continue. At this point, there is no need to make a supervisor referral because the employee has already gone.

Which one of these interactions with a troubled employee would most likely be perceived as serious and motivate change?

If you refer an employee to the EAP, but do not consult with the EA professional and do not provide written information concerning performance problems, all of the following are likely to happen EXCEPT:

If the employee is referred to the EAP, but refuses to sign a release of information, the supervisor will have no way of knowing if the employee followed through with the referral.

Meeting with an employee after referral to the EAP, and planning specific dates and times for other follow-up meetings is a powerful way of helping an employee feel a constructive sense of urgency to follow-through with the EAPs recommendations and reduce the likelihood of a return to performance problems.

You are concerned with your employee's continued absenteeism and problematic behavior on the job. You decide to refer your employee to the EAP. Unfortunately the employee does not go after agreeing to do so. How should you respond?