WA EAP for supervisors, managers, and HR administrators
Last updated: December 1, 2023
The Washington State Employee Assistance Program (WA EAP) provides specific services to supervisors, managers and HR administrators to help them in their efforts to support their teams and colleagues. WA EAP can provide organizational consultations, referrals to the EAP, critical incident response and tools to promote personal and professional development.
Organizational consultations
Organizational consultations are provided by skilled EAP staff counselors with experience and knowledge working in the public service sector. The WA EAP team has expertise on topics including substance misuse, anger management, suicide, domestic violence, trauma and organizational management.
Challenges for which WA EAP offers consultation include:
- Performance or disciplinary issues
- Substance misuse
- Managing change
- Conflict
- Domestic violence
- Sexual harassment
- Illness and death
- Mental health
- Suicidality
- Safety concerns
- Secondary traumatic stress
Organizational consultation process
- Submit a request for an organizational consultation.
- Within 1 business day of receipt of your request, the on-call EAP counselor will follow up with you to schedule a time for the consultation.
- During the consultation, you and the EAP counselor will:
- Identify the primary concern
- Discuss the concern’s impact on the employee, the workplace, and you
- Discuss resources and referrals
- Identify next steps to support you in your efforts to support the workplace, the employees, and you
Referrals to the EAP
Employee well-being and a healthy, effective workplace are linked. Employees with low well-being exhibit declines in work performance, have higher rates of illness, are absent more often and are involved in more accidents. To promote employee and workplace well-being, it may be necessary at times to encourage an employee to seek support from the EAP.
Referral types
- Self-referral: An employee independently contacts the EAP to access services. The supervisor will not be notified of EAP contact without the employee’s consent.
- Informal referral: A supervisor encourages an employee to get support from the EAP. The referral is not related to work performance concerns. The supervisor will not be notified of EAP contact without the employee’s consent.
Critical incident response
When a significant loss or traumatic event occurs, the EAP can help guide leaders on what to do in the aftermath and talk through best practices for supporting their work group. If appropriate, the EAP can facilitate a debriefing or an educational group about grief or trauma. This is not always needed, but in certain overwhelming situations like the traumatic death of a coworker or an act of workplace violence, it can be helpful for an EAP counselor to facilitate a session.
To request EAP’s critical incident response services, use our organizational consultation request form or call 877-313-4455.
Supervisor resources
Privacy and confidentiality
To learn more about how we protect your privacy and the limited exceptions to confidentiality, review the Notice of Privacy Practice for the Washington State EAP (PDF).