Senior Compensation Analyst, Beacon Retail Group
Ben Haddad· Compensation Consultant, Tidewater Utilities
Asked in Benefits & Wellbeing ·
Counselling service used by 4% of staff. Is that low, and what moved it for you?
UK professional services firm, roughly 1,800 people, mostly in London, Leeds and Bristol. We have had an employee assistance programme for years and added six funded therapy sessions through a separate provider in 2024.
Utilisation of the therapy benefit was 4% last year. The engagement survey says 31% of people rated their mental health as poor or fair at some point in the year, so there is clearly a gap between need and use.
We have done posters, intranet articles and a webinar. Before I ask for more money I would like to know what actually shifted uptake elsewhere, and whether 4% is as poor as it feels.
2 helpful · 2 agree · 4 replies · 138 views · 5 following
Accepted answer· by Bianca Walsh
Two things moved ours from 5% to 13% in a year at a law firm of 2,200. First, we removed the need to go through a line manager or HR for anything, including the referral, and said so loudly. People assumed their partner would find out. Second, we got four senior people, including one equity partner, to say in a short written piece that they had used it. No video, no campaign branding, just a paragraph each in the weekly email. Bookings tripled in the fortnight after. Posters did nothing for us either.
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