The Practitioner Conection
Volume XXXI, 3rd Quarter

CHALLENGES OF MANAGEMENT REFERRALS

Working with management referrals presents many dilemmas and challenges to EAP providers. In a management referral the EAP counselor essentially has two clients; the employee and the organization that is making the referral. The purpose of this article is to clarify the role of the EAP provider in management referrals and to offer some strategies that foster a win/win with the company and the employee expectations.

The underpinnings of a management referral is always a performance concern. Most companies view the management referral as an investment in the employee. Rarely do companies use the management referral as a remedial intervention for employees that are close to termination. Organizations offer a resource (EAP) to assist the client with turning around the performance concerns that may be caused by personal problems or inappropriate behaviors. The company’s goal is to retain the employee and restore them to their normal level of functioning. An employee who engages with the process sends a strong signal to the company that they are taking the performance concerns seriously.

The dilemma for an EAP provider is juggling two different but equal goals of the company and the client in the management referral. The challenge some management referrals pose is being present to the client and meeting them where they are at so they feel safe, understood and heard enough to engage in the process. This is after all, the starting point of all behavioral change. The goal in the management referral is to create an environment in 1-2 sessions which empowers the client toward self exploration and potential behavior change.

In most cases you have a client, the employee, who doesn’t want to be in your office. Further, they may not see clearly as to the reason they have been referred in the first place. Clients may be resentful, angry and well defended. A client can place emotional energy into pointing the finger at someone else and defending their position. It is not unusual for a client to invest in getting their EAP provider to buy into their point of view. In the client’s mind this further validates that they are not in the wrong, have been much maligned or falsely accused by their employer.

When an EAP provider joins a client by aligning with this point of view, the client’s spirits may be temporarily buoyed but it doesn’t change or alleviate the behavior that led to the management referral. Consequently, if an employee doesn’t look at their own role in the concerns and make changes they many lose their job. When the blame cycle is perpetuated in the process the employee remains stuck and powerless. Conversely, when the employee owns that this is their issue and willingly explores their part in the workplace concerns they begin to take personal responsibility. It is at the point of accepting personal responsibility that the power and freedom ignites behavioral changes.

There are strategies that a provider can utilize when dealing with clients that have a defensive presentation due to a management referral. One strategy is to leverage the consequences that are built into the management referral. In most cases, progressive discipline, up to and including termination is the outcome for the employee’s failure to modify the behavior that led up to the management referral. Objectively reviewing the consequences of the continued performance problems can elicit and strengthen the employee’s motivation to change.

Another strategy to move a client toward embracing personal responsibility is provocative inquiry. Gentle, tentative investigating about what the employee’s part “might be” in the problem plants the seeds of personal responsibility. This subtle shift in thinking can be the beginning of the client moving from blaming others to recognizing a behavior that they can work on. The energy that is directed toward something that is in the sphere of the employees control is always more productive. This inquiry does not negate that others may have a part in the concerns. It focuses on the only part that the employee controls; his/her behavior. The client no longer feels powerless in a situation that previously felt outside their control. The client is energized to take charge of their behavior and improve their performance.

When an EAP client shines the light of blame on the organization, manager and/or coworkers this temporarily minimizes the pain and deflects self-exploration. In the end, the price is costly, when it results in a job loss.

In summary, the role of the EAP provider is twofold in a management referral. The EAP provider must quickly engage with the employee and shift the focus of workplace concerns to the part the employee plays. The art of shifting the focus with the employee becomes monumental to a successful intervention. The challenges in Management Referrals can be great but the rewards are even greater.

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