Podcasts about employee assistance

Listen as Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, José David, helps us understand and learn to work together when facing household challenges over roles and responsibilities.Learn about:Sources of contentionContributing factorsCommunication pitfallsMental loadEmotional laborTips and tools for successand more!Guest: José David, LPC, LMFT, CEAPDirector of Employee Assistance & Well-being Programs

‘Employee Assistance Programmes' - almost 25 million workers in the UK have access to one through their employer. They're designed to help people deal with personal problems that might affect their performance at work by offering advice, support or counselling sessions. But are all providers offering a good service? File on 4 investigates.Reporter: Alys Harte Producers: Vicky Carter and Ella Rule Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production Coordinators: Jordan King and Tim Fernley Editors: Clare Fordham and Carl Johnston

In this episode of ALPS In Brief, our Bar Partnership Strategist Rio Peterson sits down with Liesel Brink and Amber Kuhlman from the ALPS HR team to talk about careers in Insurance. Learn about their path into HR and learn about all the exciting opportunities that exist in this often overlooked industry.   Transcript:  Rio Peterson: Hello, everybody, and welcome to this month's installment of In Brief. This is episode 79, and I am your host for the first time ever, Rio Peterson. I'll be joining you, hopefully more frequently in a rotation on the podcast, and very much looking forward to it. So this month is Insurance Careers Month, and so we thought it would be really, really appropriate to speak to the two people here at ALPS, who really make sure that people can have careers at ALPS and bring us new talent, and really keep the lights on and run all the things. So I'm going to be talking to Liesel Brink and Amber Kuhlman. Kuhlman.  Sorry, Amber. So Liesel, do you want to start by introducing yourself, telling us a bit about who you are, what you do here at ALPS?  Liesel Brink: Sure. Thanks so much, Rio. This is an exciting opportunity. So I am your manager of HR and payroll coordinator here at ALPS Insurance. Do everything from hiring, recruiting, all the way to payroll.  Not to take any of this under from Amber, I can't do it all on my own. I've been with ALPS for, it's going on nine years, and yeah, been a great time so far.  Rio Peterson: Awesome. How about you, Amber? Tell us a little bit about yourself.  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah. So I'm Amber. I'm the HR generalist here at ALPS Insurance. I've been here a little about year and a half now, but in my role, I focus more on the onboarding, recruiting side of things, but I also participate and help out all things wellness with our employees, so that's great.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, that's right. You kind of run things on our Employee Wellness program, which I will speak from experience, is an incredible program and definitely a major perk of working here. So thank you both for all your work and for putting that together for us. It's really fantastic. So we're kind of taking some time to explore careers in insurance this month.  I don't think necessarily, an industry that a lot of people wake up when they're like five or six, and they're like, "Ah, I want to work in insurance," but so I think it's really important that we can take some time and kind of explore what we do and all of the incredible kind of opportunities and possibilities that exist when you do choose to pursue a career in insurance. So I'm really curious to find out kind of from both of you like, "What was your life before ALPS? What did you do? What was your world before that?"  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah, I can start off. It definitely wasn't insurance. This is my first job in insurance, but prior to coming onto ALPS, I actually came from retail sales, so very different. It's a great learning opportunity, working with individuals, helping them find what they need, but definitely enjoy the insurance side a lot more. Love the stability within insurance.  Everyone needs it for a variety of things, whether it's car insurance or attorney's liability. So I love that aspect, and we have a lot of opportunities at ALPS as far as diversity within our department. So there's Liesel, myself and HR, but there's also business development folks in sales. We have our claims attorneys, account management, maintaining our policies, and everything else you may need from finance all the way to the C-suite, so it's great.  Rio Peterson: Yeah. Fantastic. And Liesel, what about you? Where were you at before you found your way to ALPS?  Liesel Brink: So before ALPS ... I mean, how much time do we have, Rio?  Rio Peterson: We've got a couple minutes.  Liesel Brink: Yeah. So I've been doing HR for about 25 years, and in the last, ooh, 12 mostly in HR, previous to that, nonprofit work, and many people know in a nonprofit, you become a jack-of-all-trades, right?  Rio Peterson: Absolutely.  Liesel Brink: You do a little bit here, do a little bit there, and that's where I started in human resources, HR, people operations. So for me, what really resonated were employee benefits, and so being able to talk with individuals about what truly they get with the benefit and having that understanding come to light is what fulfills me the most in my role. I not only worked in a nonprofit, but I too did some retail, but it wasn't retail-retail, it was concessions, some more food. Sorry about that, Amber. That was a really long stint.  And then, I also worked for a third-party administrator, which is insurance adjacent, and then from there, came to ALPS Insurance. I did do three years as a paralegal assistant. Learned a lot. Not sure I'd go back, but who knows? Someday, maybe.  Rio Peterson: You never know. You never know.  Liesel Brink: Exactly, exactly. But yeah, that's kind of my journey in the insurance world, mainly having the most excitement and fulfillment from the employee benefits side.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, got it. Fantastic. So how did you two find your way to ALPS? Was it sort of like serendipitous? Did you seek it out?  Yeah, I'd love to hear. Maybe Liesel, we'll start with you.  Liesel Brink: Yeah, sure. So I was actually headed back to the university for a degree in computer science, and I received a phone call from an acquaintance at a local company, and they shared with me, "Would I be interested in considering?" And at the time, ALPS wasn't sure what they were going to fill this position as. They needed a payroll person, and so I decided, "You know, I'll have that conversation with Chris Newbold," the Chief Operations Officer. "I'll just talk to him, and nothing's going to come of it."  And then, four interviews later, I was made an offer and decided, "Hey, why not try payroll?" And then, because of the previous experience, grew into the HR role.  Rio Peterson: Oh, fantastic. Fantastic. And Amber, what about you?  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah. So I kind of go back to the university as well, with my connection with ALPS. I took a human resources course, in which required you to network with a human resource professional.  Rio Peterson: I love it.  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah. I got connected with Liesel for a group project, and then we worked on that together, and then I was interested in being an intern, because then, I was very interested in HR after that class and everything. So then I did a summer internship, and then Liesel realized, "Oh my gosh, this girl's so much help."  Rio Peterson: Yeah.  Amber Kuhlman: So then, she was like, "I need someone full-time." So then, she posted an opening for a full-time role, and then now, here we are, so yeah.  Rio Peterson: Fantastic. So you both dazzled each other, and you were like, "This needs to continue. This is an excellent partnership."  Liesel Brink: Definitely.  Rio Peterson: That's fantastic. That's fantastic. So it sounds like we have a pretty good connection with the university. And I understand you two also just did some kind of speaking yesterday. You spoke with the HR Program, is that right?  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah.  Rio Peterson: Yeah. Is that something we do quite a lot of? Is ALPS pretty involved in working with the university and connecting with students?  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah. I know Liesel has presented before. That was my first time presenting to a management course. However, we do often go to their career expos, so when we are hiring and recruiting, it's a great way to network with local folks and get connected with them, so it's great.  Rio Peterson: Got it. Fantastic. So let's maybe shift a little bit and talk about kind of ALPS in general. What are some different career paths that somebody could explore at ALPS? I know we've got quite a lot of things.  I know, Amber, you touched on them a little bit before. Maybe we can dig a little bit deeper into that.  Liesel Brink: Definitely. Amber, jump in when I'm off track. So for individuals within ALPS, when they come in and they've learned their job that they were hired into, we always encourage individuals to learn more about different departments, and we encourage them to do continuing education. If it's a department that they were hired into that doesn't require licensure, we encourage them to consider that. We encourage them to do continuing educations, whether it's a CPCU or an IEM, or any of the credentials that you can get in the insurance industry, we encourage them to do continuing education.  So when a position in another department might open, they can be considered, if it's something that truly interests them that they want to try out. We start individuals, a lot of times, in our lead generation specialist roles, and then from there, they learn a lot about marketing, and sales, and account management, and the insurance, like how insurance actually works in the lingo and the terminology. So it's a fantastic place for individuals to start, and we usually implement an interim program within that lead generation specialist role to get people considering like, "Could insurance be for me?" That is, to be honest, your opportunities are only limited by what you put on yourself. I know that's cliche. Sorry to be cliche, but-  Rio Peterson: I love it. I love it.  Liesel Brink: It's one of those things where truly, if you were in sales and you were interested in underwriting, we would love for you to pursue what that might look like.  Rio Peterson: Right.  Liesel Brink: We do not put limits on individuals. In fact, we encourage individuals to become more involved in improvements that we're making within our product, and then also, just be more helpful to individuals in different roles, cross-education, which is super helpful.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, fantastic. And then, I'm kind of wondering, so lead gen, that's obviously part of our sales team, right? And so what I'm hearing is that's a really good place for someone to start. If they don't know anything maybe about insurance, they don't really ... Maybe they're fresh at a university, maybe they're just trying to figure things out. That's a good place for them to start, and to kind of get a broader overview of the rest of the functions of the company.  Liesel Brink: Definitely. The lead generation specialist role, our client processing specialist role, that's an administration position. And not to change the topic, Rio, and I know we'll come back to this, but what I appreciate most about the insurance industry is that you can learn it on the job while doing it.  Rio Peterson: Yes.  Liesel Brink: You don't need a college degree. College degrees are great, but you don't need a college degree to be successful in the insurance industry.  Rio Peterson: Yeah.  Liesel Brink: That is the biggest takeaway I try to leave with individuals that I talk with.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, that is absolutely fantastic. It's really good to know that as well, because I think that's something that can really intimidate a lot of folks like, "Maybe I don't have the right education, the right credentials," so it seems very accessible industry to get into. I know for myself, I mean, coming from the tech industry, I did not know anything about insurance, and let me tell you, I have learned all the things, and that is, I can definitely attest to what you just said, I have learned them all on the fly as well. So that's really important, I think, for people to keep in mind is that you can be taught. You can learn it and go forth and achieve big things.  Liesel Brink: Definitely.  Rio Peterson: Yeah.  Liesel Brink: And if I may, I would share that it's not always easy to break into the insurance industry, however, if you align the skill sets that you already have with the skill sets that are necessary within the insurance industry, such as detail-orientedness, follow-through, dedication to the job at hand, if you align the skill set that you currently have with those needs, you can get into the insurance industry.  Rio Peterson: Got it. What would be some kind of obstacles or some things that would make it difficult for somebody to break into the industry, is maybe not knowing anyone who's already in the industry, just kind of not having any knowledge of it?  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah, I-  Rio Peterson: Yeah.  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah. I would say not having the knowledge. I don't think, especially coming from the university, they don't really say push insurance or mention it, really, as a career path. That would be a good one. So I would think the biggest obstacle would, for sure be just not knowing it's out there and kind of where you can go from there, for sure.  Rio Peterson: And it's kind of surprising to me that they don't push that or even recommend it, because to me, insurance is pretty good industry. It's pretty fail-safe, like recession-proof when times are tough, everybody gets insurance. Everyone needs insurance, like it's really-  Amber Kuhlman: I think there's a misconception with insurance, that it's all sales.  Rio Peterson: Yes.  Amber Kuhlman: So that's another one, I mean, but realizing there's office positions as well, like what Liesel and I do, HR within insurance, or finance, or marketing.  Rio Peterson: Right.  Amber Kuhlman: It's all needed, so yeah.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, claims, we hire lots of attorneys as well, and so yeah, there's lots of different options out there, absolutely. So what would you suggest maybe for someone who was looking to get into insurance, like say they were like, "That's the thing I want to do. I want to find out. I want to break into that industry."  What would be a good way? I know, Liesel, you mentioned kind of aligning the skill set you already have. Would you recommend maybe reaching out to recruiters or HR staff such as yourself, people, operations, et cetera?  Liesel Brink: So that's a great question, because different individuals, like the hiring teams, different companies think of things differently.  Rio Peterson: Right.  Liesel Brink: For me, I would be happy for anyone to connect with me on LinkedIn. That is a fantastic way to start your network. You can connect with one individual, and then from there, you actually can learn more about other individuals within the industry. They post fantastic things from, I believe it's in invest.org, and how you can use the skills that you already have in the insurance industry. Networking outside of the computer, of the internet, it was also very helpful.  Rio Peterson: Right.  Liesel Brink: I know once in a while, we go to our business after hours for the chamber, and there are a variety of different industries, industry specific organizations that you can connect with, especially in more urban areas, so that would be a consideration. Amber, what am I missing? I know a lot, so ...  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah. I mean, I would say, just kind of going back to the university, connecting with their resources. Often, nearby universities have a lot of connections with surrounding companies, and who knows, they might be an insurance company, so ...  Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. And I think you both mentioned the career, the job fairs as well. It's probably a good place to make some connections. Fantastic. I know for myself, I also knew someone who worked at ALPS, and was able to make the move that way, so definitely a lot to be said for putting yourself out there and meeting people and making those connections.  So let's kind of shift a bit back to you two, and tell me a little bit of like, "What are some of the things you like best about your roles, and maybe also working at ALPS specifically?" Amber, you want to start?  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah, I can start.  Rio Peterson: So I'm going to put you on the screen.  Amber Kuhlman: No, that's okay. Some things about my role that I like is really focused on the wellness side initiative that we strive for. As far as work-life balance or wellness program, really, making it a place that people want to come to and enjoy working with their fellow coworkers is kind of, yeah, a big part of it, for me.  Rio Peterson: Yeah.  Liesel Brink: Definitely, Amber. The people are great to work with, what continues for me to bring me back every day, but also, for me, the type of work that I get to do, it's never the same thing every day. The process might be the same, but the individuals are different, the circumstances are different, and so that truly is what the variety is what I enjoy the most as far as human resources and specifically ALPS.  Rio Peterson: Got it. Fantastic. So talking a little bit about the wellness program, was that in place? I know, Amber, you've been here about a year and a half, but, Liesel, was that in place when you started at ALPS?  Liesel Brink: So when I started back in 2015, it was not in place. We implemented little things here and there. At that time, I believe it was once a year, we tried to do something fun, and then it went to a quarter. Every quarter, we tried to do something, and then we aligned with a tech company, and then they offered physical, mental, emotional, and then also financial wellness options, and so that kind of started us off. I believe that was in 2017, and then the tech company decided that it wasn't what they wanted to focus on, and so we then went to a homegrown kind of wellness program. That is what Amber has definitely made her own over the last year and a half, so ...  Rio Peterson: Yeah, fantastic. Amber, do you want to tell us a little bit more about the program, kind of what kinds of benefits we offer, kind of how you come up with all these awesome ideas, because I know there's always something great going on in that program?  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah, yeah. I get my awesome ideas from all the subscriptions I have. I will say, all the wellness networks, for sure.  Rio Peterson: Awesome.  Amber Kuhlman: Awesome. Can't take credit for them all, but no, it's great. I love planning. I try and do a monthly highlighted activity that focuses on kind of those four functions that Liesel touched on, financial, mental, emotional, and physical, so I really try to get those all in the mix. They're all equally important.  So each quarter, I focus on one of those, and we award our employees for staying healthy in many different ways, so there is an incentive a little bit there, but they get gift cards. It's a point-based system. They get gift cards in PTO quarterly, so there's that, but it's always really nice when we hear the feedback from employees that stop by and really enjoyed a walking challenge that we had going, or earlier last summer, we did a stair challenge, and seeing everyone come up the stairs as opposed to the elevator was great. And yeah, I love seeing that, so it's good.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, it's fantastic, and it seems like that's something I noticed right from the get-go when I started at ALPS. Everyone's very engaged with the wellness program. It's a very big hit, and just the benefits offered in it are really fantastic and very thorough. It's definitely another benefit to working at ALPS. Just putting it out there if anyone seconds, so ...  Liesel Brink: But if I may, one of the important wellness aspects I find too, is the financial wellness that we focus on.  Rio Peterson: Yes.  Liesel Brink: We've partnered with a fantastic company, Best Money Moves out of Illinois with Ilyce Glink. She is the CEO and founder. They have come up with some fantastic opportunities for employees to learn more about how to save. They do monthly webinars. We've learned to, over the years, that if you help individuals understand their financials, that it could lead to less stress within the employee population. So I just want to do a shout-out to Amber for continuing that program with them because it's definitely very helpful.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. And financial wellness tends to be something that isn't normally included in wellness, but you're so right, it is really deeply connected to a lot of the stress people experience, because financial literacy is something that we're not really taught in schools in any capacity, so it's really, really important to be able to provide that peace of mind and those tools to everyone. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.  Liesel Brink: One of the other benefits that we've come up with, well, that most companies provide is the Employee Assistance program, where individuals have access to talk to professionals for personal or professional reasons. If things are going on or they want to bounce ideas off of someone, that's not their supervisor or their family, we offer an Employee Assistance program that has an in-network list of providers that we can go to for free visits, but we've also implemented a reimbursement if our employees want to go to out-of-network providers, and that was a huge, huge implementation last year. Something brand new that we hadn't heard a lot of companies doing, so we're like, "Let's try it," and it seems to be going well, so ...  Rio Peterson: Fantastic, and you've gotten ... I'm guessing you've heard some good feedback about that program? Yeah.  Liesel Brink: So we've heard a little feedback, right? It's an anonymous program, so it's one of those things where we do get some numbers about, like if they have an intake, but we get to know other information other than that. So it's great that we are giving utilization. We have, I believe, 13% utilization rate, Amber, where the national is four to six usually.  Rio Peterson: Whoo, that's fantastic. Love that people are taking care of themselves and that they're able to do so.  Liesel Brink: Exactly.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, it's fantastic. So what are some of the other kind of benefits and perks that we've got here, working at ALPS? I know there's quite a long list. Do you guys want to take us through a couple of them?  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah. One of my favorites, I'll highlight, is the Lifestyle Spending Account. Coming from a different company, that's a benefit I haven't had before. So the Lifestyle Spending Account, ALPS gives us funds monthly that we can utilize towards a variety of things, whether it's an event ticket to go to the movies, or maybe a concert. Pet insurance can go towards that, or just your typical gym membership, so it's great.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, my standing desk. Thank you guys.  Amber Kuhlman: Yes.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, I'm a big fan of that program too.  Liesel Brink: Nice. For me, we have an Adoption Assistance Program. We also offer discount interest rates through SoFi, and we provide a high-yield savings options through that SoFi option too. We do a 6% match at 100% for our 401(k), so that is something, and we're fully vested as of our first contribution. So for me, those things have been very beneficial for ALPS employees.  Rio Peterson: Yeah. And it is something that I've really noticed about ALPS too, is that as an organization, we are very invested in our employees, not just well, their employees, but in their futures as well, whether that is moving on to the next company or into retirement. I mean, I know that a large number of our staff has been at ALPS for 15, 20, 25 years, so it's really, I don't know, reassuring and nice to see that we are so invested in everyone regardless of where they're at in their career path. I don't think a lot of companies think about that, so ...  Liesel Brink: Yeah, Amber does a great-  Rio Peterson: It's [inaudible 00:27:46]-  Liesel Brink: Yeah. Amber does a great job with the training and development, and ensuring that our continuing education classes are getting credentialed for continuing education. It's one way we support our employees in licensure, and then we also encourage individuals and have supported them in earning their additional certifications of their choices.  Rio Peterson: And I think we do student loan assistance as well, don't we?  Liesel Brink: We do have a Student Loan Assistance program.  Rio Peterson: Yeah.  Liesel Brink: And we-  Rio Peterson: Then, we do all the things. There's too many things to list. We do everything.  Liesel Brink: I mean, we do employee photos, fun photos, so they're not the stuffy headshots, which is super fun. We have an employee that has a hobby to take photos, and they've been so kind to provide us with photos of employees, so that's super fun to do.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, and they're so well done too. They're really nicely shot. That's fantastic. So we've got just a couple more minutes here. I think, first of all, what are some of the roles that are currently open at ALPS, if anyone out there listening is interested in checking us out?  Amber Kuhlman: Yeah. I'll highlight the business development representative that we have open, specifically outbound. So we are looking for individual to come on and do sales. So you're interested in that, definitely connect with us on LinkedIn. It is also posted on LinkedIn, so check it out. But yeah, I'll let Liesel highlight the other one.  Liesel Brink: Yeah. We are looking for a claims attorney. This position does require an individual to have their Juris Doctorate, so that is an important aspect of this. We will train an individual and get them licensed as an adjuster. However, we do need them to have that Juris Doctorate. We do hope and ask that they've had five years of experience working in the field of law, because what they'll be doing is helping our insureds during their time of need when a claim actually happens.  So understanding a little bit about how things work in the practice of law is super helpful in this role. Happy to talk to someone about that. If they have more interest, they're welcome to reach out to us. I don't know if you want me to put my email, lbrink@alpsinsurance.com. Happy to have that conversation.  Yeah, but if someone already has previous claims experience, we'd love to have that talk too. So yeah, reach out. Yeah, or if you live in Montana or want to move to Montana, it's a great opportunity.  Rio Peterson: Yeah, Missoula is fantastic. It is a really fantastic spot. And so we've got, LinkedIn is a good place to reach out. We have a career section on the website, yup, so we can reach on your website.  Liesel Brink: Correct.  Rio Peterson: Can reach out to Liesel directly at lbrink@alpsinsurance.com. And yeah, we hope that you consider a career in insurance. It's a really fantastic industry, and I mean, I'm a little bit biased, but ALPS, in particular, is a pretty incredible place to work. So that's my two cents about the whole thing. Is there anything else?  Liesel Brink: We agree.  Amber Kuhlman: Yes.  Rio Peterson: Is there anything else you two would like to add before we sign off?  Amber Kuhlman: No. Thanks for tuning in.  Rio Peterson: Yeah. So well, thank you both for joining me. This has been fantastic. And for those of you listening, we will catch you next month for the next installment of In Brief. Again, I'm Rio Peterson, and thanks for tuning in. 

Occasionally, I've witnessed an employee facing a crisis that grieves me. I want to help, but sometimes it's more than I can do personally.   Fortunately, there are possible solutions like establishing employee assistance programs. A Corporate Assistance Program I'm familiar with allows the company and team members to donate money to a fund designed to ... The post Employee Assistance appeared first on Unconventional Business Network.

Beyond a paycheck, how much do employers owe their workers? A business alliance focused on employee assistance has had success in helping employees manage their lives and improve their prospects. Mark Peters, CEO of his family business, Butterball Farms, and co-founder of employee assistance nonprofit The Source, talks about the bottom line benefits of an expansive social contract.

On this episode of the Future of Mental Health, Marjorie Morrison is ending the season with a special live episode joined by Jessica DiVento, YouTube's Global Head of Mental Health. Jessica shares a behind-the-scenes look into how YouTube is partnering with companies that create psychoeducation content to better inform consumers and how they are using longform and short form content to appeal to all generations. “Users are going to TikTok and Instagram for medical information. Well, at YouTube we are trying to help users make an informed decision about the content that they are consuming.” - Jessica DiVento This episode was recorded live during the Future of Mental Healthcare: West Summit in which Marjorie and Jessica had a discussion about content creation and YouTube spearheading the movement for content that is scientifically backed. Marjorie also shares how Psych Hub and YouTube partner on content creation and some exciting news about Psych Hub Connect. Our guest, Dr.Jessica DiVento,is a licensed clinical psychologist who works as a consulting psychologist at Google, co-leading the Employee Mental Health and Wellbeing Team.  As part of this, she serves as YouTube's Global Head of Mental Health, where she partners directly with executives and cross-functional stakeholders to improve employee wellbeing at scale.  In addition, she consults as subject-matter expert on YouTube's product and content as it relates to mental health.  Prior to her time at Google, Dr. Jessica worked in Employee Assistance and University Health, where she specialized in young adults, identity-related concerns, anxiety, grief/loss, and adult children of parents with severe mental illness.    If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to follow or subscribe wherever you are listening, and share the show with your colleagues and friends. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel here, https://www.youtube.com/c/PsychHub. Future Of Mental Health is a Psych Hub Podcast and is for educational purposes only. Visit https://psychhub.com to dig deeper and access the world's most comprehensive platform for behavioral health education.   Follow us on Social Media Twitter: https://twitter.com/FOMHshow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psychhubeducation 

Joining Robin & Al is Greg Van Slyke, Director of Business Development at Inkblot Therapy. Greg has over 15 years' experience in the mental health industry joining Inkblot in May 2020. Inkblot is a digital mental health platform aiming to improve your mental health at home, work and beyond. He is both proud & passionate of the fact that Inkblot makes such a positive difference by helping people live happier, healthier lives — offering effective mental health care for everyone. Greg discusses the reasons behind his decision to join the mental health industry and what makes Inkblot's offering stand out from other Employee Assistance Programs.Brought to you by Aria Benefits and Life & Legacy Advisory Group

Who is Mike?Mike attained his DMS PGDip at London Metropolitan. He represented the university at the 4th International Conference on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Management in Germany where he received an award for his workshop entitled ‘How to alleviate stress: the importance for organisations to implement a more holistic view of the employee to alleviate stress' (presented in collaboration with Robert M Gordon, American Psychological Association, USA and Paolo Scapellato, European University of Rome, Italy). Whilst there he also collected a number of coaching awards; one of which, as a Football Association referee. He has worked with businesses such as Computer Sense, the Public Carriage Office, Transport for London, Specialist Make-up Services Limited, the Nouveau Beauty Group, Dixons Store Group and Priority Data, as well as practices in Harley Street. He has coached thousands of employees, boosting their motivation, emotional resilience and mental health, and instilling the foundations of good stress management. Described by his clients as a hugely transformative, well-respected practitioner, Mike continued to impact the field of customer service, instilling direction and leadership in large teams. Mike's passion is to help others become the best version of themselves on every level. The results his clients enjoy are consistently outstanding, and they also have a beneficial effect on an individual's colleagues, their environment and family, and the community that surrounds them.Key Takeaways1. We don't seem to be doing & saying much about how people need to look after themselves in these challenging times.2. We're not talking about that ability to communicate, we're not taught nearly enough how to listen to each other. And unfortunately, when we've learned it, we have ingrained behaviours, which we have to undo in order to be able to learn it properly.Valuable Free Resource or ActionA mental health resource : https://www.mikelawrence.co.uk/rediscover-your-confidence-the-antidote-to-good-mental-health/A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube : _________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletterFind out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguestSubscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcastHelp us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review at  apple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:1. Download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/1pageIt's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way2. Join The Complete Approach Facebook Group :  https://TCA.fyi/fb Connect with like-minded individuals who are all about growth and increasing revenue. It's a Facebook community where we make regular posts aimed at inspiring conversations in a supportive environment. It's completely free and purposely aimed at expanding and building networks.3. Join our Success to Soar Program and get TIME and FREEDOM. : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Success-to-SoarIf you're doing 10-50k a month right now: I'm working with a few business owners like you to change that, without working nights and weekends. If you'd like to get back that Time and still Scale, check the link above.4. Work with me privatelyIf you'd like to work directly with me and my team to take you from 5 figure to 6 and multi 6 figure months, whilst reducing reliance on you. Click on https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/DiscoveryCall  tell me about your business and what you'd like to work on together, and I'll get you all the details.————————————————————————————————————————————-TranscriptNote, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)SUMMARY KEYWORDSpeople, work, programme, listen, mike, organisations, mental health, sheffield, emails, question, called, lots, activates, learn, notifications, clients, problems, johann hari, brain, helpedSPEAKERSMike Lawrence, Stuart WebbStuart Webb  00:25Hi and welcome back to it's not rocket science five questions over coffee. I am delighted and I have I have got my coffee here with me today. So it's here ready to go. I'm delighted today to be joined by Mike Lorenz Mike is a really interesting, transformational coach. He started his his career in leisure and hospitality and I'm sure he might get into that, where he was a Butlins Butler. It's red coat, helping holidaymakers through positive engagement and mindfulness. He's now a mentoring and coach for a number of large organisations, he reduces absenteeism. He improves employee morale, and he approves company internal culture. And Mike is in great demand in the corporate world. And he has got some clients who have described him as truly transformational. So I think we're gonna have a really fascinating discussion today. Welcome to the podcast, Mike.Mike Lawrence  01:30Yeah, could skim the day's view, it's great to be here last has been a whileStuart Webb  01:36it has been a take, it's taken us a while to get this set up. And thanks for taking the time to do this. Because I'm really looking forward to the conversation. Mike, can you just start by giving us a sort of an insight into the sort of person that you help the sort of the sort of internal and external behaviours, etc, that you might be seeing in your clients that they're that they wish to change and, and bring about a better well being attitude?Mike Lawrence  02:00Yes, I'd be happy to do so Stuart. Obviously, it's changed because I think prior to sort of COVID, and the lockdown, a lot of the clients, the people that we're seeing on a private basis in my clinic in Sheffield, tended to be women, the thought is like business owners, because you tend to find that the women only speak and how they wellbeing regime. And so they're more looking after their actual well being their mental health, that has changed somewhat. And now this is sort of balanced out. And in a lot of men, which is which is good, we're now starting to come forward and have that conversation talk about the challenges or problems that they face with their sort of well being. And so prior to Tina to COVID, lockdown, it was, you know, the general sort of strange depression sorts of anxiety. Also burnout I sustained on the increase, whereas now it seems to be around financial well being that lack of certainty about the future with the rising cost of living, and so it will try them out. Or we can navigate through these sorts of challenges. Because, you know, in the media and the government's we're talking about a lot of the problems which are going on. And yes, occasionally we have a mental health awareness, but really, we don't seem to be doing saying much about how people need to look after themselves in these challenging times.Stuart Webb  03:33So what are the behaviours, the things that you've seen people with those thoughts try to do to help themselves before you get involved with your, with your, your, your services,Mike Lawrence  03:49the, you know, you've got the negative behaviours, and the positive behaviours and negative behaviours, and some people might think that positive is the coping strategies. So hybrid work and brought in people eating more from element and generally speaking, eating in eating into access as a way of trying to cope because working from home the hybrid working in too far away from your kitchen, and so is this readily available, people are drinking more as well at home because again, it was it was readily available, also working more one way of filling that gap in terms of the challenge of problems that we're facing and felt as though that we needed to, you know, to sort of, you know, work or to fill in those gaps. And so, if I'm in that, working with people who are suffering with burnout or lots of in lots of situations, they're not looking after themselves and and typically the thought of things which I'm here and a lot of the time the things such as, you know, I'm feeling overworked and stressed a lot If I'm feeling depressed, I can't get to see my doctor. Or if, if I do get through to see a doctor, I just feel as though that them not listening, because I've just got a short. I'm just got a short when you call it time with the doctor. And in most of the cases, the prescribing medication, which obviously the right thing to do, but what they're wanting to see is to see somebody that was going to help them with CBT, or counselling, depending on where you live. And in the end, where you are in the control did turn depend upon what term level of support that you might get.Stuart Webb  05:41So, Mike, you've described some really interesting things there. Those are all things which, which I guess, you you provide, D provide them on site in your clinic, do you go to workplaces? How do you how do you offer that services?Mike Lawrence  05:56Yeah, well, was to follow benek in Sheffield, also, people see me remotely as long, which is one of the advantages and benefits, I suppose as the remote working. And so I'm able to offer a range of support services to people throughout the UK, and also our clients, you know, throughout the world as well. And then also get involved with organisations who provide Employee Assistance programmes and, and some people who might be fortunate if you're working for a large organisation, you might be able to get support through EAP, what I find is that lots of people who have got these schemes in the workplace which are free, they're not using them. So if anybody is watching this programme you have got in you're in a company that provides an EAP is really important that you do, you know, do so that said, I go into companies and tend to be smaller organisations, and where they haven't gotten an employee assistance programme. And now we'll come in there. And I will deliver talks and one to ones with members of staff, who may not feel confident speaking to some of their mental health problems to the to somebody within HR. And in some cases, you've got people have been trained as Mental Health First Aiders and a mental Mental Health First Aid instructor. And so I deliver that training on site and also in the workplace. But time and time again, you find that people are Mental Health First Aid trains, again, people within those organisations, there might be some stigma associated to going into the Mental Health First Aid or to talk about, you know, there's some of the problems that they actually face. So I offer a range of workshops, and they range from menopause, which has been on the increase, which had been asked for quite a lot. Mental Health Awareness, stress, depression, anxiety, nutrition and financial well being. Because now that organisations recognise that there have got a duty of care. And as part of that corporate social responsibility, they are doing more and need to be seen to do more for the employers.Stuart Webb  08:10Great. Yeah, thank you, Mike. Mike, I understand you've got a pretty valuable free resource that people even if they're not part of a large organisation, or a small business, even if they work on their own, that they can take in order to be able to do something. And I've just put the link to that scrolling along the bottom the screen now that that your website and the link is rediscover your confidence, the antidote to good mental health? Do you just want to describe to us what that that resource brings to the table?Mike Lawrence  08:41Yes, I can. It's a resource which is available to, you know, to everybody. It's a training programme, which I created and developed online about a year ago. And this is after some research that I did with clients. And also, what some, you know, as you know, a magic one question on LinkedIn, midway through through the pandemic, when I asked, you know, if I could offer you something, if I help you with something in particular, which would move you forward in terms in mental health and well being, what would it be. And so based upon the feedback from existing clients, previous clients, and also friends and family in the poll around on LinkedIn, I created this support programme for people around the UK and also around the world, who are able to step onto this series of webinars and workshops, which are deliver via video and also on a one to one workshop basis, where we'll be tackling and dealing with some of their challenges which they might have faced a long time ago, in terms of their health and well being because a lot of times, the things in which we faced our the problems that we have Sometimes it might be through the loss of somebody, or it could be something that we saw. No, in our in our early years in our childhood. And subconsciously, we've repressed those memories and thoughts. And this then impacts us in later life. I help people who come on to the course to identify or them to identify some of the root causes of their problems, and give them sorts of coping strategies help and support. So they're able to hopefully glean a better quality of life.Stuart Webb  10:36Great, great, great use of LinkedIn. Get that get that feedback on what people actually need from from you? What a great use. Mike, I guess there must be a number of books or courses or programmes that you've taken part in yourself, which have really inspired you that you have you seen as a way to build up your own education is, is there something like that, that you'd like to share with the audience today, in order to give them a flavour of things that you've been learning or things that you've, you've discovered that you'd like to sort of bring into the bring to the audience?Mike Lawrence  11:09Yes, there's, there's a couple that come to mind. And it's always books, I'm always reading books, always learning. A lot of the there's a book sorcerer series by a gentleman called David and Eagleman is also been featured on BBC, you can see he's got some on YouTube, there's some videos that he's gotten also lots of, I think, some BBC iPlayer, as well. And he talks about the brain, and goes very deep into the brain and gets thinking about, you know, what's in there, and how and how it works, the mechanics of it all. And there's lots of aha moments, staying with the brain. Many people may have heard of Darren Brown. And there's some great two podcasts that I've listened to recently one's called boot camp up the mind, which is excellence, and boot camp of your life, which is really good as well. And again, he delves into the brain talks about some of the blind spots that we have, and, and how we think and how certain things that can influence our sorts of beliefs as well. And the final one I'll share with you is one called Lost. What's it called? Is it lost focus? I think it might have things called loss, I think it might be lost, lost focus. And it's written by a gentleman call yo Hannes, Johann Hari, h a r i. And this is for me, it's dynamite. Because when you read this, when you read this book, or I listen, or I did, I listened to it on an audible when I'm going walking. I guess you're thinking about how we use our time and where that time got bears word, where does time go? Because we say all the time. You know, if you love what you do, and I love what I enjoy doing throughout the day, and your end of the day, it's like, wow, you know, where's that time gone. But we can use that time more effectively. And when you break it down, and the amount of time is actually lost? Or as he would say, taken away? Then you calculate that time says, Well, what would I have done with that time? If I control it, you know, a lot better. And typically, you know, everyone's got a mobile phone. And the amount of times and there's lots of studies and research and he talks about this, well, the amount of time and switch is lost on looking at those notifications that keep coming up on a day to day basis. And also emails and you know, you are still at you're nodding your heads, and, and emails, and we're doing this podcast called like, remotely, and I've got notifications switched up, I've got emails, you know, I've got everything's switched off. In actual fact, I've had them switched off for about four years. And the amount of time the amount of control that I have now it is just, it's incredible. And you know, a lot of times when people ask me, you know, I'm being interviewed, and you might ask me, anyone in the future and says, you know, what tip would you give people, you know, in terms of the well being, turn the notifications offStuart Webb  14:28of that mic? And yes, you're right. I'm nodding because I too am a I do not have notifications on my phone, I guess. And you know, there are reasons for it. And, you know, we're going into what you said about Johann Hari, and I believe he was the guy that invented this thing called the Johari Window, which I've heard a lot about, which is, you don't know things about yourself. You've got to look at yourself in a different way in order to see it. But I'm very aware of the fact that notifications are one of those things which activates some very deep, old thinking in our brain I want to call them lizard brain, which is, you know, the crack of a stick in the in the woods used to be assigned for us to sort of get ready to run away nowadays, it's a being on a phone and activates all that same that same system in our body so that our our adrenaline is hyped up and we sort of get, get ready to either run away or fight. And what you don't need when you sitting watching the television and trying to relax on the day and decompress is things from your phone or when you're focused at work, you don't want to bring from your phone or thing popping up in the corner of your screen. So I'm like you, I now have a system where I, I, I have my email set as a calendar invite for myself, and I go and view my emails three times a day. And that's the only time I read email because otherwise, I'm focused on work. And when I want to actually sort of go on to social media, I use a technique you've probably heard of it called the Pomodoro Technique, my work for focus time, and then I give myself permission for a five minute break. And if I want to check Twitter, that's the time I check it. Or if I want to check LinkedIn, that's the time I check it. And I really don't do anything other than that. So I don't have notifications like you. And it has freed up hours of my week, it really has.Mike Lawrence  16:15It works a treat, because you probably well aware that in those those studies, that it highlights that when you if you've got the emails aren't if you're working away, and because you know, we talked about multitasking, and we all say that we are great multitaskers. And it breaks that myth by saying no, the brain doesn't work that way, you can only do one thing at a time. And those people who think they're great multitaskers, they take longer to do those particular tasks. And also, when you've got the if you're writing a document or a report, and that email pings up and it breaks your conscious because it activates that part and your brain was like, Ah, screw it, I need to go to that. So you start to write to that, then you then takes about 20 minutes, then to go back to that document to that that part of your mind, who was accessing to get all those nuggets information for you and your flow. You know, write that piece of work, it takes you 20 minutes to get back to that place again. Just JustStuart Webb  17:18brilliant love it might love it. We could talk about those techniques for about another two and a half hours, but I won't. Because you need to get on to something else, and you need to focus on your work. So let's just get to the final question. Mike, there is probably a question that you're thinking at the moment I wish he had asked me whatever that question is. So Mike, would you please tell us what is the question you would like me to ask you? And then once you've asked the question effectively answer it for us so that you don't leave us hanging with the with it with an interesting question. But no, no real fulfilment of the answerMike Lawrence  17:53is probably you probably mentioned it in the intro about being a red carpet.Stuart Webb  18:00You tell us what did you learn being somebody who helped holidaymakers through their what they hope would be a stress free time? How did you help them?Mike Lawrence  18:13I think it was to, they helped, I helped them in enjoy and have a good time, and have fun. And when you look all those years ago, at a very young age, the ability to be able to work and enjoy what you do and have fun and also and also impact positively and in people's lives in their own sort of health and well being and that was from the young generation all the way through, you know, to the you know, to the older generation, so all those generations and, and it helped me with my my confidence because prior to going there, I was probably an introvert and WhatsApp in an old steel town of Sheffield's and going to college and what have you around that when and just going and being flung into this space of over 5000 people who and who were there and spent a lot of money in those days and they're with their family expecting to entertain and expecting to be taken care of, you know, by these people, you know, these girls and boys in these red coats, and so something that it's live up so and, and the wonderful thing about it is that initially when I came out of working there I worked into I went into working in London in the legend creation industry when for whatever reason, I don't know what I wanted to be a manager in charge of people. And I found it very difficult in the first few years to adapt. Because I'd gone from somewhere where I was enjoying myself, I was having fun. And lots of people were, it was all positive engagement. There was no talk of mental health or wellbeing back then, because everyone was just having a good time, then we're going into the civil service, in local authority in London, it was totally different. And it took me a few years to actually adopt. And also, Stuart's, as I, as I tried to move through my career in management at it, I actually had to take off the fact that as a red coat on my, on my CV, it was fine in that was getting overlooked. And people felt as though that I wasn't saying management, managerial material, and that I didn't take the role seriously. And so I actually took that part out of it and just said that I worked in the leisure industry on the south coast, and left it at that wasn't until many years later that I set up my own consultancy company. And I was being interviewed on radio Sheffield, by a by a link be interviewed on radio Sheffield. And like yourself, he asked me the question, but he asked it in a different way. He actually said to me, what transferable skills did you did you learn as a red coat that you use in your business today. And that was like, ah, and there's lots because yes, I've got a lot you know, qualifications and Mental Health First Aid instructor and gone on lots of courses since then managerial courses and things around and complementary alternative therapies. But those skills that I learned back, then, you're able to communicate to people to talk to people understand people have conversations with people, you know, not on text or email, but communicate, and listen, because that and then to interact with people, and understand how they talk and how they feel and pick up on those things, you don't realise that you what you learn there, which then takes took me all the way through there. And, and it's one of the key attributes that I possess, when I'm working, you know, with, you know, with people now, it is one of the key things, because I was just gonna go on to say And finish in the, in my, you know, in some of the studies that I've done recently, I was surprised in one way that, you know, when we go to school, in the teachers house, it's taught how to read and write. But the amount of time in which actually is is put aside and how to listen, is very little.Stuart Webb  23:05Mike, that's a really interesting thing, too, that I started I interrupted you. I mean, it's interesting that you had to take away an element of your first part of your learning in your career, I similarly had to remove my, my, my, my scientific background, when I first started out as a manager, because people would often ask what somebody like you wanting to do a job like this. So you just take it away, don't you but, but I think that final point about learning to listen was probably the most the most interesting one that I think you you've hit upon, if we could just learn to listen to at a young age, you know, you're right. At school, we are not taught what we need when we get out into the real world, or we were not taught about that teamwork. We're not talking about that ability to communicate, we were largely sort of sat in silence listening to somebody who who feeds facts, we're not taught nearly enough how to listen to each other and, and something we learn far too late in life. And unfortunately, when we've learned it, we have ingrained behaviours, which we have to undo in order to be able to learn it properly.Mike Lawrence  24:13Absolutely, because the you know, we've all got our friend we want to be, you know, the social media is all about, look at me Look at me, like like like, and, and, and in reality, if some, in a lot of cases projects, a false image of actually who we are. But being a but in terms of a mental health and well being. Because, you know, a lot of the times when I meet people or see people, and you might say the same as well, and the first thing that we're saving, you know, English and British, we talk you know as to how are you? I'm fine and well, I'm okay. But oh We biggest a lot of times we we not? And we hope that, you know, we hope that people will respond, I'm fine. I'm okay. And well, you know, am I right? Because we were to say, actually, I'm feeling not very well. That's not what you wanted to hear.Stuart Webb  25:23We must stop, we could talk for hours, I will just say that I think there is some hope. My son who is 21 has a friend who has been to through some difficult medical problems just recently. And when he first reached out this, this young lad to my son, about a year or so ago, I said, Look, I've got a medical problem that I just I just haven't talked to many people. He's now got through that there's been surgery and things which which have helped him to get through this. He's not out of the woods, but he's, he's better. He sent a text to my son last night. And the text basically said, mate, thanks for being there. And just listening when I needed somebody to talk to. And I was just blown away that to 21 year old people, to 21 year old young men were able to actually do that gave hope for the fact that there is going to be a better view upon mental health in the future, because he really did reach out. My son was prepared to stand by and listened and helped him through and just, you know, went through it with him, you know, no matter how difficult it will seem. They just exchanged a series of sort of little text messages saying thank you. There's hope. Yeah, really, there is.Mike Lawrence  26:40And there is and we can't give up. And that's the you know, a great message. That there's always hope and we need to continue to believe that there is hope. And continue to strive to get that support from like minded people are going to listen and and be MBA and hold us accountable on on that journey, wherever we are.Stuart Webb  27:04Mike, let's, let's end on that. That's a brilliant, a brilliant endpoint. Listen, if people are watching, recording, listening to the recording, and the playback, if you want to be available to listen to really interesting conversations and pop in with questions and comments, with with interesting people like Mike go to this this list, which is HTTPS, colon forward slash forward slash TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that gets you onto our newsletter list. We will send you notifications before the broadcast, so that you can watch and listen and learn together with with really interesting people like Mike. Mike, I want to thank you so much for being here this morning and spending a few minutes with us. I know you're a busy person, and I know you've got a lot of things you've got to get on with. But thank you very much for your time.Mike Lawrence  27:58Thank you, Stuart. Appreciate it.Stuart Webb  28:00No problem. Thank you Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

We're joined by Renee Tajudeen, Director, Policy Communication and Outreach, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor (ODEP) to discuss the Campaign for Disability Employment, a national public education collaborative that showcases supportive, disability-inclusive workplace policies. We talk about the CDE's latest public education campaign, “Mental Health at Work: What Can I Do?,” EAPA's role in helping shape it, and what EAs can do to get involved. 

Employee Assistance neu gedacht: Co-Founder Marvin Homburg berichtet heute über sein HR Tech Startup EVERMOOD.

Pride Month is here and we're checking in with the director of Connecticut's leading LGBTQ+ support agency - Norwalk's Triangle Community Center - to learn how they are helping members of these communities across the state with services and advocacy. Then we'll meet a couple of representatives of EAPA - the Employee Assistance Professionals Association - to learn how its members help those facing challenges at work and outside the workplace, and about their upcoming conference focusing on suicide prevention. And we'll close with our partners from the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters - taking a look back on the 2022 state legislative session, and a look forward reflecting on how these accomplishments will be making our state more environmentally sustainable.

This week's episode is all about determining which EAP is best for your organization. Because there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, John Troutman, National Director of Mazzitti & Sullivan EAP, discusses the vast range of possibilities and what to look for in an EAP. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://bit.ly/3xjbaax 

In this first episode, we welcome Monica Guidry LCSW, ACSW, Executive Director of Employee Assistance and Well-being Programs to join the conversation on the 8 dimensions of wellness. We challenge you to look within and answer the question, Which dimension of well-being thrives in your life?

Kathleen Greer, founder of KGA, a nationally recognized leader in the field of Employee Assistance and Work-Life Programs, on the ways in which COVID drove her company to innovate, the 2-3 most important developments in EAP over just the past 10 years, the biggest challenges facing the field, her work with an angel investment group supporting women entrepreneurs, and highlights from a distinguished career stretching back to 1982. 

Welcome to the 41st Episode of the #100MasterCoaches​ Show. In this episode, Mel interviews Merci Miglino, MCC from Albany, New York. Educated as a teacher and working as a journalist, paralegal, communications director and campaign manager, Merci is the eldest daughter of nine children where she learned to motivate a divergent group toward a common goal and to persist even in the face of impossible challenges. Armed with this background, and a passion for advocacy, she worked in the rough and tumble world of the New York State Legislature serving as Director of Communications in both the State Assembly and State Senate. For the past 20 years, Merci has run a successful coaching practice and conducts training and coaching for numerous organizations including the International Coach Academy, CoachA, Blanchard Coaching, Laser Coaching, Clearing Beliefs, and several Employee Assistance programs. Merci is a Master Certified Coach who works with executives and entrepreneurs, and mentors and trains coaches worldwide. She is the Creator of the ICF-Credential Prep Course, which up-levels your coaching skills in a predictable, effective, and fun experience. Want to become an ICF Certified Coach like Merci, begin your journey here at Catalyst Coach today! www.catalystcoach.live

Lucy Henry is a rock star with First Sun EAP and a wealth of information on the subject of grief. Listen here as Rich and Lucy discuss the inevitability of experiencing grief and helpful ways to handle it. Her impressive Bio Below:I am a consultant who is passionate about Employee Assistance and helping work organizations maximize the productivity of employees. I love helping individuals increase their potential in work and in life. I also enjoy providing training for workplace leadership and for EA Professionals and Affiliate Providers. I am deeply committed to the Employee Assistance Professional Association (EAPA) and to the Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) certification. My desire is for every work organization to realize the importance of utilizing EAPs for work performance issues and realizing the value that EAPs provide.

We are chatting about wellbeing, well workplaces and self-massage! Helen is incredibly passionate about her field and the positive impact she has on people's lives and their motivation. I have to say, I am SOLD too after this.

Dr. Ashley Massimino is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist who works for corrections. She is involved with many areas to include the Employee Assistance program. Her popular Instagram page, the_staff_assistant, is a resource to support correctional staff. The second part of this episode includes the person who monitors the very popular Instagram page, thelaterelief. Mostly misunderstood because of its comedic platform, The Late Relief provides factual information and news considered controversial. The Late Relief also uses this platform to assist fundraisers for Law Enforcement personnel going through difficult times. 

In this episode Zach is joined by Joan Newcomb, the Manager of Employee Assistance for Norfolk Southern Railway Company. She is the head of Norfolk Southern Railroad's Employee Assistance Program to support employees with everything mental health, substance, abuse, and overall wellness. The two discuss the Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation program through Norfolk Southern and how it helps employees in recovery.

Ik heb deze keer Anna Smets op bezoek. Anna is director business solutions bij Workplace Options, wereldspeler inzake wellbeing en een experte als het gaat over Employee Assistance programma's. Steeds meer organisaties bieden hun medewerkers én hun gezin een Employee Assistance Programma (EAP) aan. Nog nooit van gehoord? Een EAP is een dienstverlening die medewerkers en leidinggevenden ondersteunt in hun mentaal, emotioneel, fysiek en praktisch welzijn. Daarmee toon je als organisatie dat het welzijn van jouw workforce er toe doet. Gans het jaar door, 24/7 kunnen medewerkers kosteloos terecht bij een team van professionals voor een luisterend oor, een helpende hand, curatief, preventief, voor werkgerelateerde problemen, stressbeheersing, gezonde voeding,  maar evenzeer als er problemen zijn met één van de kinderen of met hun partner. En je ontzorgt het HR team en interne dienstverlening die nu eenmaal niet 24/7 beschikbaar kunnen zijn. ondersteunen van medewerker én leidinggevende. En Anna deelt ook nog drie ultieme tips:Tip #1: Zet mentaal welzijn op de agenda en geef welzijn de plaats die het verdientTip #2: Wacht niet tot het te laat is, heb oog voor zelfzorg Tip #3: Probeer het niet allemaal zelf te doen +++Honger naar meer? SCHRIJF JE IN VOOR DE NIEUWSBRIEF - https://zigzaghr.be/inschrijving-nieuwsbriefLEES DE ARTIKELS - https://zigzaghr.be/inspiratie/ABONNEER JE OP HET TIJDSCHRIFT - https://zigzaghr.be/tijdschrift/And don't forget: it's a great time to be in HR!

Mr. Boyd Scoggins, Employee Assistance Program Coordinator, discusses ways to beat the holiday blues during a time of potential sadness for some people.

Samantha O'Connell, Ph.D., Chief Psychologist and Director of Employee Assistance at Aspire Health Alliance of Quincy discusses the mental health aspects of the pandemic and offers some coping strategies for adults and children.

Covid-19 is taking a toll on the finances of Milwaukee area colleges and universities. MBJ reporters Rich Kirchen and Sari Lesk explore how revenue is shrinking while costs for safety and technology are on the rise.  Later, an increasing number of employees in many fields are coping with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic – and that’s where a company called Empathia in Pewaukee comes in. Rich talks with CEO Carol Wilson about her company’s growth this year. Finally, Cindy Krahenbuhl, Executive Director of Guest House of Milwaukee and Board Member Kevin Newell discuss how Guest House is adjusting their services in this era of Covid-19, and economic and racial strife.  For more information on the stories featured in today’s episode, visit https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/

Hurricane Katrina, the Boston Marathon Bombing, the September 11 terror attacks, and COVID-19...what do they all have in common?  More than we can imagine, beginning with the stress and ending with long-term impacts we can't yet see when it comes to the current pandemic.  The other connection they have is the guest of this podcast, Bob VandePol.  Bob is the leader who was called to guide teams through each of these crisis to help others lead with compassion and competence.    Bob currently serves as Executive Director of Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services' Employee Assistance and Church Assistance programs where he leverages behavioral health expertise to support healthy, productive people and groups. In this episode, Bob walks us through steps individuals can take to be resilient and weather challenging times, in addition to outlining a process leaders can follow to facilitate individual and organizational recovery from a crisis. 

Mel chats with Matt from Mates in Construction."IF YOU NEED TO TALK OR NEED HELP, PLEASE RING OUR 24/7 SUPPORT LINE 1300 642 111. We have case managers, field staff available to speak with you, catch up, and connect you to sources of help and assistance. MATES are Stronger Together in Tough Times."The MATES program is an integrated program of training and support – one without the other is insufficient. To only do training without pathways to support is potentially dangerous and to only do support without raising awareness is to simply be another Employee Assistance program. The MATES program uses training as tool to raise awareness that there is a problem with suicide and its contributing risk factors in our industry and we can all be part of the solution. The support is then provided through clear pathways to help, case management processes that ensure that workers in need of support are connected to appropriate help, and on site visits by field officers to support the site and its workers in an ongoing presence until the site closes.

“Syndicate” is a group of individuals or organizations combined to promote some common interest. Our common interest at Rock Bottom Syndicate is to be of service.Rock Bottom Syndicate is my community of friends who, after having hit rock bottom, discovered that being of service to help others has a surprising side effect. We get better. We make better decisions. We learn to live strong, joyous lives.----------Rock Bottom Syndicate is about people who have a story to tell to inspire others to keep working toward their potential no matter what happens.Rock Bottom is an opportunity to learn, pivot and adapt to whatever life throws your way.Rock Bottom is a time where you can choose to take responsibility for everything in your life because when you take responsibility you gain control to change things for yourself.Your secrets are the prison of your emotions. Telling your story will set you free to be yourself, to heal, grow as a person and move on to enjoy the journey of a strong, joyous life.Ask for help. Tell your story.Reach out to Coach Joyce at @TotalWellCoach on all social media platforms. I love getting questions and DMs and making new connections! What do you need help with? What problem are you trying to solve! Your questions help me produce great content that helps more people!JOIN MY TOTAL WELL COACH INNER CIRCLE for virtual coaching, classes and webinars!Subscribe and share my TotalWellCoach YouTube Channel to see the video of our interview.If you love my work and want to support what I do, here’s a link to Make a Donation.

John L. Webb, Jr. is the founder of Medication Call Reminder and a seasoned professional with a unique combination of work in both the private and public sectors. John’s experiences in Employee Assistance sales and marketing, medical social work in home health care, hospital discharge planning and care management led to a second career as an entrepreneur. As a long distance caregiver, it was a heartfelt response to concerns for John's mother to remember to take her medication as prescribed that led to the creation of Medication Call Reminder, an automated voice phone call and text message service to remind elderly people, in particular, to take the right medication, at the right time. Notification of the persons' intent to take their medication is immediately sent to the caregiver or health care provider by phone, text or email.

John L. Webb, Jr. is the founder of Medication Call Reminder and a seasoned professional with a unique combination of work in both the private and public sectors. John’s experiences in Employee Assistance sales and marketing, medical social work in home health care, hospital discharge planning and care management led to a second career as an entrepreneur.As a long distance caregiver, it was a heartfelt response to concerns for John's mother to remember to take her medication as prescribed that led to the creation of Medication Call Reminder, an automated voice phone call and text message service to remind elderly people, in particular, to take the right medication, at the right time. Notification of the persons' intent to take their medication is immediately sent to the caregiver or health care provider by phone, text or email.

Dr. Sharlene Jarrett spoke at Para Caribe's Occupational Health & Workplace Wellness Symposium, October 24-25, 2019 at the Half Moon Hotel, Montego Bay, Jamaica. Dr. Jarrett is an experienced Clinical Psychologist licensed in the State of New York, USA, and in Jamaica. She is a graduate of Cornell; University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and Columbia University.

Mark is joined by Paula Allen, SVP of Research, Analytics and Innovation for Morneau Shepell. They discuss the more personal side of employment assistance programs and what the research says about how these programs can meet employees needs and support them to be the happiest and healthiest at work. 

Mark sits down with Stephen Liptrap, the President and CEO of Morneau Shepell, a Canadian HR company that specializes in Employee and Family Assistance Programs which provide mental health and wellness support to employees and their families. They discuss the evidence behind their approach to EFAP, the results they've produced and some of the myths that should be dispelled.  

In this episode we dive into what it’s like a young single mom and overcoming the barriers. Tamara Houston is a Clinical Social Worker, licensed in South and North Carolina. She is the CEO of Renewal Life Counseling, LLC in Greenville, SC. She also has other business ventures that includes a Coaching and Consulting business that focuses on helping other clinicians with their start-ups, speaking engagements for organizational leadership and mental health awareness events, and a monthly Facebook Series entitled "Decoding the Lyrics" where she and her partner use contemporary music to discuss mental health issues. Tamara currently serves as a mentor to many, is the Secretary for the South Carolina Society for Employee Assistance, and President-Elect for the South Carolina Society for Clinical Social Workers. Building a business in three years from solo practice to group practice, pursuing various educational opportunities, and serving her family and community, Tamara has learned the importance of having good work-life balance, in order to accomplish all that she has. Outside of work, Tamara enjoys making memories with her family, traveling, cooking, and working out. Her motto for 2020 is #Free&Clear, which is guiding her to lead a life free of drama and a clear mind, focused on building a legacy for her family. You can find Tamara at www.renewallifecounseling.com Facebook: @renewallifecounseling.com Instagram: @renewallife_rlc Facebook: momtowifepluslife Instagram: mom2wifepluslife Podcast: anchor.fm/mom2wife2life https://youtu.be/Z_4eI6AkGIk --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mom2wife2life/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mom2wife2life/support

Our 12 in 12 Podcast series showcases 12 People Professionals from a wide range of backgrounds as they share their HR story with our podcast host Lucinda in just 12 minutes (or as close to)! Each week in December the podcast will cover 3 of these conversations. Therefore, read on to find out who Lucinda will be speaking with in this week's episode… Introducing our first guest, Ian Ruddy People Professional: Ian Ruddy, Vice President of Human Resources, EMEA for Digital Realty Ian leads the HR team for EMEA helping Digital Realty scale their business in the region. Digital Realty help power the digital ambitions and the data centre, colocation and interconnection strategies of more than 2,000 organisations. These businesses are spread out across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia. Digital Realty customers include companies of all sizes, ranging from cloud and information technology services, communications and social networking to financial services, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and consumer products. Moreover, Ian has over 25 years of HR experience in the high tech and digital services sector operating at CEO and board level, helping businesses scale and transform. In addition, he has worked for Honeywell, Siemens, Cisco Systems, Telefónica, Criteo and cxLoyalty. Furthermore, Ian is a graduate from the University of Essex and with postgraduate studies completed at the LSE. He has also undertaken leadership programmes at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and Universitas Telefónica, Barcelona. Key Information: Connect with Ian Ruddy on Linkedin Digital Realty Website Welcoming our second guest, Helen Gilfillan People Professional: Helen Gilfillan, Director of HR Dept Helen currently works as the Director of the HR Dept. The HR Dept offers local and personal service with practical support and pragmatic advice to suit business requirements. Therefore, as a Human Resources professional covering Bishops Stortford, Halstead, and the surrounding areas, Helen has the ability to offer a complete outsourced HR service tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. Certainly, support can be anything from a single employment contract to taking on all of your HR requirements with our 'Advice Line' Service. Services also available are Payroll, Health, and Safety, E-Learning, Training, and Employee Assistance programmes. Moreover, Helen has over 30 years HR experience employed within industry in the various sectors including Manufacturing, Service industry, retail and the public sector operating as HR Director at board level, helping businesses enhance performance and grow aligned to corporate strategy. Furthermore, Helen has worked for Lancaster Garages, Tyco Electronics, Ralston Purina, Flakt Woods, and Essex Police and started her own business in March this year. Our guest Helen is also a CIPD and Masters graduate from the Anglia Ruskin University. In addition, she is a Certified Practitioner for Thomas International's Personal Profile Analysis (PPA). Key Information: Connect with Helen Gilfillan on Linkedin Connect on Twitter: @hgilfillanhr Email: helen.gilfillan@hrdept.co.uk Mobile: 07443 672963 Telephone: 03452 081 293 HR Dept Website Rounding off this episode, our guest Lucy Barclay-Carr People Professional: Lucy Barclay-Carr, Director of HR, Finance & Operations for MacGregor Healthcare Lucy currently works as the HR, Finance and Operations Director within MacGregor Healthcare. However, she started working life as a Diagnostic Radiographer with a specialty in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Ultrasound. Consequently, moving into a more entrepreneurial commercial world by co-founding MacGregor Healthcare Ltd in 2010. Along with her business partners, Lucy has developed an international medical device manufacturing, sales, and clinical education company that is seen as the centre of excellence for product development, education, and service within the bowel and bladder care sector. Certainly, Lucy has a natural attribute for financial figures. Her real drive, however, falls in the HR element of her role – she is about to complete CIPD level 7 HRM and an accredited Insights Discovery Practitioner this year. Key Information: Connect with Lucy Barclay-Carr on Linkedin Email: lhc@macgregorhealthcare.com Mobile: 07584 064 274 Telephone: 0845 519 20 40 MacGregor Healthcare Website Valuable Resources You can access additional free HR Resources via the Actus Software website link below. Lucinda Carney is the founder and CEO of Actus Software: https://actus.co.uk/free-performance-management-resources/ About The Host Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. Therefore, it was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up' together. "When we look up we rise up” Contact Method Join the HR Uprising LinkedIn community - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13714397/ Email: Lucinda@advancechange.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucindacarney/ Twitter: @lucindacarney Instagram: @hruprising Facebook: @hruprising YouTube: Channel See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cathy Sikorski is an Elder Law attorney who has been a caregiver for multiple family members and friends in need. She's also the author of two books, including the Amazon Bestseller, "Who Moved My Teeth?", a practical and humorous guide to the basic legal and financial instruments that every adult should have in place.Cathy has shifted her traditional legal practice to build a new business. She is dedicated to informing and helping caregivers prepare financially for a future in which their own Social Security and retirement benefits might be lacking as a direct result of their time spent out of the workforce.Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Dalismar Morales, a licensed Psychologist who works in the Office of Employee Assistance at FIU, coming to you to raise awareness of Family Caregivers as November is National Family Caregiver Month.

Employee assistance programs across the Defense Department are starting to come back online. They'd been unavailable for a full week, leaving DoD's entire civilian workforce without access to services like substance abuse and mental health counseling. The reasons for the outage are far from clear, though. Federal News Network's Jared Serbu has been covering the EAP problems, and he joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more details.

If you’ve ever had a job, chances are you faced issues and didn't know who you could safely reach out to—especially if you’re a woman and/or a person of color working in an industry that is dominated by people who don’t look like you. Instead of struggling to get through it on your own, what if you could send a text and chat it out with a trained peer? Good news! Empower Work exists for just that purpose. It’s an online platform where you can get fast, free, and confidential support by simply sending a text message. On this week’s episode, we chat with founder and executive director Jamie-Alexis Fowler. I think so often when you’re grappling with the situation, it feels so isolating. It can feel like you’re the only person who has ever faced this, that you’re the only person who has felt this stuck. And, of course, it’s deeply, deeply personal. And that’s completely normal to feel that way—and also it’s important to recognize that this is something that millions of Americans are facing. —Jaime-Alexis Fowler, founder and executive director of Empower Work If you need help with a work problem, considering asking Empower Work. Text 510-674-1414 anytime, or use the Empower Work web chat. We talk about: Why Empower Work’s peer support matters so much when people feel isolated and alone. The most common issues people need help with (hint: it starts with an "m" and it ends with an "anager"). Why so many people struggle when they’re “the only” person in their workplace. The benefits of peer counseling, and how to train people to support others. Why Jaime-Alexis is committed to keeping Empower Work a nonprofit—rather than making it a service companies pay for. Links: Empower Work How to start texting with a peer counselor Empower Work on Twitter Jaime-Alexis on Twitter Plus: How we’ve handled our own crap work moments—like being asked to commit to a new salary in a hallway, or dealing with a conference creep who’s tight with your boss Why we can’t talk about handling work issues without talking about toxic masculinity How Sara and Katel plan to take over the world with their new workshop

CAF America (Charities Aid Foundation of America), the leader in cross-border giving and  E4E Relief, the leading provider of charitable employee relief funds, have partnered to enable global companies to support their employees across the world during times of disaster or hardship. CAF America President & CEO, Ted Hart, will be hosting Holly Welch Stubbing J.D., Interim President & CEO of E4E Relief, on the Caring and Funding podcast this April 24th at 3:00 pm EDT to discuss international employee disaster relief programs.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are gaining popularity and being offered to employees as part of their benefits package. Employers are taking into consideration the effect an employee's personal life has on their work-performance and through EAPs are able to provide support in personal areas of their employee's lives. Tim Kane and Steve McEwan sit down with Ben Stordy from Arete Hr., the myHSA EAP provider, to discuss the benefits of offering a program like this to employees. From legal advice to psychological counselling, listen and find out more about EAPs in the workplace.

Greg DeLapp has been a member of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association since the late 1970s, a past-President of EAPA, an Employee Assistance professional since 1978, and CEO of EAPA since January 2016. A student of history, WWII aviation, photography and a fan of all types of music. The EAP Association is a global professional membership association of those working in Employee Assistance and closely related fields assisting organizations and employees/families with the complexities of our personal lives as those lives play out at work.

Dr. Jude Miller Burke shares findings from her books including common characteristics of millionaires and how many people have turned their childhood adversities into success. Guest Biography Dr. Jude Miller Burke, is former Vice President of Operations, at Optum, United HealthGroup, where she built a national subsidiary providing employee assistance services. Previous to that position she worked at a large division of Honeywell in Minneapolis as the Manager of Employee Assistance, Health, and Wellness. She recently provided executive coaching at the University of St. Thomas Business Center in Minneapolis, Murro Partners, and JAMB Consulting in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the author of two books, The Millionaire Mystique: How Working Women Become Wealthy and You Can Too! and The Adversity Advantage: Turn Your Childhood Hardship Into Career and Life Success. Both books are based on a multi-phase scientific research study clearly explaining the pathways to achieve success and overcome adversity. Available at Amazon.com and independent bookstores. Show notes: http://www.inspiredmoney.fm/035 In this episode, you will learn: Common characteristics of millionaires that we might emulate. That childhood adversities don't have to deter you but can actually give you advantages that prepare you for success. How doing things that you enjoy and finding your purpose can make you more tenacious and resilient. Find more from our guest: judemillerburke.com Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Mentioned in this episode: Garth Brooks - Unanswered Prayers Books: Millionaire Mystique: How Working Women Become Wealthy - And How You Can, Too! The Adversity Advantage: Turn Your Childhood Hardship into Career and Life Success Thanks for Listening! To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Share this show on Twitter or Facebook. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Email me your address, and I'll mail you an autographed copy of Kimo West and Ken Emerson's CD, Slackers in Paradise. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Special thanks to Jim Kimo West for the music.

Dale A. Masi, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP is Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, where she taught for twenty-two years and directed the Employee Assistance Specialization.  The author of fifteen books and more than seventy articles dealing with EAPs, evaluation, and various mental health issues, Dr. Masi holds a doctorate from the Catholic University of America and was the recipient of a post-doctoral research award from the American Association of University Women.  She was a Fulbright Scholar and Specialist to England, Italy, Hong Kong, and Japan, and has lectured in over 45 countries.   Dr. Masi is President and CEO of Masi Research Consultants, Inc., a Boston company specializing in Employee Assistance Program (EAP) design, implementation, training, and evaluation.  Her corporate clients have included the American Management Association, Pfizer, Lafarge, Goodyear, IBM, Merrill Lynch, Toyota Motor Sales, and many other corporations large and small.  Government organizations served by MASI include the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.  She consults for major EAP providers and has served on the IBM Mental Health Advisory Board. Dr. Masi is the recipient of many honors, including the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Employee Assistance Professional Association (EAPA) and the 2011 Alumna of the Year from Catholic University.  She is a NASW Social Work Pioneer and has been elected to the EAP Hall of Fame.  Dr. Masi serves on the Board of the National Security Institute as well as the EAP Research Foundation.  She is a member of the Cosmos and Harvard Clubs. She is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who of American Women, International Who’s Who of Professional and Business Women, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, and others.   

Employee communications are very important and Leslie Fiorenzo is a master at making sure talking with one another is done with grace and style. This is a great listen!

Employee communications are very important and Leslie Fiorenzo is a master at making sure talking with one another is done with grace and style. This is a great listen!

Addiction isn't supposed to happen to educated people, right?  It's not supposed to happen to people who come from a good family, who are nice people and it's especially not supposed to happen to people who are supposed to help others like doctors, nurses, therapists and other health care pros; but it does.  Listen to “Jack's” story to find out how addiction is not only a disease but an equal opportunity disease.

Addiction isn't supposed to happen to educated people, right?  It's not supposed to happen to people who come from a good family, who are nice people and it's especially not supposed to happen to people who are supposed to help others like doctors, nurses, therapists and other health care pros; but it does.  Listen to “Jack's” story to find out how addiction is not only a disease but an equal opportunity disease.