How responsive is Converge and who takes calls from clients?
Converge has a call centre that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our professional Client Services team is based in Melbourne and triages calls ensuring that urgent issues are dealt with by one of our counsellors immediately. The average time to answer a call is 9 seconds.

Will issues be kept confidential and how much is reported back to employers?
Confidentiality is paramount at Converge. We are bound by Australian privacy law, including the very strict guidelines about the privacy of health information. No personal or identifiable information will be reported back to employers from an EAP session. We only report back overall statistics to employers unless clients give us permission to tell their employer something, or we are required by law to provide information (for example as a result of a subpoena) or where there is a duty of care to ensure the safety of the employee or others.

Employers receive a comprehensive report on a regular (monthly, quarterly or annual) basis, outlining the numbers of people accessing the service and giving aggregated information about the issues that have been addressed.

How many sessions are provided for each employee?
This depends on the employer. Normally between 3 and 6 sessions per issue per employee are funded under an EAP. Our psychological strategies are focused on resolving issues within a short time frame and generally 2 or 3 sessions are sufficient to resolve a particular situation.

How easy is it to access the Converge People Assist EAP?
Converge has a smartphone app which is available for free download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Our online portal provides information for individuals and HR professionals. A sample web portal can be viewed by clicking the EAP portal link in the menu bar above. To access this portal, please use the Username: sample and the Password: password.

Appointments can be requested through our 24/7 phone line, online and through our app. We will either make an appointment on the spot or respond within 24 hours with a confirmed appointment. Appointments are generally available within 2-5 days and urgent EAP sessions over the phone can be conducted immediately if the issue requires it.

We have consultants throughout Australia. More than 95% of Australians live within easy reach of a Converge consultant for a face to face counselling session. However some of our clients prefer a phone or video session and these are available as well.

Video and phone sessions can be particularly useful for clients wishing to use Auslan, who live in very remote parts of Australia, who request a counsellor with specific skills or attributes – such as an Aboriginal counsellor, who need multilingual support or who have other particular access needs.

How do employees access the different streams of the People Assist EAP?
During the initial contact, callers are asked for some general indication of the issue they want to discuss. Our highly trained call centre staff then allocate a consultant and make an appointment for the caller in one of the six EAP streams depending on the nature of their issue. Callers who already know which service they want (e.g. Lifestyle Assist) can nominate this during the call.

Occasionally it becomes clear during the first session that a different counsellor or a different stream would be most effective. In this case clients are referred on to the appropriate stream for further sessions.

What marketing support does Converge provide?
Converge International has a fulltime communications and design team to assist our customer organisations in building a targeted promotions and communication strategy that resonates with staff and builds confidence in the intent and benefits of the service.

Our Communications and Promotional toolkit made available to our clients includes:

• Briefings/Information Sessions in person or via short videos which can be inserted in newsletters of intranet
• Video clips to encourage use of the service. For example: EAP Animation for Doctors
• Converge International Mobile App and online portal
• Co-branded digital posters and flyers
• EAP wallet cards
• Mindfulness colouring cards
• Manager’s Guide to EAP
• Bathroom banters (topical posters which change on a monthly basis)
• Newsletter inserts and short articles
• Monthly health and wellbeing campaigns/calendar

What if someone needs support for longer than the sessions provided?
Our policy is to refer on to other health professionals, primarily a GP, if someone has mental health issues or a need for support beyond the EAP program. Occasionally, if only one or two extra sessions are required, Converge will work with the company to request an extension to the session limit – while maintaining the complete confidentiality of the employee involved.