TORONTO, May 11, 2006 - President and CEO Rod Phillips today outlined his company's vision for how people, armed with the right technology, can make a difference in the lives of the clients they serve.
Described as the largest-ever information technology (IT) investment within the Canadian Employee Assistance Program (EAP) industry, this three-year initiative will change how over 2,500 companies utilize mental health and wellness services.
"We´ve witnessed an over 50 per cent increase in the amount of people covered by our EAP services," explains Phillips. "In response to this tremendous growth, we´re committing three million dollars to enhance our IT systems, ensuring that we continue to exceed our clients´ emerging and future needs."
The three-year undertaking will result in a series of state-of-the-art applications that will enhance WarrenShepell´s ability to supply service programs modified to the specific needs of organizational clients. This includes the option for clients to easily tailor messages to their employee populations at the first point of EAP contact and assessment, as well as the ability to update these messages in a virtually ´real time´ fashion. The new systems will also support e-learning and training capacity for human resources staff, managers, and employees, and easier access to prevention-based tools, online statistical reporting and user surveys.
"The planning phase of this project was one year in the making," says Kim Weaver, vice president of Information Technology. "We started by asking ourselves how we currently meet our clients´ needs from a technological perspective, and then analyzed our existing platforms and service delivery, identifying where we could commit resources and development to move forward."
"And what resulted from this analysis," adds Phillips, "is the planned integration of all customer service points of contact, and the ability for our people to quickly roll out and communicate new products and services as our clients need them."
Other highlights of the WarrenShepell IT undertaking include:
- an enhanced research database utilized by The WarrenShepell Research Group for production of quarterly research reports and independent studies,
- the revision of specific contingency plans for the potential impact of global and regional pandemics, such as the Avian Flu and
- the integration of computerand voice (IVR) technology.
WarrenShepell´s initiative will utilize technology and support from Microsoft, IBM, Mitel, Bell Canada and Telus products. This includes the Microsoft content management system, Mitel´s digital switching and call flow management system VoIP (Voiceover Internet Protocol) to support multiple call centres, IBM´s server technology, Bell´s LANx´s infrastructure, and web support from Telus.
ABOUT WARRENSHEPELL
WarrenShepell is the largest provider of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and related organizational health and wellness services in Canada. Through the delivery of effective prevention-based services that focus on the emotional and psychological well-being of employees, WarrenShepell promotes productivity and employee behaviour change. Currently over 2,500 organizations across Canada, the United States, and internationally, look to WarrenShepell to strengthen their organization from the inside out. Over 3,000,000 employees and their families have access to WarrenShepell EAP services. www.warrenshepell.com.