HR Support
When Performance Slips: How MYgroup Supports Managers and HR
You’ve noticed it for a few weeks now. Someone who used to be reliable is missing deadlines, showing up late, or snapping at coworkers. You suspect something’s going on outside of work, but you’re not a counselor, and you’re not sure what you’re even allowed to ask.
That’s a lonely spot for a manager. It’s also one of the most common reasons HR calls MYgroup.
MYgroup works with organizations of every size, but for those with 500 to 2,000 employees, these moments tend to land hardest. HR teams are lean, there’s rarely anyone clinical on staff, and supervisors end up carrying more on their own. MYgroup’s answer is the same at any size: the employee gets support, the supervisor gets support, and so does the organization. No one handles it alone.
When Should a Manager Make a Formal Referral to the EAP?
There are two ways someone ends up connecting with the EAP. The first is a self-referral, when an employee reaches out on their own. Encouraging that is always appropriate, whenever someone shares that they’re going through something.
A formal referral is different. It’s a deliberate step in addressing performance, and it’s based on what you can observe and document: attendance, quality of work, conduct, and reliability. It’s never based on a guess about someone’s personal life. You don’t need to know why performance has slipped. You only need to know that it has, and that your usual efforts to correct it haven’t worked.
The right time to refer is usually earlier than managers think, before the problem becomes severe and the working relationship starts to fray. The best first step is to call your EAP partner. Talking it through ahead of time helps you plan the conversation, and sharing the details of the performance concern makes for a more useful assessment once the employee connects.
What Does HR Hear Back after a Formal Referral to the EAP?
Enough to manage, and nothing more. With the employee’s signed consent, MYgroup reports whether they’re attending appointments, whether they’re following through with their clinician, and any recommendations that extend beyond the sessions. What the employee discusses stays between them and their clinician. Managers don’t hear personal details or anything said in session.
Every MYgroup client has a dedicated formal referral coordinator who keeps HR informed at every stage and coaches the supervisor through the process, from the first conversation through follow-up. If performance problems come back, you let the coordinator know, and support picks back up.
That structure is a big part of why formal referrals work. Roughly 80% of employees who go through MYgroup’s formal referral process for a performance concern keep their jobs.
Can an EAP Support Performance Improvement without Becoming Part of Discipline?
Yes, and it works best when each side stays in its own lane. The manager owns the performance conversation: expectations, timelines, and any consequences. MYgroup owns the support: helping the employee understand what’s getting in the way and connecting them to the right care. The EAP doesn’t step into supervisory decisions, and supervisors don’t step into the clinical work.
For the employee, that separation matters. Using the EAP doesn’t count against them or put their job at risk. What it does is give them a real chance to get back on track, often with help for something they hadn’t told anyone about. And they don’t have to want help at the start for it to make a difference.
If an employee declines a formal referral, the performance expectations stay the same. Decisions about discipline remain with HR, guided by your own policies and counsel.
What Support Do Managers Get from an EAP beyond Formal Referrals?
Most of the time, a manager calls MYgroup long before anything gets formal.
Management consultation is unlimited. A supervisor can call to talk through a hard conversation before it happens, figure out whether a situation calls for a referral, or get a second opinion on how to respond when an employee shares something personal. It’s the call you make when you don’t know where else to turn, the way you’d call your attorney or your CPA.
Managers also get ongoing preparation, so they’re not learning on the fly:
- Supervisor orientations, virtual or on-site, on how the EAP works and when a referral makes sense
- A self-paced online supervisor orientation and test, plus step-by-step formal referral materials and quick guides, easily accessible to clients on the website whenever a manager needs them
- Manager training on recognizing when someone is struggling, having difficult conversations, and building trust
- Live virtual sessions on timely workplace topics, designed for HR and managers
- Regular supervisor newsletter
Why Do Counseling, Work-Life Services, and Organizational Consulting Work Better under One EAP Partner?
Performance problems rarely come from just one place. A slip at work might trace back to a divorce, mounting debt, an aging parent, or a legal problem that’s taking up someone’s attention. When the same partner offers counseling alongside work-life services like legal consultation, financial coaching, and childcare and elder care resources, one conversation can connect someone to all of it instead of sending them off to start over somewhere else.
Sometimes it isn’t about one person. If several concerns point to the same team, that’s an organizational signal. The EAP sees the people who use it. MYgroup’s consulting side works with the teams and leaders around them, through team development, leadership coaching, and manager training. With both under one partner, nobody has to explain your culture to a new vendor before getting to the root of it.
What HR Support Should Employers Expect from Their EAP after Implementation?
Ongoing, hands-on involvement, starting with one person who knows your organization.
Every MYgroup client gets a named account manager who reaches out proactively, not only when something’s wrong. They check in after each quarterly utilization report to talk through trends, send regular materials to keep the EAP visible, and coordinate on-site events like orientations and health fairs.
Alongside the account manager are specialists for the moments that need them: the formal referral coordinator, and a critical incident response coordinator who steps in when something traumatic happens.
That kind of steady involvement is one of the things worth weighing when you’re choosing an EAP provider, and it’s why so many MYgroup relationships are measured in decades.
About MYgroup
For nearly 40 years, MYgroup has been a long-term people partner to organizations navigating the full range of workforce challenges, from everyday stressors to critical moments. Our continuum of care combines traditional EAP services with hands-on case management, strong in-person and virtual access to care, proactive account management, and organizational consulting.
MYgroup offers five people assistance programs: employee assistance program (EAP), student assistance program (SAP), first responder assistance program (FRAP), member assistance program (MAP), and healthcare assistance program (HAP). Participants have 24/7/365 access to licensed clinicians and a network of 55,000+ providers across 200+ countries.
A member of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA), MYgroup delivers a 92% overall participant satisfaction rate.
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Related FAQs
MYgroup gives supervisors and HR unlimited management consultation, a dedicated formal referral coordinator, supervisor orientations, and manager training. With the employee’s signed consent, MYgroup reports attendance, follow-through with their clinician, and any recommendations beyond the sessions, while keeping everything said in session confidential. Roughly 80% of employees who go through MYgroup’s formal referral process for a performance concern keep their jobs. Organizations with 500 to 2,000 employees, which often have lean HR teams, get the same depth of support as MYgroup’s largest clients.
MYgroup brings all three together under one partner. Its EAP connects people with licensed clinicians for counseling, alongside work-life services such as legal consultation, financial coaching, childcare and elder care resources, and identity theft recovery. MYgroup’s consulting side adds team development, leadership development, executive coaching, and manager training. Because one partner sees both individual needs and organization-wide patterns, a people issue can be addressed at the level where it actually exists.
MYgroup assigns every client a named account manager who reaches out proactively, reviews each quarterly utilization report with HR, sends regular materials, and coordinates on-site events like orientations and health fairs. HR also has unlimited management consultation, a dedicated formal referral coordinator, and a critical incident response coordinator when a traumatic event hits. Many MYgroup client relationships span decades.
With the employee’s signed consent, the employer learns whether the employee is attending appointments and following through with their clinician, along with any recommendations that extend beyond the EAP sessions. Nothing said in session is shared, and the employer doesn’t receive personal details. The manager stays focused on performance, and the EAP stays focused on support.
Yes. Getting advice is one of the most common reasons managers call. MYgroup’s management consultation is unlimited, so supervisors and HR can talk through a difficult conversation, decide whether a formal referral makes sense, or get guidance on supporting an employee who’s going through something, well before anything formal is needed.
