The Role of

Organizational
Development in an EAP
Risa D. Swell, LCSW, CEAP
Setting
Cooper University Hospital EAP
swell-risa@cooperhealth.edu

Objectives

Identify similarities between EAP

core technology and
organizational development
Explore useful OD theories in an
EAP setting
Discuss a case example

Organizational
Development
Definition
Collaborating with organizational leaders

and their groups to create systemic

change and root-cause problem-solving
on behalf of improving productivity and
employee satisfaction through
improving the human processes
through which they get their work done.
-Michael Broom, PhD
Edie Seashore, MA

EAP Core Technology

#1

Consultation with, training of, and

assistance to work organizational
leadership (managers, supervisors, and
union stewards) seeking to manage the
troubled employee, enhance the work
environment, and improve employee job
performance; and outreach/education of
employees/dependents about
availability of EA services.

Comparison
Collaborating with
organizational leaders
and their groups to
create systemic change
and root-cause problemsolving on behalf of
improving productivity
and employee
satisfaction through
improving the human
processes through which
they get their work
done.

Consultation with, training

of, and assistance to
work organizational
leadership (managers,
supervisors, and union
stewards) seeking to
manage the troubled
employee, enhance the
work environment, and
improve employee job
performance; and
outreach/education of
employees/dependents
about availability of EA
services.

Transition from EAP to

OD

Problem identification/assessment of
individual clients
Management consultation and coaching
re: job performance
Assisting managers with conflict
resolution/mediation between employees
Collaborating with managers on team
issues including communication and
morale

Transition from EAP to

OD

Team functioning
Leadership
Communication
Training/facilitation
Taskforce involvement

Cooper Against Domestic Abuse

Confrontational Awareness: Resources &
Education
Patient-Family Centered Care
Transition to the New Pavilion

EA Professional as OD
Consultant

Expert
Pair of Hands
Partner

Peter Block, The Flawless Consulting

Fieldbook and Companion: A Guide
to Understanding Your Expertise

Sources of OD Support
for the EA
Professional
OD Coach

OD Practioners Program
Leading and Managing Generation
21
The Organization Workshop

OD Process in the EAP

Setting

Initial request
Manager consultation
Identification of desired outcome
Contracting
Action plan
Intervention
Follow-up

Useful Frameworks

Organizational Conditions
Barry Oshry, Seeing Systems: Unlocking
the Mysteries of Organizational Life

Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a
Team

Appreciative Inquiry
Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom,
The Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A
Practical Guide to Positive Change

Organizational
Conditions

Tops
Middles
Bottoms
Customers

Overload
Crunch
Disregard
Neglect

Solutions to the
Organizational
Conditions
Be a Top who creates responsibility throughout
the organization.
Be a Middle who stays out of the middle, who
maintains your independence of thought and
action.
Be a Bottom who takes on responsibility not only
for your condition but for the whole thing.
Be a Customer who gets in the middle of
delivery processes and helps them work for
you.

Five Dysfunctions of a
Team

INATTENTION
__T0 RESULTS____
AVOIDANCE OF
___ACCOUNTABILITY___
___LACK OF COMMITMENT___
______FEAR OF CONFLICT_______
_________ABSENCE OF TRUST_________

Appreciative Inquiry

The study and exploration of what

gives life to human systems when
they function at their best.
Based on the assumptions that
questions and dialogue about
strengths, successes, values,
hopes, and dreams are
themselves transformational.

Case Example

Initial request
Manager consultation
Identification of desired outcome
Contracting
Action plan
Intervention
Follow-up

Interview Questions
1.

Describe a time when you were part of a

team and felt motivated, engaged and
accomplished. What were you doing and
what were others doing at that time?

2.

List the current strengths of your team.

3.

What are your hopes for how you would like

this team to function in the future? Describe
specific behaviors that would be exhibited
by you and by your team members to make
your hopes turn to reality:

Small Group Report

Out
1.

2.

3.
4.

What are the highlights from the

interviews?
What themes surfaced in the
group?
What ideas were generated?
What are the next steps?

EAP and OD share

Clients organization, leadership &

employees
Philosophy success is derived from
the productivity of the employees &
their work teams
Outcomes our greatest impact will
only occur with understanding of both
the organization and the human
conditions