Stories

KBR's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) exists to help our company deploy a safe and productive workforce and EAP is a key element of the We Value Our People principle of ONE KBR. Since the program started at KBR over 35 years ago, the EAP staff has diligently upheld that mission by providing employees around the globe with an array of special resources from emergency assistance to job coaching.

KBR's Employee Assistance Program Team: David Coles, Wendy Jamison and Philip Cariello

David Coles manages the EAP and has been with KBR for nearly 25 years. He and his team members, Philip Cariello and Wendy Jamison, are all clinically trained and licensed mental health professionals.  That means that while they choose to work in a corporate EAP setting, they could just as easily be working in a hospital, mental health clinic or as outpatient counselors. You don't have to spend more than a few minutes with Dave, Wendy or Philip to realize all three are truly passionate about what they do and the value they bring to employees.

EAP is a free service which gives all employees access to the team's unique knowledge and skills which are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  In fact, one of the staff members is on call every night to talk to employees in case of an emergency and each has a bag packed in their car if they're needed somewhere around the country at a moment's notice to help with a jobsite crisis. While the team is based in Houston, they serve employees across the U.S. and around the globe in areas that do not have regional EAP resources.
KBR's program has the reputation in the industry of providing cutting edge, first-class programming for its employees.  It's no surprise when you talk to the EAP team – each one is eager to help employees through challenging situations and also help them grow in their professions.  Dave Coles has served as a board member of the Employee Assistance Roundtable, Wendy Jamison currently serves as president of the Houston Chapter of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association and Philip Cariello serves as the Houston Chapter treasurer – positions that required votes from their peers. This speaks volumes about how the KBR EAP professionals are viewed in the employee assistance profession.

Many employees take advantage of the program but there's a mistaken impression that EAP only helps with substance abuse and serious mental health issues, and while that is sometimes true, it's far from the only service.  "EAP gives KBR employees access to highly trained professionals who understand KBR's specific corporate culture and who have helped thousands of employees and their dependents resolve issues so they can come to work clear-eyed, clear-minded and fully capable of safe and productive work" said Coles. "This helps not only the employee, but also the employee's coworkers, our stockholders, KBR's clients and the communities in which KBR works. EAP is available to help with issues like parenting, mental health concerns, drug and alcohol use, emotional wellbeing, divorce, grief and mental resiliency, and can assist in crisis and emergency situations."

The EAP also team serves as a supporting force behind the One KBR behaviors. The team equips employees with tools to better empower themselves and deliver projects. Coles trains teams at KBR to be high performing and challenges them with questions like, "How does your team and its work ensure that KBR is able to deliver on its vision of being the world's premier contractor delivering projects and services to a global marketplace?" EAP conducts regular brown bag seminars on topics of interest. Occasionally, a manager invites EAP to help a work group that is facing an unusual challenge, for example an upcoming project that will stress team resources, or a desire for the team to communicate and collaborate even more effectively. Much like with sports performance coaching, individual employees can get coaching on performance topics such as public speaking and presentation skills, overcoming procrastination, time management, effective communication, and facilitating productive meetings.

Employees do not have to be enrolled in a KBR medical plan to participate and all services provided directly by the Houston-based EAP staff are free of charge.  Using EAP will not adversely influence an employee's job or promotional opportunities. In fact, many times EAP can actually help employees enhance their job performance and, thereby, their chances for success and advancement.