Pricing Models of Employee Assistance Programs: Experiences of Corporate Clients Serviced by a Leading Employee Assistance Program Service Provider in South Africa

Abstract

Pricing is a challenging area in the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) field. The gap identified between theory and practice is the lack of scientific data on typical pricing model practices. This results in a lack of uniformity, which affects negatively on the professional standards of the Employee Assistance field—specifically in the South African situation. Pricing and contracting processes often result in challenges that must be identified timeously by both the EAP service provider and the corporate client. The researchers thus explored the processes and complexities involved in the pricing practices by investigating the experiences of corporate clients and account managers of a leading EAP service provider. The research findings indicate a number of factors that must be considered in the contracting and pricing processes.