Providers Guide to Job Performance Referrals

One of the benefits of MHN’s EAP is Employer Services. Through these services, Human Resources staff and managers can contact MHN’s Management Consultation department to discuss concerns they may have about employees. When an employee’s work performance has declined, a Job Performance Referral (JPR) can be used to develop a plan to resolve the work-related problem. You may receive a request from a management consultant to schedule an appointment for an employee who is having difficulties with work performance and/or behaviors.

The JPR process includes the following steps:

  1. The supervisor usually informs the employee in writing of his or her expectations for improvement and the consequences (such as disciplinary action) if no improvement is made.
  2. The employee will be asked to sign a release of information. This allows for limited disclosure by the consultant with the employer. The release may be signed at the workplace between the manager and employee or it may be sent to you for signature at the initial session. 

    If the employee declines to sign the release, the consultant will continue to speak with the manager to support him or her in managing the employee at the workplace, without disclosing information from the JPR sessions.
  3. The provider will see the employee for up to two sessions to assess the cause of the employee’s work-related problem and how best to resolve it. The action plan can explore any benefits as well as community-based resources.

It is essential for the provider to keep the management consultant informed throughout the JPR process.

Tips for the provider conducting a JPR:

  • Remember the reason the employee is being referred is due to a documented work-related problem.
  • The focus of the assessment and plan needs to be on helping the employee resolve the work-related problem
  • If the employee is resistant to the process, please give him or her the best recommendations based on the information you have from the management consultant and the employee’s self-disclosure.
  • Please contact the management consultant to review recommendations before the second assessment appointment, when you will give them to the employee. The consultant may suggest some modifications before the recommendations are given to the employee.
  • Most JPR’s are voluntary. In some cases, the employee will be given a “Last Chance Agreement,” and the JPR will be mandatory.
  • If the employee’s problems cannot be resolved in brief counseling under his or her EAP benefits, please help the employee access his or her behavioral health benefits for additional treatment.
  • Please remember that your contact is the management consultant. Do not contact the employee’s supervisor or manager.

We look forward to working with you.