Jeanette Robért, Executive Director of ExpansionMarketplace Chaplains finds its roots in this very purpose. By leveraging 40 years of experience in providing exceptional employee support, Marketplace Chaplains enables employees to thrive in a positive work environment.
In an interview with Manage HR, Jeanette Robért, Executive Director of Expansion at Marketplace Chaplains, shares her insights on the importance of employee wellness programs and the benefits of having a chaplain care team as a part of an organization to build a positive brand image.
Could you give us a quick outline of Marketplace Chaplains?
Marketplace Chaplains is a professionally managed employee care service provider established in 1984 by a retired military chaplain. We understand the adverse effects of workplace stress on employees’ mental health. Our focus is on assisting staff members and their families in coping with traumatic events by providing a place of connection to discuss their problems. Our proactive support for employee mental wellbeing helps enhance our client’s organizational culture.
Chaplain services are integral in many areas of society, be it Congress, the Senate, the police force, the military, or sports teams. Currently, Marketplace Chaplains has close to 2200 chaplains serving about 1500 companies across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
What challenges do you experience while serving your clients and how do you address them?
We are a substantial resource for our clients who value a caring culture, as the uncertainty of life often leads to situations that disrupt employees’ mental peace and divert their attention, which decreases productivity. On regular worksite visits, our chaplains observe that employees lack relationships of trust within the firm and continue to suffer in silence, impacting their mental health and performance.
Our chaplains provide care on behalf of the company for employees, their family members and at request the business relationships of the company. Employees can talk about their lives, whether it is work-related or personal, with the chaplain care team without feeling judged. After interacting with the chaplain care team regularly, employees get a sense of belonging within their companies. Employees receive impartial emotional support from our care team.
What are the differentiating factors that set you apart from your competitors?
Our employee care service is built on confidentiality, which makes us a safe place to seek help. Our chaplains are trained to look for signs of despair, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation in employees’ behavior. We are providing organizations and their employees with the emotional support framework they need to thrive.
Marketplace Chaplains works as an extension on care on behalf of the company, where our client’s employees can reach out to our care team for guidance without the involvement of management. We help enhance the brand’s reputation as employees will be motivated and productive when they have a place that supports them through life on behalf of the company. According to the performance matrix sent back to the company in confidential activity reports, we consistently see a 50 percent usage rate of our services versus a five percent usage rate of traditional employee assistance programs.
How do your employee wellness programs benefit your clients?
We offer onsite and offsite assistance as our chaplain care team is part of employee benefits offered by the company. Our workplace care team consists of male and female chaplains with bilingual representation, residing in the vicinity of the company. They work with the management to schedule regular worksite visits, the purpose of which is to create a bond of understanding that can help employees in distress.
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Marketplace Chaplains is a resource for companies that cares about the mental health of their employees. We aim to build a relationship of trust that gives a sense of belonging among the employees
The MyChap App of Marketplace Chaplains enables emotional support to employees remotely and provides a 24-hour connection to the Care Team via phone, text, video chat, or email. Employees can download the MyChap App to their mobile devices allowing 24/7/365 support as the app's specified location ID connects them to the team. They can easily communicate to schedule an appointment. With a chaplain care team on board, employees feel safe working within the company, which improves their attitude and loyalty.
Could you share some case studies of how Marketplace Chaplains have benefited employees?
Recently, we had a company requesting our chaplain care team to be sent to another company on referral to offer funeral aftercare services for their employees to come to terms with one of their executives' deaths. Our care team provided a few grief recovery support sessions to employees and family members of the deceased for emotional healing.
In another instance, a drilling firm from another state requested our care teams to support the emotional wellness of their employees. However, before we could work together, a tragic incident occurred with a worker committing suicide on a drill site. We swiftly arranged a care team on the jobsite to support the deceased man’s family, co-workers, and supervisor as they dealt with the unfortunate event.
Chaplains have also helped an employee restore her marriage by accompanying her in the reconciliation process as she considered some of the best measures and options to bring harmony and peace to her marriage.
Marketplace Chaplains build an emotional connection with the employees by helping them in affliction, which motivates them to work harder and, in turn, contribute to their organization’s grow.
