Case Study: Increasing Accessibility to Support in the Financial Services Sector

The Challenge

A large customer-owned banking organisation with employees located across metropolitan and regional Australia sought to increase the accessibility of its wellbeing support and encourage employees to seek assistance earlier.

While overall EAP utilisation remained consistent with expected benchmarks, the organisation recognised that traditional pathways to support may not be equally accessible or appealing to all employees. This was particularly relevant across regional branch locations, where access to local support can be more limited and employees may be less inclined to proactively engage with a service that is not visible within their workplace.

The organisation wanted to reduce hesitation around reaching out, improve engagement among traditionally underrepresented employee groups, and create a culture in which accessing support was seen as a normal and proactive step.

The Solution

Acacia introduced an embedded onsite clinical model across selected regional branch locations, providing employees with direct access to qualified clinicians within their workplace.

The visible presence of clinicians helped employees become familiar with the people delivering the service and created opportunities for informal connection before formal support was required. This reduced the perceived barrier associated with contacting an external service and provided a convenient, approachable pathway to confidential support.

Importantly, the onsite model complemented the organisation’s broader EAP rather than replacing it. Employees continued to have access to confidential counselling through multiple channels, while the embedded clinicians strengthened awareness, trust and understanding of the available support.

The model focused on:
• Providing visible and accessible clinical support within regional workplaces
• Building familiarity and trust between employees and clinicians
• Normalising help-seeking through regular onsite presence
• Encouraging employees to access support earlier
• Improving engagement across employee demographics and career stages
• Creating more direct and self-initiated pathways into support

The Outcome

Although overall utilisation remained within standard expectations, analysis of engagement patterns demonstrated a meaningful shift in how and when employees accessed support.

The proportion of men engaging with the service was higher than the relevant industry benchmark, indicating that the visible onsite presence helped reduce barriers for a group that has traditionally been less likely to seek psychological support.

Employees were also considerably more likely to reach out within the first 6 months of experiencing an issue, rather than waiting 12 months or longer. This earlier engagement created greater opportunities to address concerns before they became more complex or began to significantly affect an employee’s wellbeing or working life.

The organisation also experienced stronger engagement among longer-tenured employees. This suggested that embedded support was successfully reaching individuals who may have been familiar with the EAP for some time but had not previously considered using it.

Referral pathways became more evenly distributed, with a marked reduction in the proportion of employees identifying a manager as the source of their referral. This indicated that employees were increasingly accessing support independently, influenced by the visibility and familiarity of the onsite clinicians rather than relying on a manager to direct them to the service.

Key Results

• Achieved a higher proportion of male engagement than the relevant industry benchmark
• Significantly increased the proportion of employees seeking support within 6 months of an issue emerging
• Increased engagement among longer-tenured employees
• Reduced reliance on managers as the primary referral pathway
• Created a more balanced mix of referral sources across the workforce
• Improved the visibility, familiarity and accessibility of support within regional locations
• Demonstrated reduced hesitation around independently accessing support

Impact

This engagement demonstrates that the success of an EAP cannot be assessed through overall utilisation alone. While utilisation remained relatively standard, the embedded clinical model produced important changes in who accessed support, how they entered the service and how quickly they sought assistance.

By placing clinicians within regional workplaces, Acacia helped make support more visible, familiar and approachable. The result was earlier and more self-directed help-seeking, stronger engagement among men and longer-tenured employees, and reduced reliance on managers to initiate access to care.

The model demonstrates the value of embedded support within the financial services sector, particularly for organisations seeking to improve access across regional locations and create lasting behavioural change around workplace wellbeing.