Employee assistance at MTC

After months of negotiations, MTC in collaboration with Lifeline/Childline Namibia will this Friday (19 July) launch an employee assistance programme (EAP) for its staff.
MTC said this dedicated programme which forms part of its overall employee wellness programme, will provide an anonymous, comprehensive and confidential therapeutic resource for employees.
The integrated EAP and support solution will include a counselling package that offers immediate confidential telephone counselling for employees seven days a week; a dedicated telephone line for MTC employees; SMS entry point with a response within 24 hours; face-to-face counselling at the workplace; assisted onward referrals; emergency workplace response and an e-mail initiated counselling process.
Lifeline/Childline Namibia will also offer a training package that includes basic counselling for peer educators and identified managers or supervisors; practical lessons in basic counselling for which a certificate will be issued upon completion of the course, and suicide prevention training for management and peer educators, among others.
Confidentiality for MTC employees is guaranteed while monthly statistics will be released based on the number of telephone calls received; telephonic counselling sessions; incoming and outgoing SMS’s; average duration of calls; number of in-person sessions; problem categories and outcome of counselling sessions.
MTC said data generated on a monthly basis will be used to plan future wellness initiatives and awareness programmes.
In addition, the mobile telecommunications operator said the initiative will hopefully set a trend of corporates providing business to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with capacity and expertise in particular fields. “The main purpose of these partnerships in turn would aim at addressing the issue of sustainability for NGOs,” the company said.