China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies with 1.6 million employees gets honoured by EAPA (the Employee Assistance Professionals Association) for meeting the needs of its global expatriate workforce.
CNPC received the 2016 Employee Assistance Professionals Quality Award from EAPA in unanimous vote, recognizing the quality, breadth and innovation of the employee assistance support it provides for its employees around the world.
The annual award acknowledges an EAP program that demonstrates commitment to improving quality service delivery and meeting the needs of both employers and the employees. CNPC’s program is provided and supported by Chestnut Global Partners China (CGP China), the first Sino-American EAP in mainland China for over six years.
CGP China has worked with CNPC in developing early intervention employee assistance programs that have become central to the success of the company’s expatriate program.
“CNPC’s program stood out for its innovation, integrity and effectiveness in supporting the company’s 20,000 expats and their families working in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Latin America,” said Greg DeLapp, CEO of EAPA.
“The prestigious award also recognizes the work CNPC and CGP China have done in the area of suicide prevention, a far-reaching public health, medical and societal issue both here in the United States and in China. The program has successfully prevented at least 25 suicide attempts. The 2016 EAPA Quality Award couldn’t have gone to a worthier recipient.”
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CNPC has oil sites in locations in the Middle East and Africa; most of the Chinese employees are typically there for years at a time. Chinese companies in general, and CNPC in particular, place great emphasis on expatriate training, as they often begin preparations a year, even two, before the assignment.
CNPC’s EAP program includes a mental health hotline, the first of its kind in China’s oil and gas industry. It incorporates routine mental health and workplace adjustment assessments for employees and families, plus on-site training and counseling as well as special care for overseas employees’ families with a comprehensive self-help and referral website.
“Because Employee Assistance Programs are relatively novel across China, it’s particularly gratifying to receive this kind of recognition, which is a testament to the forward-thinking of CNPC’s leadership,” said Dr. Peizhong Li, Scientist with CGP’s China office.
“For years, we’ve worked closely with CNPC in tailoring an integrated program suited to their company culture and their business goals — which puts a premium on worker productivity and safety, while supporting their diverse expat population around the world.”
Through its work with CGP China, CNPC’s EAP program has seen increased utilization, as more expats are willing to enlist the professional help and tools at their disposal for managing stress and solving their personal and family problems.
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Image credit: china.cn
