Petrotrin EAP rebrands, expands services

The move is expected to grow PEAPSL Consultancy’s existing business while expanding its suite of employee assistance programme (EAP) services, such as counselling, therapy, critical incident stress management or debriefing.

“When you say Petrotrin EAP Services Limited, many people think our services are limited to Petrotrin (Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited) staff.

For a long time, Petrotrin was our major client and therefore our dependence on Petrotrin was real, (but) we have expanded into corporate training, we’re doing a lot more workshops outside of the traditional suite of EAP services and we’ve been able to secure some additional contracts, some major clients. So, in terms of attracting new contracts, that is growing,” said the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Neil Parsanlal, who sat down with Business Day to discuss the imminent changes.

Parsanlal, former Lopinot/Bon Air West MP and Minister of Information in the last Manning administration, was appointed PEAPSL CEO in June 2016 after going through “a rigorous interview process.” He said his mandate from the board “was to grow the company and to reduce its reliance on Petrotrin.” “PEAPSL Consultancy started off as a department within Petrotrin. It was hived off and set up as a wholly-owned subsidiary after management recognised that providing EAP services was something that could become profitable. In fact, it was the business model for Petrotrin in the late 1980s, early 1990s that any business unit that had the potential to exist on its own and be profitable on its own, would have been hived off and set up as a separate company.

(Thus) allowing Petrotrin to maintain its core services - refining operations.

PEAPSL is in fact, the prime example of that working and working well.” PEAPSL Consultancy’s head office is located next to the Augustus Long Hospital on the Pointea- Pierre compound of State-owned Petrotrin. The company also has offices in Port-of-Spain, Santa Flora, Point Fortin, an affiliate office in Trincity, and every other Friday, PEAPSL Consultancy books space at Rovanel’s Resort in Bon Accord to meet its Tobago clients.

Parsanlal said there is now a need for both traditional EAP services as well as financial counselling, educational outreach, workshops on substance abuse, retirement planning and the company’s Lunch and Learn sessions; “a one hour session where we go into an organisation and treat with a particular issue.” The company is also expanding its suite of services in corporate training – communication, industrial relation issues, motivation, supervisory training, supervisory management training, executive management training.

“We offer a holistic solution, rather than dealing only with the employee, because otherwise, you’re seeing the problem at the end of the spectrum without addressing the workrelated cause.

“We’ve revised our mission statement to reflect this. It says, ‘PEAPSL Consultancy Limited delivers essential consultancy services to improve people and organisational efficiencies and effectiveness through the provision of EAP, corporate training and other human development services.’ (For example), if we have a contract with an organisation and we are seeing their staff but those people are presenting to us on issues that are affecting them in the workplace, we have a responsibility not only to treat with the clients themselves but also to say to the organisation there are some systemic issues that you can address by doing x, y and z.” Parsanlal told Business Day this sometimes includes training of supervisors/management to enhance their communication skills, their inter-personal skills, “teaching them how to have difficult conversations and how to use more emotional intelligence when dealing with employees.” This will be one of the topics guests will be able to discuss with PEAPSL Consultancy’s counsellors at tomorrow afternoon’s official rebranding ceremony at the Government Campus Plaza Auditorium, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain.

Guests, mainly human resource professionals and “those who are intimately involved in making the decisions with respect to the provision of EAP and training services,” will also get a first look at the company’s website; www.

peapsl.com. Currently, one has to go through Petrotrin’s website to access the PEAPSL page.

The website goes live on the morning of June 10.

Expanding its opening hours is another way in which the company has worked to better meet clients’ needs while going after new business.

Effective October 1, 2016, PEASPL Consultancy moved from office hours of 7 am to 4 pm, Monday to Friday, to 7 am to 6 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 1 pm on Saturdays.

“Clients and staff had been asking for this.

What I did when I came onboard was work out the mechanics and give life to a suggestion that was first made some time ago. Since then, we’ve seen a tremendous uptake in the number of clients coming to us, especially on a Saturday, because it removes the necessity of them having to take time off from work during the workday.” “What is also interesting,” Parsanlal added, “is that more men are coming to us. That is progress as far as we’re concerned because more men are realising that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but is, in fact, a sign of strength.

It’s also as a result of us doing a lot more outreach and because of the confidentiality and quality of the services that we offer; they feel safe coming to talk with us.” Given the current recession and the number of staff retrenchments that have taken place, Business Day asked Parsanlal if the company has an even greater role to play in helping people deal with stress.

“That’s absolutely correct. A number of companies are going through all kinds of difficulties and challenges.

One company, for instance, as part of their retrenchment offer to employees, included our services.

So, the employees, apart from being given their severance benefits, were also afforded the opportunity to have counselling sessions with us because it is a traumatic time for those who have been retrenched, and therefore, how well they cope with the situation is important.” “We have been able to step in, in a number of cases, to provide this kind of counselling as well as financial counselling services because you now have to look at what you have, to see how you can make that work until such time as you secure other employment.” Looking to the future, Parsanlal sees potential for PEAPSL Consultancy becoming part of an integrated health and wellness facility, providing services to companies in Central and South America.

The company would combine its services with those of the Augustus Long Hospital, the haemodialysis unit and the Petrotrin Wellness Complex, located next door on the first floor of the Augustus long Hostel.

“With the developments taking place in Guyana now, for instance, you have the whole oil industry that’s going to mushroom there. So companies in Guyana, Venezuela, et cetera can become our clients because, to the best of my knowledge, there isn’t another facility nearby that offers medical, wellness, therapeutic and EAP services in one compound.” Asked if the PEAPSL Consultancy and Petrotrin boards were receptive to his vision, Parsanlal replied, “They were not unreceptive.” “I think they’re thinking along the same lines.

So there’s a synergy in terms of what we think is possible for this particular facility,” Parsanlal stated.

For more information about the company or to make an appointment with one of its counsellors, you can visit its website www.

peapsl.com (effective June 10), call its head office at (658-1291) or call its PoS office; located at #50 Richmond Street, at (623-7221).__