The problem
EAP Services provides employee assistance programmes to a large cross-section of New Zealand employers. Being long established in a service business brings its own pressure: clients expect the service to keep getting better, and competitors are always close behind. EAP Services wanted to build new products around its services, rather than run them on generic tools, and needed a development partner that could keep delivering over time rather than a one-off project.
What we built
Applicable works with EAP Services as a trusted partner on a programme of software development, not a single system. Over the engagement Applicable has built new products that enhance the services EAP Services delivers to its clients and support its market position. The individual products are not described here, for commercial reasons. What can be said is how the work runs: scoped in plain English, priced up front, built in short cycles with EAP Services' own people reviewing each step, and maintained after launch.
The result
The measure EAP Services uses is differentiation. In its words, the work has provided valuable insights well beyond its expectations and has helped to differentiate its business from competitors. A second EAP executive described the team as absolutely fantastic in helping the organisation achieve its objectives, with a high standard of work. The relationship is ongoing, which for a service business is the outcome that matters: a development partner it can keep going back to.
Key takeaways
- Applicable is the ongoing software development partner for EAP Services, a long-established New Zealand employee assistance provider.
- The work is a programme of new digital products that extend EAP Services' offering to large New Zealand employers.
- EAP Services credits the work with insights well beyond its expectations and a clearer point of difference from competitors.
