If your organisation is going through restructuring and making employees redundant you need to think about outplacement.
Taking care of employees you have to let go has a beneficial impact on the business. Leaders who engage with what matters most to their people, who create social connections with their teams and use a constructive approach in offering outplacement will be at a distinct advantage moving forward.
At 10Eighty we know that when employers provide outplacement support there is a demonstrable positive impact on the organisation’s reputation among remaining employees, as well as the wider community and job market. Outplacement programmes enable support for employees and ensure that they can move to good jobs and sustain a meaningful career path after redundancy.
Moving forward
HR professionals and leadership would be wise to think about what ex-employees may say about them. The employees that are let go will be out there, networking and interviewing. The likelihood is that they will seek roles with competitors and, perhaps customers; they will also be talking to headhunters, suppliers, clients and it is best if they make positive and favourable statements about the organisation made them redundant.
Failure to support ex-employees will have an adverse effect on the reputation of an organisation. The ability to source and attract good people is important; employer brand matters in the current environment. The organisation needs to be seen as a good place to work, a place that values, develops and supports employees including in terms of employability in the future. Outplacement helps to do that.
Outplacement provision sends a strong message that the organisation treats all employees with respect, that it cares about the proper treatment of those they make redundant.
Positioning for success
Nobody is solely defined by their job. An outplacement programme is a worthwhile investment in dealing with the transition as it provides a buffer to help ex-employees find their feet quickly. A high-touch, tailored programme of transition support will help leavers to identify a wide range of opportunities and find roles that resonate with their values and aspirations. We believe that career transition services should not focus solely on landing the next role but on positioning the individual, with tangible, practical support and advice, for the career path they choose to follow.
There is clear value in maintaining positive relationships with good employees whom you may wish to rehire at a later date. It is worth bearing in mind that that the employee who leaves is a potential future customer, they may become a decision maker for a desirable customer or client company. Real support and structured outplacement affords a fair and respectful handling of redundancies.
The modern approach to outplacement provides a range of tools to suit the different needs of individuals. Rather than an emphasis which used to concentrate on the CV and job-hunting, career transition services now focus on understanding what an employee wants and helping them to developing the self-marketing skills that ensure they are well positioned in a tough job market.
At 10Eighty outplacement package helps people think through the impact of change so that they can translate their hopes and aspirations into realistic options.
If you would like to know more about our Outplacement programmes, call us on 020 7952 8699 or email info@10Eighty.co.uk
