Outplacement Services
Posted on April, 2020
Organizations have striven continuously to optimize, automate, and improve efficiency for centuries. However, COVID-19 posed an extremely different challenge, and some of the plans had to be shelved, and restructuring implemented almost instantly. The impact was so sudden and rigorous that some were compelled to downsize. While this is justifiable from an organization’s perspective, there is another world for employees whose livelihood was dependent on that employment. Redundancy, due to any reason, might be inevitable but can be extremely traumatic. However, some organizations that have excelled in employee care also tend to address this professionally. Following are some of the highlights of how organizations are managing this transition:
- The communication on redundancies is rolled out professionally with transparency and understanding.
- Ensuring that the employees are paid ample pay, which could be beyond what the labor law stipulates.
- Ensuring that healthcare insurance and other related benefits are continued, beyond what is stated by the law.
- Securing the work permits for expatriate workers are kept valid to reasonable time frames (within the legal framework) for employees who plan to relocate to their home countries.
- Appointing an external consulting firm to manage an outplacement service.
Outplacement services or career transition service in the current form has been around for the last 30 years and is provided by some of the major Recruitment and Consulting companies. Outplacement can be defined as “a support service provided by some organizations to help former employees transition to new jobs. A consultancy firm usually provides the outplacement services which are paid for by the former employer and are achieved usually through practical advice, training materials, and workshops”.
Outplacement service scope is covered through virtual workshops, webinars, and face to face meetings, depending on the scope agreed. Some of the universal scope for outplacement might include some or all the following:
- Managing and coping with change
- Updating and creating a professional resume and compelling cover letters
- How to manage interviews
- Creating a personal brand
- Effective job search techniques
- Networking with relevant groups
- Personal financial planning
- 1-2-1 counseling and coaching
While finding alternate employment is left to the efforts of individuals and market-driven situations, an outplacement service for employees can go a long way in enhancing the organization’s brand value. The consulting companies that are mandated to deliver this service are professionally qualified and experienced to manage separated employees with utmost respect and understanding as they manage their career transition and coach them to be resilient. “Resilience is not what happens to you. It’s how you react to, respond to, and recover from what happens to you.” Jeffrey Gitomer .