When to Use Outplacement (A Definitive Guide)

Employee outplacement is a humane and affirmative approach to organizational change that allows the employee and employer to transition through the separation with mutual respect, understanding, and dignity. It’s a win-win proposition for all the parties involved, which means it’s important to know when to use outplacement and how to use it properly. 

But first, why should you use it in the first place?

The employers will minimize any risk of legal action, tainted reputation, and will improve the morale and dedication (and eventually productivity) to the remaining staff. 

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According to a peer-reviewed report, managers need to appreciate outplacement as an employee benefit and by doing so “overcome their own squeamishness.” They also need to understand that outplacement isn’t just the sugar coating on a bitter pill. By doing these, they can understand better when to use outplacement services. To the employees, outplacement services will ensure that they get back into work faster and successfully move past the transition.

Understanding When to Use Outplacement

A business may seek outplacement services because one or several individuals have been found redundant or because budget cuts have left caused a RIF.

Regardless of the reason, providing outplacement and job search assistance makes business sense and says a great deal about your corporate culture. Wondering how and when to use outplacement services? Don’t worry; this is just one of the top questions about outplacement and coaching services in the world of business today.

Here are five reasons as to why your firm may need to consider seeking top outplacement services:

1. Layoffs are coming, and you want to safeguard your business’s image from negative commentary

Remember Circuit City? The company strategy to save money involved laying off 3, 400 of ‘overpaid’ employees and replace them with others for minimum wages. It’s hard to tell whether it was public outrage or poor management that put the company out of business shortly after that.

Outplacement is one way of ensuring that the axe doesn’t ruin your image after a layoff, especially if it’s a very public one. Outplacement packages grind off the sharp edges which may appear in every situation of involuntary leave of a staff member.

The sole aim of seeking these services is not only the support of the released workers but also the easement of the negative repercussions it may have on those who remain and maintenance of a firm’s image as an equitable employer.

2. Your company needs restructuring, and, therefore, a RIF

There is no refuting that laying off workers is an unpleasant reality to face even when it comes to restructuring. But with the right outplacement services, responsible organizations can approach the matter ethically in a way that benefits both the business and terminated employees.

Managers should understand that restructuring isn’t about redundancies; it’s about keeping the right people and upskilling the staff to support the organization’s roadmap. Outplacement is the right tool to ensure seamless transition of the laid-off workers into new roles and avoid loss of loyalty, engagement, and productivity on the remaining employees.

3. Your business needs to reduce operational costs

In a world where ‘uncertainty’ is the only certain thing, we understand that business needs to continually re-size to adjust with changing economic conditions and meet new marketing realities.

Sometimes, the only way to reduce a business’s operational cost is through laying off a staff member—which can sometimes be an uphill task if you need to maintain the brand reputation after restructuring. Prudent managers recognize precisely the benefits of knowing how and when to use outplacement during workforce cut off.

4. When your company needs to downsize

Downsizing a business has never been a pleasant task; everyone is affected in one way or another. Aside from creating unemployment for some staff, it also causes restructuring and a change of responsibilities for other staff members.

A company may decide to downsize their employee base to reduce costs and increase productivity. When downsizing is necessary to maintain the operations and achieve the objectives of the organization, it is important to seek the right outplacement services to ensure that the process is executed in a fashion that supports workers who are terminated as well as those who are remaining in the organization.

5. When your business has been acquired by another firm

Mergers and acquisitions are strategies for some firms to improve profit and productivity, while also reducing overall expenses. While this might be good for the company, in some cases they can be bad news for some employees who are left worried about their positions or the changing culture of the organization.

With mergers and acquisitions, an intense political battle for control may ensue, and some employees may need to go. In such cases, outplacement support systems may be needed to make sure the laid-off workers reduce emotional turbulence through training, coaching, counseling, and redirecting their focus towards the future.

What to Look for When Hiring an Outplacement Services Company

Hiring a company with well-designed outplacement training programs can provide long-standing value to the current and former workers, your company, and the economy as a whole.

The best outplacement firms understand that due to the change in technology, there is a change in how outplacement processes are carried out in the modern day compared to what happened in the outplacement industry in the past ten years. For such reasons, it is important for you to choose a company that knows its way around the programs and avoids those that haven’t kept up with the pace of innovation and technology.

A company with the right management services ensures that can actually get your laid-off employees’ jobs, and fast. A great outplacement firm uses technologies that can scrape the internet for the perfect position for each participant and save them time by doing what would be manual work. As one of the top performing outplacement firms in the industry, we understand that when it comes to termination of work and transitioning that follows aren’t light tasks. So, day in day out we constantly focus on providing the highest quality coaching using the most state-of-the-art technology to ensure that we help workers find jobs more easily.

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