Talent Shortages and Outplacement

Surprisingly, high unemployment has made it difficult for both qualified talent looking for work and employers trying to fill certain positions.  One of the major hurdles is going through the tens of thousands of resumes that are flooding the inboxes of HR personnel for nearly every advertised vacancy.  Even with current technology and sophisticated filters, finding that needle in the haystack leaves many HR executives wondering where all the qualified employees have gone.

Outplacement Services

As a result, many companies are hiring professional outplacement service firms to help fill the gap.  These firms can dip into a pool of available talent to fill positions from employees that were laid off from another employer.  In addition, they have many resources available to them that most employers don’t such as career counselling and job re-training.  This results in a win-win for everyone.  Employees that have recently been displaced are not left to navigate the job market themselves and employers that need talent have a pool of qualified talent to fill vacant positions.

Talent Shortages

Why should you care; especially if you’re downsizing?  Employment changes tend to be cyclical.  Current economic situations or supplier shortages may dictate that you downsize to keep your company in the black.  However, there are other industries or companies in a different market that need employees.  Outplacement firms match companies that will be shedding employees with those that need them. Thus, enabling laid off employees to be re-employed in a much shorter period of time. Having to tell employees that have dedicated their career to a company that they will be losing their job is one of the most difficult tasks to have to accomplish.  Being able to tell them that you have their back through an outplacement services program demonstrates your appreciation for their commitment to the company.

On the other hand, as the situation improves, your company may find itself once again needing to fill positions with qualified workers.  Having the ability to select from a pool of qualified talent ready to work from an outplacement services firm is much more productive than spending days or weeks sifting through the resumes of of individuals that may not have the skills you are looking for.

Filling entry level positions is still relatively easy.  However, as you try to fill higher level positions that require more skills and experience, the harder it becomes.  Using outplacement services helps the employee transition out of one company and into another more quickly.   If more companies used outplacement services, employees would spend less time finding employment and companies that need talent would have less difficulty finding them.