6 Common Questions About Outplacement Coaching Services

Human resources executives usually have bountiful questions when searching for the perfect outplacement coaching services for their organization. As one of the top outplacement firms in the industry, we are no stranger to answering these inquiries.

In the past month, we have received several questions about the delivery process of our outplacement program for participants. Thus, we invited our Director of Participant Services, Lou Ann Kummerer, to join us in a Q&A session to answer some of these frequently asked questions.

Side note– make sure to download the pricing information for our outplacement programs:

1. What does a typical outplacement coaching services process look like?

Careerminds service is anything but typical!  We tailor our programs to meet the needs of each participant.  Once we receive approval from a client organization to reach out to one of their former employees, a job coach will make a phone call within 24 hours to schedule an orientation to service.

During that orientation, we conduct a thorough needs assessment so that we can customize the program to meet the needs of the individual.  Our outplacement coaching services include access to a professional resume writer, LinkedIn optimization, interview prep, proprietary social learning and networking technology, strategies to help job seekers learn how to uncover leads and get introductions to hiring managers, and – most importantly – transition coaching and consulting until the participant has successfully landed a new opportunity.

2. How successful are outplacement coaching services at helping laid off employees find new positions?

100% successful.

Why? All of our Advantage Programs have coaching support until the participant has a successful transition into a new role, or self-employment, etc.  In the initial needs assessment, our coaches establish a rapport quickly, learn what the participant’s priorities are and also ask the participant “May I have your permission to hold you accountable to your job search?” Establishing that accountability factor in the first meeting is the key to success with coaching our participants.  It means that if the participant isn’t making the effort that we know it takes to land, we have their permission to have a candid and open dialog about that to help them get back on track.

3) How can an HR professional justify to executives the need for outplacement?

Besides a sincere desire to support former employees in getting back to work as quickly as possible, there is a definite ROI for the organization in regards to offering outplacement services to former employees.  Why?

• Employee Relations –  Outplacement supports in maintaining better retention rates and productivity of remaining staff. Ancillary services should be considered, such as change management and survivor training for remaining employees.

• Outplacement elevates your brand in the eyes of remaining employees, future employees, investors, customers, etc. It demonstrates that people matter.

• Outplacement coaching services minimize liability as they demonstrate corporate responsibility.

4. What are the things HR professionals should look for when searching for outplacement coaching services?

Are the services available until placement?  Are they easy to implement? Are they cost effective? Are they virtual so that the participant may receive coaching from the comfort of their own home office? Does the service vet and hire seasoned coaches with the appropriate certifications to do the work?

Is the technology state of the art?  Does the coaching process focus on identifying the needs of the participant in the first meeting and honing in quickly to establish the accountability factors necessary for the individual to get back to work in the time frame that he/she establishes?

5. What makes Careerminds’ outplacement program different from other providers?

Our until placement coaching philosophy, coupled with our technology, makes Careerminds stand out.

6. What technology does your program have that is impactful for participants looking to find positions?

Our cloud-based Career Management System is tremendously user friendly. The content is based on adult learning principles.  Besides the typical content you would expect to see in a career management portal (such as webinars, easy-to-read lessons with actionable steps, research tools, a career resources library, job search feeds, threaded discussion groups, etc) Careerminds has invested in creating a social learning platform where job seekers may literally learn to network with one another.

Why is this so important?

Because we know that networking is a skill that job seekers MUST hone and are frequently reluctant to do.  Those reluctant job seekers may practice networking with others in a safe space prior to reaching out to potential hiring managers.  Recruiters are also invited into the site, and participants can opt to share their LinkedIn profile and resume through that platform for viewing.

However, the most exciting aspect of our technology and a significant differentiator is our Perfect Match technology.  We teach people to identify job leads, and get in front of the hiring manager.  Part of that is making sure that your resume has the appropriate keywords embedded to stand up to applicant tracking (ATS) systems.

Our proprietary technology allows job seekers to copy and paste a job description from anywhere – job boards, LinkedIn, a corporate website, etc. – into the system and compare their resumes to that description.  The technology will literally show job seekers what keywords are missing so they may include them in the resume prior to submitting an application.  The resume will stand out with HR, but we don’t stop there.  The participant will also be coached on the most effective strategies to network the resume into the hiring manager directly.

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