While many people fully understand what outplacement is and why it's a vital component to any layoff or RIF strategy, few actually know what differentiators to look for when shopping for a provider (besides price, of course).

One of the biggest differentiators you need to look out for is how long a program lasts. For example, are there term limits that dictate when a service is cut off? Do they calculate this via hours worked with a coach? Are there retainer fees even if a client doesn't have any participants in the program?

At Careerminds, we've made this extremely simple. We work with participants until they land a new job. Period.

We call this Until Placement. Here's what you should know about it:

What Is Until Placement?

Until placement is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of only working with participants for a specific amount of time, we continuously provide them support until they land their next role, allowing them to never go it alone.

Normally, an outplacement provider will only work with a participant for a few weeks up to a few months. If the participant doesn't land a job in that period of time, they are on their own.

Not only does this put an insane amount of pressure on the job seeker who now must try to find a new role within a small time frame, it also doesn't add up for the client (the business who hired the outplacement firm in the first place).

Why?

Well, why would you pay for something without knowing if it will work out or not? Would you do this for any other service? For example, say you hire a plumber because your sink is leaking. The plumber has a two hour term limit, meaning that if the pipe isn't fixed in two hours, you're out of luck.

Now, sure, some plumbers will fix the issues within that two hour window. But why risk it? Especially when we're talking about people's livelihoods here - not a leaky pipe.

Until Placement makes the overall outplacement process unfold smoother. We promise to work with participants until they make their next move, providing the most stress free outplacement service around.

For our clients, this means that their outbound staff members will have the help they need. Clients can rest easy knowing that their staff members are now in good hands that will do everything under the sun to help them land their next role. By forgoing term limits, we have an extremely high success rate.

Plus, unlimited, until placement support has been found to help participants land higher paying jobs. According to The Wall Street Journal: "Managers with unlimited job-search help landed salaries more than $10,000 higher than managers with just six months of outplacement service."

At the end of the day, we want to get people back to work in a role that they will love and thrive in. Until Placement helps us do that. 

Until Placement Combined With Zero Retainer Fees

Most outplacement providers also charge retainer fees. This means that you'll be paying for the service even when you do not have a need for it.

Why is this the case?

Good question. We really don't know. This is even more problematic when added to a service that has term limits because it opens up the possibility that your staff member will not be able to land a job because the service is terminated. On top of that, you've been paying through the nose when not using the service, too.

In short, this doesn't add up.

Our clients can enter a contract with us that allows them to use our services when they need it at no extra cost. Then, when they do need outplacement services, they can rest assured knowing that our services will last until the participant lands a new role without hidden fees.

In other words, our services are cheaper to retain (read: free) and they will continue with no added cost because we strongly believe that individuals are all different, requiring different time frames, coaching, etc to succeed in their job hunt.

Let's dig into that a bit more.

Until Placement and Flexibility

Traditional outplacement providers are attempting to make a one-size-fits-all service. This is the wrong way to go about outplacement for many reasons.

Let's look at a few common examples.

Consider this: a mid-level employee who works in accounting gets laid off at an organization. However, she wants to make a career transition to a new role entirely. Let's say sales. This means that the participant will have to learn where to start looking for an entry level sales position, make a new resume that reflects her transferable skills, and work closely with a coach to ensure that the change actually happens.

Another example: a C-level executive is laid off and wants to enter a new organization at that same level. This type of job search is a lot different than searching for an entry-level job. It requires a lot more networking and time to nail down that role. Executive outplacement is its own beast, requiring a much different approach.

On the other hand, an entry level employee may just want to find the exact same entry level job at a new organization.

These are just three examples, but you can see that they all require different techniques. Someone finding a completely new role that is different than the one they had before is a unique challenge. A C-level executive is going to have a different job hunt, too, and so is the entry level person.

Trying to fit all of this into a specific time frame is basically setting up the participants to fail in their job hunt - at least when it comes to their time with the outplacement firm.

By using Until Placement, we can help all levels of employees achieve their career goals no matter what they happen to be.

The flexibility offered by Until Placement support gives our participants a giant leg up. They will land that next job and we will be right beside them until they do regardless of how long it takes.

Key Takeaways

The thing to remember when shopping for outplacement is that there are more differentiators than simply price.

Not all outplacement services are created equally. Traditionally, outplacement has been a term-based service that extends for a specific period of time that is agreed upon in the contract.

At Careerminds, those days are over.

By utilizing Until Placement, we will work with participants until they land their next role for no extra cost. We will never abandon someone in their time of need.

Not only does this immensely reduce the stress on our participants and clients, it also allows us to work with people of all career levels and goals.

Considering outplacement? Download our pricing guide here: