Outplacement ROI – Should you invest in outplacement for staff facing redundancy?

Making staff redundancies is one of the most difficult things that an organisation has to do.   There are complex legal requirements and financial calculations.  The transition from the old structure to the new one is rarely as smooth as hoped.  Meanwhile the psychological impact is huge, not only for the employees who are losing their job, but also for their Managers, HR staff and colleagues who absorb the disappointment and sometimes anger experienced by those who are departing.  It’s a challenging time at multiple levels.

How does outplacement help?

Outplacement services, from a specialist career coaching company, alleviates a huge amount of the psychological pressure experienced by individuals in the organisation at a time like this.  Those facing redundancy are offered the opportunity for both practical job search advice and emotional support.  This goes a long way in calming their understandable anxiety about whether they will be able to find a job again.  In turn, this also frees up the headspace of their managers and HR who are reassured that their staff will be well looked after and that they have discharged their duty of care and passed it on appropriately.

The services from outplacement companies typically include a range of career services such as career coaching for individuals, online career management resources, research services and job search and career development group workshops and webinars.

These will help individuals market themselves effectively as a candidate including their  CV, LinkedIn profile and interview presentations.  In addition they will help individuals consider their options, provide advice on the job market and rebuild any confidence which has been bruised as a result of their exit.

Most outplacement providers will be happy to advise on what will work for your organisation best in terms of the needs of the employees and the budget available.  While retaining client confidentiality, they should also be able to provide general feedback on groups of departing staff, alerting the company to any common themes emerging such as wellbeing issues, confusion or positive feedback about the company. 

Outplacement ROI

Companies spend huge sums on employer branding to encourage talent to come on-board but often forget that off-boarding is as important in managing their company reputation.  Badly handled exits have the potential to derail operations, ignite conflicts and prompt people to leave who you would like to stay.  Employees who believe that they have been treated poorly are more likely to go public, pursuing legal claims, posting poor reviews on Glassdoor or bad-mouthing the company to others. 

However, when employees are offered outplacement support, there is an opportunity to help them regulate their emotions more constructively and channel any fight reflex into the energy needed for job searching.

While delivering bad news about a redundancy is seldom welcome, when the organisation also shows that it is a caring employer and takes steps to preserve individuals’ dignity and confidence, then the likelihood of confrontation is reduced, and the building of a positive alumni for the future becomes possible.  This keeps the door open for re-hiring in the future, encourages ex-employees to recommend the company to others, even if they have needed to exit in difficult circumstances.

In today’s rapidly evolving work environments, with companies constantly undergoing downsizing, restructuring and transitions, outplacement support for staff is key to facilitating organisational development more efficiently and less painfully.  Outplacement reduces organisational risks, protects its reputation, employee morale and engagement. 

Investment in outplacement support can be easily offset by the time, money and psychological energy it saves an organisation in the process of change.

Next steps

For more information on employee outplacement please call Personal Career Management on 01753 888995 or complete the contact form below.

We also provide director outplacement programmes ideal for those at a senior level.

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