After years of economic downturn, redundancy has become part of our business tapestry. What benefits does outplacement bring?

Invaluable Counselling
Being laid off from work causes a tremendous amount of stress and fear such as paying bills and finding a new job. This stress can affect everyone in a myriad of ways and may cause serious problems. Outplacement services are readily available to provide invaluable counselling that will help to alleviate stress and provide a positive spin on new job placement. This will become a positive outlook on the company and how it deals with each employee – even if they are no longer with the company. Reputation is everything.

Speeding up the process
employees who are offered outplacement services by their company statistically resettle much quicker than those who are not offered the service. Outplacement support works best when it provides employees with as much information as possible therefore it should communicate all the necessary information on training, logistics, future opportunities, financial guidance and anything else that may be on a job-seekers agenda. Outplacement speeds up the process by taking some of the redundancy stress off of the exiting employees’ shoulders. This empowers them to work towards their next step, rather than leaving them feeling demoralised and demotivated.

Liability protection
You have a corporate responsibility to your employees. That said, outplacement solutions can serve as liability protection against possible disgruntled displaced employees. While you are no longer their employer, you are taking the necessary steps to ensure a smoother transition, avoiding any possible legal action. This includes job search assistance, interview preparation tools, and emotional support where required.

Outplacement services will take the pressure off your HR team 
The demands on your HR teams will also be intense. They are expected to manage the process and to deliver redundancies in a calm and organised manner. This is why it makes sense to have experienced partners on hand to alleviate the pressure and offer practical support in substantial ways.

Maintaining productivity and loyalty of ‘survivors’
Once the redundancies have come in to effect, the morale of remaining employees can be dramatically affected. Rise in workload, loyalty towards lost colleagues, fear of future job cuts, different team dynamics- any one of these can impact the ‘survivors’. An outplacement programme  positively impacts the wellbeing of leavers and their ability to find new employment improves morale in the organisation.

The benefits of outplacement far outweight the cost of implementing a quality program. Sometimes it’s inevitable; firms are left with a tough decision to terminate some of their workers. It’s a harsh reality that no management team or staff member wants to come across. However, employers have the benefits of outplacement services to ensure the layoff doesn’t get ugly.

Let us know about your specific needs.