What is Outplacement?

Our Forward-Thinking Career Consultant Penny explains all.

As we start to emerge from the pandemic, more people are going to experience redundancy as organisations fight for survival. Fortunately we’ve seen a compassionate response from the business community where many organisations are doing all they can to support their employees as they move back onto the job market through providing outplacement services.

What is Outplacement

Outplacement is a term used for the services provided to help employees be “job ready” when made redundant. The services provided will be dependent on the organisation’s budget, industry and volume of people exiting the business. There are a number of service providers on the market that range from DIY online platforms to one to one lengthy career coaching programmes. Depending on the approach organisations might want to adopt for their people, they can often build programmes of support that can include:

• access to online DIY platforms that provide heaps of videos, articles and tools for people to develop their job search strategy independently
• Group workshops focusing on CV writing, personal brand, interview skills and more
• CV review sessions
• CV and Linked in writing by professionals
• Interview skills and coaching
• Career coaching sessions
• Career Coaching programmes

Engagement with Outplacement

Outplacement is an obvious benefit and opportunity for anyone entering the job market, however, the term “outplacement” is elusive and HR professionals and business leaders need to go further in educating their people on what outplacement services offer. They should break down what is included in the package and how it will benefit their job search success. They should also be overt with the following:

• The services are free of charge and there is no expectation to pay the company back,
• There is no requirement of the service provider or individual to provide feedback on the experience – it is entirely a personal and private activity.

Choosing your Outplacement Provider

There are a number of providers on the market who will specialise in different areas of outplacement; some will focus on providing services to a large volume of individuals which might consist of mainly online support with little expert involvement. Others, like us, focus on expert support through group and one-one coaching and training. Your budget and values will determine what provider is best for you and your people, but make sure you search around for the provider right for you.

Is it me you’re looking for?

We provide a range of services that can be bundled into programmes to suit any budget. We tend to work with groups of up to 50 employees and pride ourselves in offering personalised support through small group sessions and 1-1 coaching. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you and your people make a smooth transition into a new role, then please do get in touch.

Penny Strutton