The Top 5 Things to Consider When Implementing an Out-Placement Program
When you must let people go, your entire organisation can suffer. Suddenly staff and executive morale decreases for those remaining and those leaving. It doesn’t have to be this way.
In fact, with the right combination of Outplacement, HR Counsulting and coaching services you can strengthen rather than weaken your organisation. Of course, we firmly believe in getting the right HR expertise brought in rather than attempting to do this in house without necessarily the right skills and experience.
To insulate results and outcomes during the downsizing (or “rightsizing”) process, you need to consider how to:
EMPOWER
Empower your managers to trim your workforce strategically by focusing on positions rather than people.
Support
Give individuals facing redundancy support that is ethically and morally decent and aim for people to leave on a positive note.
MOTIVATE
Give your transition a narrative about renewal that galvanises all levels within your reshaped organisation.
Having worked with businesses of all shapes and sizes in various industries, we’ve created a shortlist of the top 5 things to consider when implementing an out-placement program.
1. Emotional Support
Redundancy can be a stressful time, there may be a need to work through these emotions first. This will often aid the individual in acceptance of the circumstances and commence the process of setting goals and making plans for their work future.
2. Identifying Strengths and Skills
The crucial part of this preparation is identifying the individual’s strengths and skills. Once these aspects have been identified and a resume drafted, you are then able to provide advice on how to find job opportunities in the current market. This is a good planning stage to identify prospective employers and increase knowledge of the local job market.
3. Moving forward and Career Path
Self-auditing of skills, interests and values assists the individuals in better understanding themselves and offers other potential career paths that may suit their skills and interests.
4. Job Interview Preparation
Guidance and coaching in job interview preparation including potential interview questions, researching the company, making a good first impression and having questions prepared for the interview.
5. On-Going support / Job Search Strategy
Creation of a job search plan and assisting and supporting individuals in dealing with unsuccessful job applications and interviews, changing strategy if necessary.
Above all, as an employer its critical to remember you are dealing with people’s lives and whatever happens, they need to be treated respectfully and fairly. You need to ask yourself, what do you want them to be saying about their experience with your brand and how they were ultimately treated?
