Tips for Selecting the Best Outplacement Services
You may find that outplacement services may be quite beneficial if you are leaving your firm, whether as a consequence of redundancy or an amicable separation. Outplacement services can assist with your transition into a new position.
What is outplacement and how does it work?
Outplacement services often involve assistance in evaluating career possibilities, developing a resume, preparing for interviews, and developing job search strategy. It is possible that networking opportunities and information resources may be made available.
In a competitive job market where employers have a plethora of options, working with an outplacement firm might be the difference between receiving the job offer you seek and failing to even make the shortlist.
What are the benefits of requesting outplacement services from your employer?
Some companies may incorporate outplacement services as part of an employee’s severance package when they terminate their employment. They will either arrange it for the client directly or let the individual to spend the money they have been given with the outplacement provider of their choosing.
You should be aware that if you are going to leave your firm, it is crucial to understand that there are significant financial benefits to you if your outplacement is handled via the company rather than being handled individually by yourself. Outplacement services given as part of your redundancy arrangement are tax-free. If you pay for outplacement services directly out of your own pocket, you forfeit the tax benefit and will also be charged VAT, which is reclaimable by businesses but not by individuals in the same situation.
A 40 percent tax payer, for example, might save the equivalent of over £2000 on a £4000 outplacement service by having it handled via a corporation rather than paying for it personally.
Therefore, even if your firm is unable to give extra funds for outplacement, it is financially beneficial for you to request that they make the payment on your behalf, even if they deduct the ex-VAT amount from your final pay.
What should you look for when selecting an outplacement firm?
Here’s some pointers on what to look for while shopping:
Recommendation
See if anybody you know has any recommendations for companies that you may employ by asking around. Recommendations may also come from organizations such as your professional institution or other reputable sources, such as the Telegraph. In addition, be certain that the outplacement firm adheres to a well recognized Code of Practice, such as the CIPD’s.
Consider the kind of career assistance you need.
Discuss with the outplacement firm the specific areas in which you would need assistance and support. For example, some organizations may concentrate just on offering a CV writing service, but others will provide a comprehensive career management service that includes a comprehensive career evaluation and review as well as hands-on job search assistance.
Make a comparison and contrast
Check out at least two to three different firms so that you can make comparisons between them. Look through their websites and contact them if you need any further information. Pay a visit to the ones that seem appropriate. The majority of credible outplacement firms provide a free introductory consultation. Inquire about the coaching, training, and resources that are available to you during the meeting. What would the framework of your outplacement program look like? Is there access to online resources or a research facility that you can take use of? Are there any possibilities for networking? If you have any concerns, this is an ideal moment to ask them and determine whether or not the organization delivers what you are searching for You’ll begin to gain a sense of the company’s culture, as well as crucial information about the services they provide and their target client demographic.
Your coach is a someone who helps people achieve their goals.
Check the qualifications of the coaching team, as well as the credentials of the coach with whom you will be working. They should have a bare minimum of the following characteristics:
substantial experience working as an outplacement or career coach expert with up-to-date knowledge of recruitment and job-searching high level coaching qualifications, preferably in career coaching experience working at a senior level within an organization substantial experience working as an outplacement or career coach expert with up-to-date knowledge of recruitment and job-searching
Inquire about the process through which a coach will be chosen for you. Is it simply a matter of who happens to be available on the day you show up, or is there a deliberate process of connecting people? Make certain that you have the option to switch coaches if you and your coach aren’t a good fit.
Decision-making
Make certain that you are completely aware of the services that are being offered, the prices associated with them, the location, any time limitations or restrictions, and what is included and what is not included.
In writing, this should be reaffirmed in a contract, which you should carefully go through before signing off on it. Due to the fact that only a tiny number of businesses are renowned for using high-pressure sales methods, this is unfortunate. Flattery, ironclad pledges of success, evasiveness regarding pricing, and even intimidation are examples of these strategies. Fortunately, it is simple to locate several businesses that conduct their operations in an ethical manner.
As a result, unless you are completely certain that you want to go, always allow yourself some clear thinking time outside of the meeting to evaluate your choice and any more questions you may have before proceeding.
Obtaining a seamless transition into your next position may be made much easier with the assistance of outplacement. Hopefully, the information provided above will be of use when selecting an outplacement service.
In addition, you may be interested in the following articles: When it comes to negotiating your settlement agreement, How to handle the redundancy process, as well as what to do if you are forced to leave your job
Career management firm Personal Career Management offers a variety of outplacement services to assist you in your job search campaign. We provide a free first appointment so that you can learn more about how career counseling might assist you with your specific professional difficulty.
Organizations are becoming more laser focused on keeping valued employees as a result of growing skills gaps and talent shortages. According to two different surveys, the employee experience is becoming an increasingly important issue and a critical component of assuring future economic success. According to the study “The Active Job Seeker Dilemma,” 83 percent of human resource managers believe that the “employee experience” is critical to the success of their firm. A recent Forbes article by HR influencer Jeanne Meister discussed the top trends influencing HR departments and indicated that more organizations are concentrating on “building a compelling employee experience as the competition for talent heats up,” according to Meister.
Due to the competition for talent and other emerging trends in the new Employee Relationship Economy, companies are being compelled to shift their perspective and see the employment cycle from beginning to beginning, rather than from beginning to end.
The same trends that are causing organizations to shift their focus away from simply building businesses and toward building long-term relationships with their employees are also playing a critical role in the expansion of severance benefits, which includes expanding outplacement, career transition, and redeployment options for employees.
When it comes to the employee-employer connection, as firms and their workers evaluate every part of the relationship, it has become evident that selecting the correct provider for human resource services is just as crucial as providing employees with the services they provide. As we reach the fourth quarter and budgets and programs are being reviewed, it may be appropriate to reevaluate your outplacement solution and services. If you are considering changing providers or are looking for outplacement for the first time, here are a few key pointers to consider.
1.PERSONALIZATION.
One-size-fits-all solutions are unusual, if not impossible, to implement. Increasingly, human resource leaders are taking on the responsibility of creating and maintaining distinctive and authentic workplace cultures that are defined by the employee-employer relationship, company goals, values and stated mission……
Finding outside services that are compatible with the current corporate culture has become more important in order for the collaboration to be successful in this new climate.
In your search for outside suppliers, look for organizations who have developed services and solutions that are closely aligned with the way your staff are currently operating. Make certain that your company partners are prepared to customize their solutions to meet your business strategy, rather than the other way around. Outplacement and career transition services should be included into your employee experience as part of a bespoke solution that is tailored to your company’s requirements as well as the requirements of your workers.
If you are compelled to make significant modifications to your business model or to take the demands of the provider into consideration before making business choices, use this as a warning that the whole process may look to be inconsistent with your brand’s values.
Additionally, in addition to tailoring programs and services to fit specific corporate requirements, the most successful outplacement providers are committed to offering the most personalized and tailored services possible to your transferring workers.
Instead of matching participants with career coaches based on their location and availability, the most successful outplacement programs connect coaches and job seekers based on their sector expertise, experience level, and participant criteria, among other factors.
Transitioning workers must depend on their career counselor to offer all of their outplacement services, including resume preparation and matching job leads to their preferences, under conventional forms of employment. Like asking a head coach to lead batting practice, you shouldn’t expect a career coach to undertake activities that should be left to the specialists in their respective fields either.
Professional resume writers and job lead sources are the specialists who should be working with your transitioning employees to write resumes and hand select job leads based on each individual’s background, unique value proposition, and career goals, in addition to the career coach who is there to provide job search expertise and training. Professional resume writers and job lead sources are the specialists who should be working with your transitioning employees to write resumes and hand select job leads based on each individual’s background, unique value proposition, and career goals, in addition to the career coach
2. CREATIVE IMAGINATION
It is no longer sufficient to simply fill up a spreadsheet with employee names and contact information and hope that those who have been touched by involuntary departures may find work at some point in the future, as was the case before. In this climate, when creating a pleasant employee experience and maintaining a superb employer brand are among the top priorities for HR departments and the C-suite, there is just too much at risk.
Human resource managers must be able to follow and assess the success of their transitional workers, as well as gauge the attitude of their alumni employees, now more than ever before. In your search for an outplacement service, look for one that can give current, relevant data that will provide transparency and assess the return on your outplacement investment based on the outcomes that matter, such as satisfaction ratings and landing rates, as well as activity levels.
In the event that your employees do not take advantage of the outplacement services you have provided, you will be exposed to negative employee sentiment, future tax liabilities, and potential legal liability – all of which are reasons for which you contracted with an outplacement provider in the first place. Make certain that your outplacement provider offers services that are consistent with the way your workers already operate, using a blend of technology for efficiency and individual care for empathy.
Before selecting an outplacement services provider, request to view a demonstration of the technology that will be included as part of the solution. Keep an eye out for organizations that boast about technological breakthroughs that you can’t see or technology solutions that can’t be measured by outcomes or data, among other things. Outplacement technology should enhance basic services for job searchers while also improving your ability to get the information you want when you require it the most.
Also important to recognize is that outplacement, traditionally defined as assistance to employees who are terminating their employment with a company, has evolved to include the importance of increasing the productivity of remaining employees, retaining valuable employees through internal mobility, and ensuring future business success through ongoing partnerships with businesses.
Tip: When selecting an outplacement company, seek for one that provides services and programs that go above and beyond traditional outplacement services, such as the following:
Managerial training on notification
Managers and survivorship workers should get resilience training.
Solutions for redeployment
Alternatives for retirement
Programs for workers who want to pursue non-traditional career paths, such as working in the gig economy or starting their own business.
Keeping track of alumni sentiment
Reduce the number of coaches to program participants.
A blend of high-tech for efficiency and high-touch for empathy is used.
When powerful technology is combined with well selected career counselors who are industry specialists, outplacement services become incredibly efficient at assisting individuals in finding new positions after a layoff or termination. When workers are able to find new positions quickly, it is beneficial to everyone. Employees who are left behind are less likely to stay dissatisfied, and your company’s reputation is less likely to suffer as a result. Look for a service provider that blends cutting-edge technology with a highly tailored approach.
3.RESULTS
When a layoff does occur, it is critical to act quickly to avoid further consequences. The danger of hurting the employer brand and losing the confidence of existing workers increases if human resource personnel act too slowly throughout the separation process. In the event of a layoff, your outplacement partner should make the process straightforward and expedite specialized services for affected workers. Someone who relies on a job to make ends meet may consider waiting a week to get a call to begin career transition services an eternity in comparison.
Make certain that your supplier has processes in place to contact workers as soon as they are notified of a layoff and that coaching and services are provided within a couple of days after the announcement.
If someone tells you that outcomes aren’t important, don’t believe it for one second. When it comes to protecting your brand’s image and spending money, results are the only thing that matters. In order to determine the effectiveness of your outplacement service in the past, you must first determine their effectiveness in your business.
Some examples of outcomes to request are as follows:
What proportion of participants get new employment as a result of the program?
What proportion of persons who take part in the study find new employment that pay the same or more than the positions they left?
What is the typical percentage of program participants that successfully complete the program?
What is the overall satisfaction level of your customers?
According to Steve Goldberg, Industry Advisor for HCM Services and Solutions, “any collection of conditions that might worsen a present company challenge can also be turned into a competitive advantage if they are handled properly.” In his recently released study on “Key Outplacement Services Dimensions,” Goldberg discusses a plethora of advantages that outplacement services can provide to businesses. It may becoming more difficult to get through the jargon and hype that providers may use to market their products and services. If you ask the following four questions of outplacement service providers, according to Goldberg, you may test the waters in terms of commercial value:
In what ways, especially important or distinctive ways, does your offering encourage program members to make extensive use of their resources?
The question is, how can you properly calibrate your mix of program components in order to reach a reduced cost base for customers (as compared to predominantly brick-and-mortar operational suppliers) while still increasing efficacy rates as measured by time-to-land?
So, how do you expand your delivery strategy to possibly accommodate hundreds of displaced employees for a certain corporate customer without reverting to generic, non-specific coaching, or anything similar?
What success indicators do you monitor and share with your clients? How do you measure success?
RiseSmart recently conducted a poll of over 450 human resources professionals in the United States, over 40% of whom were vice presidents or directors of human resources, to determine how their severance packages have evolved in response to current developments. In our research, we discovered that outplacement services are becoming more significant to more firms, which are now delivering programs to a greater number of workers than ever before.
We are learning from our clients, as well as from companies in all sizes and sectors throughout the globe, that outplacement services — or the absence thereof — play a key influence in talent management, brand reputation, and employee career transition success, among other things. As businesses of choice continue to grow their workforce,
