Best Outplacement Firms – A Buyer’s Guide

If you’re an HR professional tasked with managing a workforce reduction event, you’re probably researching the best outplacement firms. There’s certainly a wide range out there, from small, boutique companies based in one city to large multinationals. It can be difficult choosing the best firm for your company’s needs, at what is already a stressful time for the business. 

Here at Careerminds, we’re so confident in our services that we adopt a fully transparent approach. We’re open about sharing details of who our competitors are and what they offer. To help you choose the best outplacement firm for your business, we’ve looked into what sets each outplacement provider apart and what each one offers to its clients and participants. 

Our list includes information from our competitor’s websites, so that you’re well placed to make the right decision for your business. We can’t provide a holistic description of each provider in this summary, so remember that when you’ve created a shortlist you’ll need to do your own research before coming to a firm conclusion on the best outplacement provider for your needs. 

Let’s dive in. 

When looking into outplacement providers, it can be hard to differentiate them. To find the perfect provider, you need to have a good understanding of what outplacement actually is. Knowing what to look out for will ensure that you’re providing the very best support to your displaced employees. These days, outplacement means using cutting-edge digital tools and personalised, in person advice, to give your employees all-round career transition support. 

There are certain services that every outplacement provider should offer, including career coaching, job search support, CV writing, LinkedIn profile optimisation, interview preparation, networking, and more. You also need to look out for firms that provide online resources, accessible at any time, from anywhere. A worthwhile outplacement provider will offer support through every part of the career transition process, from layoff until placement. 

Without further ado, let’s investigate the best outplacement firms operating in Singapore and their main differentiators. 

These providers will help you to support your affected employees throughout a layoff event. 

Obviously, we’re putting ourselves at the top of the list! Careerminds works with your staff and your business to reduce the stress of career transition. This is what we dot: 

“We take pride in providing an industry-leading global outplacement and executive coaching service. Our customised solutions and cutting-edge software enable companies to support their employees through challenging career transitions. A unique combination of state-of-the-art technology and personalised, one-to-one career support enables us to offer bespoke assistance to each individual participant. We operate in every major market globally, in over 46 languages, to provide services at a lower cost than traditional outplacement companies.”

The key differentiators at Careerminds are that we don’t impose term limits or charge retainer fees. We support your affected staff through their transition, until they land a new role. We call it our “until placement” guarantee. We also only charge when you actually need our services. By not charging retainer fees, we’re showing that we believe in our service so much that we will be there, when you need us, until the job is done – not just until the contract runs out. 

Everyone encounters their own unique challenges when they’re looking for a new job, so it’s important that the service offered is flexible and can meet each participant’s unique needs. Careerminds is the only outplacement provider on this list of top suppliers that will work with clients as their strategic partner until every participant lands a new role. We’re there for them however long it takes. 

Our bespoke, personalised approach is coupled with a virtual outplacement platform and innovative technology. In addition to working with their own qualified coach, participants also receive access to up-to-date e-learning opportunities and online resources. With advice on CV optimisation, access to the hidden job market, and networking, participants are fully supported in finding work that they find meaningful and worthwhile. 

At Careerminds, we harness the power of the internet to offer cost-effective global services to clients and participants, wherever in the world they are located. This high-tech and high-touch approach means that we can offer global services with local, human understanding. 

Our CEO and Founder, Raymond Lee, took the traditional outplacement model and injected it with a modern, technology-driven approach. Careerminds disrupted the career transition industry and changed how outplacement providers operate.

We believe in transparency. Download our competitor comparison sheet to see the Careerminds difference for yourself.

ResumeWriter is Asia-Pacific’s leading CV writing company and also offers outplacement services. As well as providing CVs, tailored cover letters and LinkedIn profiles for their participants, they also offer training on using job portals – especially beneficial for job seekers who haven’t looked for a job in years and may need bringing up to date with the latest technology. 

With staff coming from backgrounds in HR and recruitment, they’re well placed to offer CV and job search advice. This is what they say about their services: 

“We teach your exiting employees modern job search techniques and winning strategies for re-entering the workforce. With our help, your employees will feel supported, confident in their job search, and remain strong advocates for you and your brand.”

As part of the Manpower Group, Talent Solutions offer outplacement to individuals, executives, and groups, with services delivered by Right Management. They support their business clients by maintaining productivity and reducing risk. 

Here’s what they have to say: 

“Right Management partners with organisations to support exiting employees compassionately and comprehensively as they transition to their next great career move quickly and with greater confidence. Our outplacement programmes are tailored to the needs of transitioning employees at all levels, creating a customised experience that best meets their needs.”

This is another modern and fast-growing global career transition service provider, covering over 80 countries. Their team-of-three approach gives every participant access to a career coach, a personal branding specialist, and a job concierge. 

Like Careerminds, their aim is to help participants find new, meaningful work while helping their clients to strengthen their brand, improve retention, and re-engage talent. They combine a coaching-centred approach with innovative HR technology and on-demand analytics. 

In their words: 

“We create true partnerships with organisations as they adapt and transform their workforce. Our talent mobility strategy and innovative approach to outplacement moves people into, through, and out of organisations to protect employer brand, minimise disruption, and improve talent retention and engagement levels.”

With over 25 years’ of HR outsourcing experience in Asia, Links International offers redeployment and outplacement counselling on a more local scale than some of the other firms we’ve looked at. They understand that redundancies affect more than just the laid off employees, and so support workforce stability and your employer brand. Their services are delivered both in-person and online.  

Their outplacement is aimed at companies that are planning a restructure, actively laying off employees, are managing a relocation, or are planning a merge or buy-out. This is what they say: 

“Our outplacement services assist workforce transitions through professional assessment, stakeholder management, and professional staff counselling. Outplacement support increases an organisation’s competitive edge, maximises the mobility level of departing staff, and reassures the people remaining in the company.”

Executive Connexion is a global business providing personalised outplacement and career coaching in Singapore. They offer outplacement services for groups or individuals, specialising in executive outplacement.

Executive Connexion shy away from a one-size-fits-all outplacement to provide unique plans for all concerned. They teach their participants to become confident with job searching and help them to identify skills and opportunities, while also developing a bespoke career action plan. They’ll also help your displaced employees to access the hidden job market. 

Here’s what their website says: 

“Executive Connexions help to prepare staff facing redundancy by providing tailored outplacement services, with either 1:1 career coaching support or group training as required. We can help in varying circumstances, including progression into a similar sector / role or sometimes helping launch a complete career change.”

There are many outplacement providers offering displaced employees services such as career coaching, job search advice, CV writing, and interview preparation support. Our list above shares details of some of the best outplacement firms operating in Singapore, using information from their websites and their own words.

Before engaging an outplacement provider, we always recommend asking them tough questions, sourcing references or testimonials, and scheduling a demo. It’s important to make sure they’re the right fit for your business, enabling you to successfully offboard employees whilst maintaining morale among retained staff and attracting the best future talent. Pay particular attention to how they use technology and how easy their platform is to use. 

We’d love to work with you! If you think Careerminds could be the best outplacement firm for your business, why not find out more about our outplacement programme? Click the link below to schedule a demo with one of our experts today! 

Jen David

Jen is a careers writer and CV specialist, with over 13 years' experience in the job search sector. Find out more by connecting with her on LinkedIn or visiting her website.