How to create an outplacement RFP (with template)

The importance of helping displaced staff back into new roles can’t be understated during a headcount reduction exercise. Outplacement not only supports individual employees, it also protects your employer brand. 

With the Ministry of Manpower mandating that employers should “help affected employees to look for alternative jobs in associate companies, other companies, or through outplacement assistance programmes,” offboarding is no longer just a box ticking exercise. Positive offboarding is a vital part of the overall employee experience, and can also have long-term effects on a company’s talent retention and attraction abilities. 

As outplacement plays an important role in positive offboarding, the HR team and its procurement specialists must really do their homework when choosing outplacement providers to participate in a RFP (Request for Proposal). 

From boutique firms to multinationals, there’s a wide range of outplacement providers available, and each has a slightly different offering. Choosing the right one will be advantageous for both your business and its employees – but a survey by Careerminds found that bad outplacement is actually worse than not providing outplacement at all. 

Tendering is a highly competitive process in Singapore, and we want to help you choose the right provider, so we’ve compiled a simple guide to help you kick off the outplacement RFP process. 

A RFP is a key element in choosing the right outplacement service. It outlines exactly what you need in terms of service, cost, and timeline. Vendors who can meet your needs can then bid for the contract, allowing you to choose the one that best aligns with your company requirements and expectations.

It’s advisable to prepare an outplacement RFP template before you need it. That way, when a sudden retrenchment occurs, you’re ready to move forward immediately. Let’s discuss how you can prepare in advance. 

A professional, well-articulated outplacement RFP significantly increases the chance of getting a favourable response. It should clearly outline your requirements in an easily-understandable way, so that vendors can assess whether they’re well placed to meet your needs. 

To create an effective outplacement RFP, follow these 7 simple steps to compile the key information needed for a positive response: 

The first step is to decide exactly what you need from your outplacement provider, in terms of services. What will they need to offer and what is your budget? Note down as many administrative details as possible, including when and how you expect the services to be delivered, any deadlines, and the target cost. 

For example, you may be looking specifically for executive outplacement services, online resources, virtual career coaching, or “until placement” support. 

Having created this list of requirements, you can refer to it as you compile the RFP to ensure that you cover everything that will be factored into your decision to award a contract. 

Your outplacement RFP should begin with an introduction to your business. Provide a brief background on the organisation, including what it does, its history, and its values; this will help potential partners understand your business and assess whether they’d be a good cultural fit.

Then, explain your current situation. Include the reason for sending a RFP, and your expectations of the chosen provider. You might also choose to include details such as the preferred start date, deadlines, and objectives. 

It helps if you can touch on potential challenges or hurdles that you envisage the business or the provider might face during the project. This could include problems such as HR issues, legal concerns, or conflicts.

Full transparency at this stage ensures that the outplacement provider can accurately assess whether they are equipped to navigate these challenges to meet 100% of your needs. 

Outline what you want the outplacement provider to do next, if they’re interested in bidding for your project. It’s important that every business responding to the outplacement RFP follows the same format, so that you can compare and assess their responses easily and fairly.

In this section, you could include who the response should be sent to, as well as your preferred method of receipt (email, post, or online), and the preferred format. Don’t forget to provide contact details for any questions before submission, too. 

If you need legal agreements or documents to be signed and included with the bid, it’s sensible to include a checklist for them to complete. 

To make sure submissions are received when you need them, outline key deadlines within the outplacement RFP. This includes stating the deadline for sending bids to you, as well as the date you will award the contract, the date you want the project to start, and any key events that may impact the timeline.  

You may also want to include a project completion date, but this isn’t strictly necessary – especially if you want to provide support to your employees until they are successfully placed in another role. 

Bear in mind that you should provide a submission deadline far enough in advance for vendors to compile a considered response. The more detailed and specific your outplacement RFP is, the more time providers will need to submit their bids. 

Transparency is crucial in any RFP process, so explain how you will select the winning bid from all the responses you receive. You may want to base this on: 

• Company policies
• Organisational priorities
• Specific outplacement services (such as career coaching, CV writing, and interview preparation)
• Provider credentials (such as coaching credentials, quantifiable results, or case studies) 

These criteria will help outplacement providers compile a response that shows how their offering aligns with your project needs, enabling you to select the most appropriate provider fairly. 

Don’t forget to review and proofread the outplacement RFP before you send it! Catching any errors, typos, and last minute changes now will save confusion and embarrassment later on. 

Get a trusted colleague to check the final document too – ideally someone involved in the project. That could be a HR colleague, a C-suite executive, or a procurement team member. The ultimate objective is to make it as clear and as professional as possible. A little time taken to ensure that before distribution is worth it in the long run. 

To help you finalise your RFP document, let’s look at how to format it and review a basic template. 

Now that you’ve pulled together the necessary information to compile an outplacement RFP, it’s time to put it into a standard RFP template. We’ve drafted one to start you off, to set you up to receive strong responses. 

Request for proposal

Date of issue: [date]

Issued by: [name of company]

Representative: [name of the main point of contact, including email and phone number)

Summary: 

[Company name], a [describe what the business does] is accepting proposals for outplacement service provision. Our objectives for this project are to [outline your goals]. 

The aim of this RFP is to find an outplacement provider that will provide the best overall value and results, which we hope to have in place by [target deadline].

Background: 

[Describe the project based on the information you gathered in step 2 above, including the company’s history, values, and goals.]

Project description: 

We are looking for outplacement services that [give a broad overview of your needs]. These services should include: 

• In person and online outplacement support 
• Career advice and support for employees until they are placed in new roles 
• Support with CV, LinkedIn profile, and cover letter writing 
• Interview preparation support
• Access to online job search and networking tools
• One-to-one and group coaching 
• Transparent reporting on programme progress and success
• Personalised support
• Executive support 
• [add any other outplacement requirements you’ve identified]

We have a budget range of [specify amounts]. We would prefer to appoint a provider with [list required credentials]. 

Guidelines: 

Your bid should follow this format: 

• Summary 
• Background information about your business
• Why we should choose you as our outplacement service provider 
• Your relevant experience 
• Detailed list of your proposed services
• The methods and technology you will use and why they will be successful 
• Pricing (both fixed for the project and itemised)
• Proposed number of hours required for the project 
• Relevant case studies of previous clients 
• Name and contact details of three previous clients 
• Your terms and conditions
• [Any other requirements]

Deadline: 

Please submit your proposal, as a PDF document, to [name and email address] by [deadline]. 

Selection criteria:

Your bid will be evaluated on these criteria: 

• Responsiveness to the requirements outlined in this RFP
• Past performance
• Ability to meet planned schedules
• Client testimonials 
• Quoted costs
• [Any other criteria]

[Company name] reserves the right to award the contract to the vendor that represents the best value to the business, as determined by [company name].

Schedule: 

We anticipate the project progressing along this timeline: 

• [date] – outplacement RFP issued 
• [date] – deadline for submission of bids in response to the RFP
• [date] – vendor selected and advised
• [date] – service provision starts
• [Any other key dates]

Vendors may propose an earlier project start date. 

In this section, you can cover further details such as legal requirements, additional criteria, and specific questions you’d like them to address in their response. Ensure that you draft legal agreements in collaboration with your legal and HR teams before distribution. 

Terms and conditions:

Terms and conditions stated within the RFP will govern any agreements resulting from this RFP. You are instructed to complete, sign, and return the following documents as part of this proposal. Failure to return any of these items may result in the rejection of your proposal. 

• [List legal agreements and any other required documentation]

Each proposal must state that it will be valid for acceptance by [company name] for at least 120 days following the submission deadline. 

Further questions:

These questions must be answered to the best of your ability within your proposal:

• [List outstanding questions]

Pricing and delivery

[Company name] will not accept bids which include assumptions or exceptions to the work described in this RFP.

Unlimited outplacement services, including job coaching, access to online job search tools, and other career services until placed in meaningful new employment:

• Service fee per person: S$__________ 
• [Company name] will not reimburse expenses incurred by the proposer. Fees quoted are fully inclusive. 

Executive support and in-person career coaching

• Service fee per person: S$__________ 
• [Company name] will not reimburse expenses incurred by the proposer. Fees quoted are fully inclusive. 

Performance bonus

• [Describe recommended performance bonus]

Delivery Schedule

• Calendar days required from agreement of proposal: ___________ days

Submitted by: 

Proposer: __________

Authorised signature: __________

Title: __________

Date: __________

Now your RFP document is finalised and checked, you’re ready to send it out to the providers on your shortlist. While you wait for their responses, let’s look at how you can evaluate them when they arrive and some key differentiators to look out for. Careful consideration of the bids will mean you choose the best outplacement services for your company’s needs. 

Modern outplacement programmes are defined by their commitment to personalised, one-to-one career coaching. It should start as soon as possible after the employee is notified of their exit and continue until they are placed in a new role. This is known as the “until placement” model. 

By not specifying timeframes and deadlines for the job search process, employees can explore their ideal next steps and make use of the service when they need it. They’ll have a careers expert available to them at any time, providing advice and support throughout their journey. 

When a participant lands a new role, their career journey doesn’t stop there. A great outplacement service provider will let participants access their online tools for life, giving them unlimited access to networking, webinars, and specialist advice whenever they need it. 

A high-impact, best practice CV is an essential component of the modern-day job search. Outplacement services should provide expert CV-writing services. Often, job-seekers don’t have the skills necessary to write a strong CV themselves. Maybe they’ve been settled in work for many years, and therefore not actively updated their CV, or they’ve never been taught what a good CV looks like. 

As CVs need updating and recruitment software improves, writing a CV from scratch can seem rather daunting. The best outplacement services understand this, and work with participants to refresh and update their CVs. This reduces stress on the participant and enables them to enter the job market feeling confident in their CV and their abilities. By putting their best foot forward, they’re on track to land a new role much faster than if they were left to their own devices. 

Wherever your employees are located, your outplacement service needs to understand the local market. They should have coaches ready to share insight about local customs, job search practices, and current market trends. Look out for providers who operate on a global scale but provide local services, ensuring that programme participants can enjoy the best of both worlds. 

Outplacement providers who offer virtual services help minimise costs, as well as increase accessibility for participants. No matter where your employees are, they should be able to access online tools and coaching to progress their job search. 

Every modern outplacement company worth its salt should offer data and insights that help you evaluate the progress of the programme and its success rates. You’ll also want to be able to access these stats in real time, not just on completion of the programme. 

To ensure your employees are receiving the best possible support, you’ll need to access information relating to placements, billing integrity, ROI, and participant satisfaction. Positive progress for participants means your company will reap the rewards, which could include a reduction of remaining employees taking leave of abscence, and less stress for HR teams, managers, and displaced staff. 

As well as considering the impact on employees and the wider business, the outplacement RFP should consider how the provider works with your team. Outplacement providers should become true business partners, supporting your HR team at every stage of the process. That could include training managers to deliver the news about retrenchments or offering support to remaining staff. 

Modern outplacement vendors don’t just support those participating in the outplacement programme. They now work with their clients throughout the project, to minimise the impact on talent retention and attraction, and to protect the corporate brand. 

A key differentiator for outplacement services is how well they can accommodate the diversity within your team. Can they support employees in various jobs, with various skills, various levels of seniority, and with various tenures? 

Your chosen outplacement provider should support every individual employee in whatever kind of work they’re looking for. Whether the participant is in the early stages of their career or a senior executive, the service should be tailored to meet them where they are and support their preferred next steps.

For example, an experienced operations executive will need very different support to a new data input assistant. They’ll both be looking for different types of jobs, and they’ll both have different wants and needs. Outplacement providers need to provide a flexible service that supports each and every participant. 

Outplacement has many benefits for both your staff and your business, but to make the most of those benefits you’ll need to conduct the RFP process thoroughly. By inviting providers to compete for a contract, you’ll be well positioned to choose the best vendor to meet your company’s needs. 

We’ve discussed how to create a RFP, and provided a template for you to use when you’re ready to start working with an outplacement vendor. 

We’ve also seen how modern outplacement provides innovative virtual services that traditional providers just can’t offer. These providers have adapted to changing business priorities and fundamental workplace changes, and can act as your partner throughout the transition. 

Your choice of outplacement provider will be informed by various criteria, including employee experience, availability of virtual tools and services, global support, strategic partnering, results, cost, and more. Together, they build your employer brand, improve morale among retained staff, and support displaced staff in getting back into work sooner. These benefits cascade down from individuals to HR teams and the wider business. 

If you’re ready to start an outplacement programme, Careerminds would love to help. Just click below to download pricing information or click here to arrange a chat.

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.