How outplacement helps maintain your reputation and brand

Redundancy is an incredibly stressful time for an employee. Finding out that you no longer have a job can unleash a flood of negative emotions, from anger and sadness to betrayal, anxiety, and despair. You’ll probably be worried about your future, your family, and your finances. If your employer isn’t supportive, or the process is poorly handled, those negative feelings will be amplified. 

Employees benefit from outplacement services because they’re supported in finding a new, meaningful role as quickly as possible. That helps them to overcome their negative feelings and practical concerns. But why would an employer provide that service? What are the advantages of outplacement for your employer brand? In fact, there are many reasons your company can benefit from such a service.

In addition to advising on the planning and preparation for a workforce reduction, a good outplacement provider will also help maintain your reputation and brand. In this article, we’ll explore the advantages of outplacement in reputation management during a redundancy or retrenchment exercise. 

Protecting your public reputation with outplacement 

As we said, layoffs can foster distrust and bad feeling across your business. Even retained employees feel the ripples as the news spreads. By showing both impacted and retained employees that you’re willing to support them in adverse situations, you’ll preserve some of the trust you’d otherwise lose. And if you add a strong severance agreement to this package, you’re going even further by easing the financial burden and offering a pathway back to employment. 

Creating goodwill among your staff at a difficult time will help to protect the company’s reputation online. Your future employees will most likely do their research on sites such as Glassdoor or LinkedIn, so maintaining a positive presence there will support future talent attraction and boost your brand reputation as an employer of choice. You’ll also maintain your reputation and brand locally, as word of the layoffs spreads. 

Protecting your internal reputation with outplacement 

In the wake of a layoff announcement, retained employees are likely to be left questioning whether they’re next, or whether the company is going under. It’s only natural that they’re uncertain about the future, but you can mitigate the negative impact of that uncertainty. 

By providing outplacement services, they’ll know that they’re in safe hands and that any future transition will be supported. You’ll be showing that you value your employees as people, rather than just numbers. Providing a bespoke service to make the transition as seamless as possible for departing staff proves you care. 

In this way, outplacement can maintain your reputation and brand internally. That, in turn, will leave you free to make those tough business decisions and move the business forward without having to worry about crisis management among retained staff. You’ll already have their trust and faith. 

Creating a brand that puts people first with outplacement 

Many businesses think that outplacement should only be kicked off when a workforce reduction takes place, but that’s simply not the case. We know from experience that a financial downturn or market adjustment can come out of the blue, leaving people unemployed and reeling in its wake. 

Therefore, rather than viewing outplacement as a worst-case insurance policy, look at it as an investment in the future success of the business and its employees. Partnering with an outplacement provider before a downsizing event – such as Careerminds, who don’t charge a retainer fee – can be viewed as another HR benefit. It’s there ready and waiting, should the worst happen, and can be presented as a benefit during employee onboarding. As many employees have never heard of outplacement, this can be a clear differentiator for your company brand, positioning you as a people-first business. 

Final thoughts on how outplacement helps maintain your reputation and brand

To summarise, partnering with an outplacement service can help to maintain your reputation and brand both internally and externally. It provides staff with the support and resources they need to exit the business smoothly, with as little stress and anxiety as possible.

• Internally, outplacement can be framed as an employee benefit, there to protect staff should the unthinkable happen
• Externally, outplacement can minimise negativity from impacted staff who may otherwise damage the company’s reputation online

As workers seek to find employers who align with their personal values and put their staff first, outplacement can help you to recruit and retain talent that may otherwise be lost to competitors. Companies with old-fashioned perspectives on off-boarding are likely to suffer as workers become more empowered to choose who they work for.

If you have a need to retain an outplacement service provider, look no further than Careerminds. We’re here for you. Have a chat with one of our experts to find out more.

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.