What is outplacement and why does it matter?

Even the most experienced HR professional can find redundancy and retrenchment processes challenging. Headcount reductions are extraordinarily stressful for everyone – businesses, HR teams, and of course, the impacted employees. Such transitions can cause feelings of anxiety, rejection, and uncertainty. 

Luckily, outplacement services can make a difficult situation much easier for both the company and its affected staff. But what is outplacement, exactly, and how can it help you to smooth the path for everyone involved? 

This article will explore what outplacement is, why you might need it, and why it’s important. We’ll also investigate key features of outplacement services, to ensure you choose the right partner for your business. 

Outplacement services are engaged by companies to help their redundant employees transition into new, meaningful work in another organisation. 

Outplacement minimises the stress that employees feel on losing their job, while providing the support and tools they need to move quickly into a new role. This support enables them to find a job sooner than they would have done if they’d hit the job market alone, and sets them up for success during a distressing time. 

Many businesses opt to include outplacement services as part of their severance package during a headcount reduction. This way, they can protect their hard-won reputation and brand image – which is easily lost if employees choose to vent their frustration on LinkedIn or Glassdoor. It also shows that they are committed to their staff, and put welfare and values first, ensuring they remain legally compliant during a period of change. 

There is a huge range of outplacement providers, from small, independent businesses to large, multinational firms. The ideal provider is small enough to work flexibly with you and provide an individualised service, whilst being large enough to handle a significant volume of employees. When you’re choosing an outplacement provider, aim for the best of both worlds. 

Let’s explore the situations when companies might choose to offer outplacement to its workforce. 

Businesses usually engage outplacement partners if they foresee a need to reduce their headcount. This may happen for any number of reasons, including: 

• Business restructures
• Downsizing
• Cost reduction
• Site closures or relocations
• Underperformance (by the business or specific employees)
• Merger or acquisition
• Change of strategy 
• Wider economic fluctuations

Any of these could lead a business to consider working with an outplacement service provider to support impacted members of staff. 

As mentioned above, outplacement providers come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have the same goal in mind. That is transitioning your affected employees into new positions as soon as possible. But, just as outplacement providers come in different sizes, they also come with different offerings. The services, tools, and approaches can vary wildly from one provider to another. 

The most successful outplacement programmes use technology to deliver services any time, any place, anywhere. They couple this with a person-centred approach, involving bespoke career coaching, job search advice, and support. With this three-pronged approach, employees can make sure they leave no stone unturned when exploring options and applying for roles. 

Let’s dive into some of the most common services that outplacement providers offer. 

This is the cornerstone of outplacement services. Displaced employees are allocated to an expert careers coach at the beginning of the process. The coach will usually work with the individual to identify their strengths and weaknesses, write a high-impact CV, create an optimised LinkedIn profile, prepare for interviews, and scour job adverts. Together, these steps set the applicant on the road to a new position. 

Traditionally, outplacement coaching involved attending group webinars or visiting an office in person. These days, modern providers have streamlined the process. Any outplacement service worth engaging will leverage modern technology to enable participants to access their coaching services at any time, from anywhere in the world. They’ll also provide one-to-one coaching, rather than group sessions, and an option for either in-person or virtual meetings. Virtual meetings are by far the most popular, due to their convenience. 

When choosing your outplacement provider, look for one with flexible coaches. They should be able to adapt to the needs, preferences, and objectives of individual job seekers, whether they’re a senior executive or an entry-level worker. They’ll also keep them on track with their career choices and applications, acting as their expert guide to the job market.

Career coaches are at the heart of outplacement services, providing an individual, human touch. That’s not the be-all and end-all, though. Modern outplacement providers also offer access to career development resources in the shape of online training, tools, articles, webinars, and more. These allow the job seeker to do their own research, in their own time, and build their skills, knowledge, and market-readiness. Outplacement driven by the latest technology fits flexibly around your employees’ needs and priorities, getting them job-hunt ready, sooner. 

Choosing a modern, technologically aware outplacement provider is non-negotiable. Jobs are no longer found by knocking on doors and handing out paper CVs. Familiarity with online tools is a must. Whether your employee needs help with optimising their CV for applicant tracking systems, navigating job boards, or understanding LinkedIn, your provider should be able to support them through that. In a challenging job market, they need to know how to make themselves stand out from the online crowd. 

By combining human and technological support, your impacted employees will be equipped to find a meaningful new job, quickly. That won’t just ease their stress, it will also protect your company reputation. 

When responding to the question “what is outplacement?”, we also need to examine key features to consider when choosing your partner. While the ultimate aim is to get your employees successfully established in new roles, the mechanics of how this is achieved differs between providers. 

Let’s identify the key features to look for when choosing the best outplacement provider for your needs. 

Ideally, your outplacement provider won’t impose term limits. Some outplacement providers only work with participants for a set period of time, with support and services finishing at the end of the agreed timeframe. Unplaced employees then need to navigate their job search alone and unsupported. 

That should be a huge red flag. Outplacement providers that impose time limits on their provision obviously don’t have the needs of the participant at the centre, as they can leave them unsupported at the most uncertain and stressful time of their career. 

At Careerminds, we don’t impose term limits. Our services are available “until placement”. That means we’ll support every participant until they are placed in a new job that aligns with their needs and expectations. We work flexibly, providing unlimited support whatever the individual’s job title, seniority, or career objectives. We believe outplacement services should last until placement, and that’s exactly what we offer. We have faith in our service, and have the stats to prove that it works. 

Outplacement providers that charge retainer fees can take your money without providing much service. It works for them, but it’s another red flag for you. While it may sound appealing to have a provider on stand-by, it usually comes at a significant cost – and you may ultimately not need them. 

Your outplacement provider should be a strategic partner to your company, with support for your business and its employees at its core. At Careerminds, we never charge a retainer fee. We understand the importance of our service, and value the strong relationships we have with our customers. We don’t want retainer fees to get in the way of that. 

Outplacement services need to evolve to keep pace with constantly-changing technological advances. This ensures their provision is always accessible, user friendly, and up-to-date. It’s another red flag if your provider doesn’t understand the modern job market or the technology required to navigate it. 

At Careerminds, we offer virtual outplacement solutions, including online coaching, eLearning courses, professional networking, and web-based job-search tools. We also support your staff in developing the technological skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace. 

With technology comes flexibility. No two careers are alike, so your outplacement provider should be able to tailor their outplacement process to meet the requirements of individuals, in terms of needs, goals, seniority, location, and personal circumstances. 

At Careerminds, we don’t just want to place your employees in the first job that comes along – we care enough to support them until they land a job they want, they care about, and they find meaningful. 

A key consideration when choosing an outplacement provider is the quality of their career coaching. Do they offer experienced coaches? Do they offer one-to-one coaching, or are group sessions the only option? Can they handle participants in different roles, with different levels of seniority? Are coaches matched carefully to participants?

At Careerminds, we’re proud of our coaching team, and will ensure that participants of all levels work with experienced, dedicated coaches on a one-to-one basis. 

Is your chosen outplacement provider embedded in the careers and HR sector? Outplacement focuses on getting your impacted employees back to work, but should also have the industry insight to be recognised as thought leaders in the HR space. If they’re up-to-date with trends and market data, they’ll be able to provide you with valuable expertise and advise on any issues that you face during complex career transition projects. 

With connections across the HR field, Careerminds can provide the industry knowledge you need to fulfil your employer obligations, and steer a path through headcount reductions as smoothly as possible. 

Our CEO, Raymond Lee, explains new concepts in HR, as an example of current thought leadership, in this video.

The end goal is to find an outplacement provider that can be a strategic partner for your business. So it’s important to consider all of these criteria from the beginning of your search–or evaluate your current provider if you already have one–and then continue to reevaluate them as your partnership progresses. You need to ensure that as the job market changes, your outplacement provider changes along with it to stay on the cutting-edge of technology and trends, maintain flexibility and transparency with you as a true partner for your business, and assure you that your employees are in good hands.

The final element you need to find the best outplacement firm for your organization is the demonstration of their results. This includes assessing their past case studies, reviews, and engagement rates. It also means ensuring their outplacement services include transparent participant data, surveys, and results that you can review throughout the program to monitor their progress. This will help you see just how effective the outplacement is–or could be–for your staff and business, so you can make the right decision and measure the return on your investment.

In summary, outplacement is a great way to get your employees back to work after a RIF or layoff. The best outplacement firms should have a proven path to help make this happen, by utilizing flexible career coaching alongside digital platforms to ensure your outgoing employees have all of the tools they need–wherever they are and at any time they want–to find a new, fulfilling job at another company.

The best outplacement company will act as a strategic partner to your business. This isn’t just something to look out for as you choose your provider, but something to continually evaluate throughout their tenure. As the job market and technology changes, your outplacement supplier should change and adapt with them.

Careerminds takes pride in staying ahead of current trends and cutting-edge technology. Our reporting ensures that we provide true transparency and act as a genuine partner for your HR team.

Naturally, all this is in vain if you don’t achieve the results you’re looking for. The best way to predict the success of your outplacement programme is to look at the results your provider has delivered in the past. That could include engagement rates and placement rates, as well as less quantifiable data such as reviews and case studies. 

At Careerminds, we can provide transparent participant data and offer real-time results that you can assess through the lifetime of the programme. That helps you to monitor participant success and return on investment. Our proven results show how effective our programme could be for your displaced staff and your business, giving you confidence in your decision to choose us.  

We’ve answered the question “what is outplacement?” and given some advice on what to look for in a worthwhile outplacement provider. To summarise, outplacement is a proven way to help employees impacted by workforce reductions by supporting them back into work. It uses bespoke career coaching, along with the latest technology, to equip individuals with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed.

When it comes down to it, outplacement services can take some of the stress out of a highly-charged situation. Make sure you choose a provider that: 

• Uses modern technology to support a person-centred approach 
• Is a thought leader in the HR space 
• Acts as a strategic partner to your business

While there are clear advantages to your company in engaging an outplacement provider, it’s your employees who are at the centre of the partnership. It’s about putting your people first – even as they leave the business. That’s the Careerminds philosophy. 

If you’d like to find out more about what outplacement is and how we work at Careerminds, we’re ready to chat. We’re committed to supporting your company when it comes to supporting your employees. 

Click below to schedule a conversation with one of our experts, to decide whether Careerminds is the right partner for your business. 

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.