No one wants to deal with an unexpected layoff or the sudden need to find another job. It can be demoralizing, unpleasant, and cause a great deal of uncertainty. Layoffs take a psychological toll on the employee. It can lead to sleepless nights, high levels of anxiety, and depression. That’s why it’s in everyone’s best interest for the employer to offer outplacement services. Luckily, many employers already do make outplacement services available to ease the transition into a new career. If you don’t already, here’s how an outplacement company can help affected employees at your organization find (and succeed) in their potential new jobs.
Outplacement Defined
Outplacement is a transitional service that some employers make available to former staff and employees who’ve been affected by layoffs. Outplacement services help those seeking new employment following a layoff or unexpected termination. They can be useful to help candidates change careers and teach them new skills/knowledge associated with their industry for the purpose of helping them re-enter the workforce. Outplacement is intended to ease the transition from one job to another through advice, counseling, resume services, access to job boards, and other resources. Unfortunately, downsizing and redundancies happen from time to time, so using outplacement services for downsized employees offers a way to prepare them for a new job or career following the often stressful time period following a layoff.
Finding An Outplacement Company Is Simple
Finding an outplacement service can be a source of confusion for an employee who’s just gone through the turmoil of a layoff. To better help the employee prepare for their next job, it’s prudent to provide an outplacement service for them. Look for modern outplacement services that adapt to how we run businesses today and have a track record of actually helping displaced employees find new careers fast. A good outplacement service will utilize a combination of modern technology and human resources to help people find the jobs that suit them best. It’s always best to seek a service that aligns with your company’s values and offer flexible services tailored to your former employee’s needs.
Improved Morale
Whenever there’s a round of layoffs or positions are made redundant, the situation can generate strain and stress among remaining staff, in addition to the affected employees. Outplacement helps employees find new work while guarding employers against potential legal action or decreased employee morale among remaining staff. As part of a severance package or otherwise, outplacement is a positive force among a troubling time. In addition to creating a good severance package for a departing employee, providing them with an outplacement service is key to maintaining positive morale among your current staff and helping the former employee transition to a new job. If an employee is leaving the organization on negative terms, that could negatively impact your reputation. The jaded former employee is more likely to slam the company’s reputation on online communities (including Glassdoor) and advise others not to join your company. A bad reputation is not good for any organization. Furthermore, layoffs and redundancies upset remaining staff and increase anxiety levels. Your staff might wonder who’s next or begin showing apathy toward your company—especially if your company merely sent the laid-off employees on their way without a possible safety net. Worse, current staff might begin jumping ship due to perceived negative culture and poor off-boarding practices. This is where providing the outplacement service can help safeguard your reputation and increase the morale among your staff. It shows you care about what happens to your staff after they’ve completed the off-boarding process and helps bolster your company’s reputation while taking care of your former employees and their futures. Outplacement can help reduce potential litigation as well as showing you care.
Better, Personalized Resumes For Former Staff
Writing a resume isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, but re-writing and redoing yours for the modern job market is even more challenging today. Writing a resume that’ll pass applicant tracking systems—an automated system that sorts resumes to filter out unqualified applicants—is a challenge. On the surface, an ATS seems like a good idea to make a recruiter’s job easier, but it does make having your resume seen more difficult. As part of the career coaching of an outplacement service, former employees have access to professional resumes and job coaches who can help them tailor their resume to the job they’re seeking. In this manner, it’s easier to get a new job in the same industry/field thanks to extensive coaching, polishing, and re-building a resume.
Rapid Transition Into A New Job
Outplacement provides career coaching that’s personalized for every person. With career coaching, the outplacement company helps job seekers polish their interview skills, teach them new skills that can land them another job in their field, get access to exclusive jobs boards/job postings, and prepare for the transition into a new role. Getting an interview and interviewing online is another key aspect of this, making everything much simpler for the affected employee. If the outplacement service is modern and uses technology, the employee can interact with their career coach from the comfort of their own home, ultimately making it even easier to get a new job without the hassle of worrying about traveling to another location. Outplacement is a useful tool for displaced employees and ensuring it’s available to them is the best way forward for any organization when the unfortunate event of a force reduction occurs.
