Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of employee separation has skyrocketed, necessitating employee outplacement now more than ever. Other than the COVID-19 effects, other variables have played a big part in workplace disruption. Technological improvement, which includes machine learning, robotics, the internet of things, cloud computing, next-generation storage, and automation, has necessitated the reduction of employees. Due to these disruptive and innovative forces, organizations will be compelled to undertake downsizing, redundancies, and layouts to be profitable and productive.
The Role of Outplacement Programs for Employee Separations
When that time comes, what is the best practice for conducting those separations? There are legal ways of conducting redundancies. However, employment law provides the minimum conditions for employee separation. Employee separation is one of the hardest assignments that organizations can undertake. There are many best practices that forward-looking organizations deploy. One of these practices is outplacement assistance programs.
What is employee outplacement?
Employee outplacement refers to employer-initiated services provided to employees who have been terminated through no fault of their own. It is the coaching of employees who have been declared redundant. These programs aim to support terminated employees in transitioning to new employment opportunities. The end goal of outplacement activities is to help former employees start a new journey outside their former workplace by providing various forms of assistance and guidance.
What Services Should Every Outplacement Program Include?
Here are the key components of a successful employee outplacement program:
- Resume Revamping
- Financial Literacy
- Personal Branding
- Technical Competency
- Business Management
- Life Skills
Let us explore how each component is vital in helping terminated employees navigate their career transitions effectively after separation.
Resume revamping.
One of the outplacement services is resume revamping. This simply means updating one’s CV so that it reflects current career realities and future prospects.
This includes correction of grammatical mistakes, managing expectations, research, customization, attention-grabbing and capturing the hirers' interest by being honest, concise, accurate and factual so as to increase one’s employability.
It means adding more information, deleting irrelevant experiences, change of layout, increasing accuracy, and adding skills, employment, experience and education history.
Financial literacy
At the time of separation, there is severance pay which may be a lump sum. This windfall may create challenges for some employees who have never handled astronomical amounts of cash. This is where financial empowerment becomes a necessary expertise for terminated employees.
Financial literacy goes into inculcating rational expenditure, prudent budgeting, saving, investment and credit management. This can be done through reading financially driven books, listening to money-oriented podcasts and other financial seminars, webinars and workshops. Well-managed severance pay and gratuity pay can be used in starting businesses. There are entrepreneurship traits and strategies that the former partners can be coached and mentored so that they find a footing in generating income.
Personal branding
Personal brand development is another dexterity that is taught during outplacement programs. This is where branding specialists assist former employees in packaging themselves for attractive opportunities. It includes developing a productive focus, telling a positive story of oneself consistently, leveraging on one’s core competencies and increasing trust. Preparing for interviews means that the former employees are coached on the strategies for elevating their chances of nailing jobs.
These include how marks are awarded, thoroughly reading the job description and specification, reading generic questions, understanding interview methodologies, knowing psychometric tests and internalizing the nuts and bolts of one's CV. It has been argued that networking can determine one’s success in various areas of life. The outplacement trainers take the former employees through networking skills like an excellent passage of information, empathy, professionalism, use of contacts, creating symbiotic relationships and positivity.
Technical competency
Soft and technical competency assessments are one of the paramount keys to scooping the next job. This is where career coaches and mentors use various models in order to know the strengths and weaknesses of the terminated employees.
There are essential aptitudes and achievements that prospective employers scout for. The trainers help the clients in self-discovery. The trainees also are taken through navigating countless job boards. Some of the effects of job loss include financial nosedive, stress, anxiety, fear, irritability and relationship turmoil. This is where counseling services come in handy. The counselors can share principles and strategies for coping with the unbearable effects of job losses.
Business management
Business management skills stretched into teamwork, transformational leadership, result-oriented communication, active listening, customer delight, financial freedom, analytical and problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, strategic thinking and planning skills.
This may also constitute entrepreneur theories that promote success like opportunity-based theory, resourced-based entrepreneurship theory, innovation entrepreneurship theory, economic entrepreneurship theory, sociological entrepreneurship theory and psychological entrepreneurship theory.
Life skills
Life skills help people function at their highest potential. They comprise problem-solving, critical thinking, creative aptitudes, communication skills, decision-making, positive interpersonal relationship skills, self-awareness building skills, empathy and coping with stress skills, managing time, ability to make productive decisions, money management, basic budgeting, the importance of the environmental preservation, resilience and adaptability to fluid situations.
Outplacement benefits
The merits of outplacement learning include morale boosting for internal and external stakeholders. Well-crafted and executed outplacement actions can mitigate risks of litigation costs that may stem from poorly managed termination procedures. Outplacement services can help boost an organization's reputation. This can help promote that company’s positive image. Which in turn can lead to attracting and retaining both internal and external customers. Former employees are the best brand ambassadors.
Richard J. Magoma
Senior HR Professional - ElevateHR Community