FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is Outplacement?
From the employer perspective, Outplacement provides structure and process to the termination process.
It is a strategically gracious way of removing a terminated employee and ensuring the employee manages their new-found freedom in a positive manner.
From the employee perspective, Outplacement is a strategic and systematic approach to their job search which will generally yield a more satisfying job than the one they left.
Who receives Outplacement support?
Executive and managers are the usual recipients: Executives, because they know how to negotiate a severance package and managers, because someone else (the HR professional) is knowledgeable about severance packages.
EVEYONE in a job transition needs outplacement support!
No matter what level of employment, people weren’t born knowing how to job search. The methods are instinctive but the techniques are not. The curriculum is extensive and distilled down from hundreds of thousands of successful job searches.
A flawed idea says, “Only the GOOD employee gets Outplacement and the BAD employee doesn’t receive Outplacement”. The employer benefits when they provide outplacement to either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ employee: Getting the BAD employee out the door and moved on quickly. If they were a problem when they worked there, they will probably be more of a problem if you fire them.
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Why use Outplacement?
Outplacement is kind. It is the right thing to do from a humanitarian stand point. When someone loses their job they lose their self worth, their physical schedule, friends, purpose. They walk out your door into nothing.
Outplacement gives them something to walk into, providing guidance, direction, skills, and social network.
Outplacement repairs self-esteem and makes whole what the job loss subtracts.
Knowing you are passing your employee on to a competent, caring professional helps terminating managers feel a little better. Knowing they can check on that employee from time to time helps, too.
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ROI: How do I justify the expense?
Outplacement creates good will for remaining employees to maintain productivity and morale.
It reduces the possibility of workplace violence. Robert Conte mentions in his book “They Never Saw It Coming” that outplacement was “a luxury in the employment process that has now become a necessity for employer and employee. It reduces the stress of termination and therefore minimizes violent reactions.
Outplacement reduces possibility of retaliation litigation. Of the hundreds of job search candidates I’ve assisted, to my knowledge, only one of my outplacement candidates decided to sue their former employer.
Even if a law suit is completely unfounded it could cost the company $100,000+ to defend itself. Outplacement, done properly, keeps people focused forward, processing positive thoughts, and occupies their time so they are too busy to sue.
Used to its fullest potential, Outplacement reduces HR time investment in the planning stage, the actual termination process, and the messy follow-up.
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How does Outplacement work?
Outplacement works most effectively when
1. The employer contacts the outplacement consultant in the termination planning stage;
2. Outplacement begins immediately at the time of termination. The Outplacement consultant is on-site and meets the terminated employee right after the termination meeting. The employee can be taken immediately to Outplacement office.
3. The candidate will have a safer drive home and you know where they are going to be! The candidate will already know what they are going to tell their significant other and what they are doing the next day. They have assignments to keep them busy until then.
4. The candidate will have already bonded with the Outplacement consultant and will be more likely to use services.
The employer will receive a communication and an invoice from the Outplacement consultant when the person officially begins the program. The sponsoring employer can request regular updates generally limited to candidate status. And, when the candidate places, the employer will be notified.
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How do you choose an Outplacement firm?
Outplacement is offered by two types of firms, Regional firms and National firms.
Regional firms offer the same curriculum as national chains but they provide more personalized “high-touch” attention.
Most candidates do not wish to relocate and regional firms offer specific knowledge of the area business and contacts, decreasing the possibility of relocation.
Regional firms provide easy access for the candidate and more service for the employer.
Regional firms provide more flexibility and an entrepreneurial approach to service because, the seasoned business executive who runs the business is usually the same person who delivers service or closely oversees service delivery.
National firms have offices located in large metroplex which can complicate access to employers and for the outplacement candidate. Service delivery to areas outside the metroplex is sometimes sub-contracted to regional firms.
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With national firms, service is usually provided via telephone and internet by junior professionals.
How do you choose an effective Outplacement consultant?
An effective Outplacement consultant should possess the following skills and knowledge:
Solid counseling and writing skills
Knowledge of termination laws
Training skills in communication and salesmanship
Marketing and planning skills
Expert in the job search process
Business world knowledge
Knowledge of group dynamics, time management, and resources
An effective Outplacement consultant should be a model of good interpersonal skills with a patient, task-oriented, non-judgmental personality.
Their education should be in Counseling or Business and they should present a fit physical condition and professional appearance.
Their work experience should be seasoned for credibility and competence.
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What is Executive Coaching?
Executive Coaching is a measurable way to increase productivity and organizational effectiveness. It uses a process whereby an experienced professional, usually from outside the coaching recipient’s company, helps identify necessary behavioral changes. After the assessment, the coach works, over significant time increments and using a variety of tools, to effect desirable changes in the coachee’s behavior.
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How do I pick an Executive Coach?
Executive Coaches have unique skills that include:
High intuition
High-speed thinking combined with thoughtful consideration and clear communication
Instinctive knowledge of cross-pollination of industries and functions
Multicultural knowledge
Out of the box thinking with the ability to translate into implementation
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Which employees receive Executive Coaching?
Most Executive Coaching is provided for leaders and managers, high-potential employees, and valuable fix-its.
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How do I justify Executive Coaching, which is now held to standards required for most business investments?
Your coach can provide an ROI (return on investments) formula based on tangible targets and specific goals with deadlines. Executive Coaching is key because it creates efficiency and reduces waste.
Coaching is increasingly being used to ease transition adjustments in situations such as mergers and acquisitions, moving into another business within the same company, or moving into a higher-level position.
Executive Coaching is now a sought-after developmental tool, often initiated by individuals. Executives and management coaching continues to thrive through poor economy and downsizings.
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How does Executive Coaching work?
Contact a coach! The objective and unbiased view is essential. Einstein said that you ‘…cannot correct a problem using the same kind of insanity that created it’.
The coach will conduct a basic analysis and submit a proposal containing goals, reporting expectations, time line estimates usually not less than 6 months, and methods and costs.
The Executive Coach will use a variety of tools to collect information and conduct detailed assessments then use a variety of techniques to set and meet mutually agreed upon goals.
The Executive Coaching will follow up periodically to assess end result.
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