Outplacement explained
"I'm being made redundant and I've been offered outplacement support . What does that mean?"
- There are a variety of firms, both large and small, providing outplacement services (or 'career transition support' as it is more commonly referred to nowadays) for organisations that are making making employees redundant.
- What they provide, how they provide it, and how long they provide it for, is usually subject to the contract your former employer has struck up with them. The more generous the contract, the more generous the service.
- Sometimes you can choose your own provider but usually you are directed to the company's partner of choice. Many new firms have sprung up or re-branded themselves as career consultants to respond to increased demand in the market, so ask your employer what their actual credentials are if you unsure about what you can expect.
- Essentially, the client company is paying for professional help to get redundant employees back on their feet again as quickly as possible.
- Not all organisations provide this free help. Not all can afford it, as it doesn't come cheaply. It isn't necessarily the case that your erstwhile employer doesn't care about your future well-being, they just may not be able to run to paying the bill for it.
- Some may have other, more colourful, explanations as to why their former bosses aren't helping them in this way, but calling in an outplacement provider when you've called in the receivers, isn't always a viable option.
- Apart from wanting to simply help former employees get back on their feet, another key reason for employers to provide outplacement support is that it has a clear positive impact on the organisation's reputation among remaining employees, the wider community in which it operates, and the job market in general.
Outplacement companies will usually provide a mixture of the following:
- Career counseling, profiling and individual assessments of your potential and key strengths
- Help with writing and producing your CV
- Counseling on issues such as finances, or emotional responses to redundancy
- Help finding a new job, access to job-hunting tools: the internet, recruitment directories, newspapers etc
- Group seminars and workshops on options such as starting your own business
- Help with networking
Anyway, for those of you who didn't get access to a nice outplacement programme and you can't afford to buy the services of a coach by yourself, you can use the resources here on the newlifenetwork.co.uk website free of charge. If redundancy is on the cards, find out if outplacement will be part of your severance package and make good use of it. 'Every little helps' as Tesco would say. Some JobCentrePlus offices are also empowered to refer you to an outplacement provider paid for by the Government but frankly we haven't been able to get any sense out of them as to what the rules are - it's a bit of lottery.
If you want to find your own career coach look in our exclusive directory of specialists here.
Companies can find out more about appointing the right outplacement provider for their staff here.
 |
Contents summary newlifenetwork.co.uk 2009.pdf - 57kb Download this website contents summary |
| Subscribe now - keep up to date by email with the latest career news, events and new site content! |
"Energy and persistence conquer all things." Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790) |