When is Outplacement Used?

What circumstances would outplacement be useful in?

In today's business climate, changes such as acquisitions, mergers, streamlining, change of location and shutdowns occur in organisations rapidly, forcing you to deal with difficult situations such as redeployments and redundancies.

Redundancies

Whether it is due to the closure of a factory, the result of a merger or simply relocating a site to a different part of the country, employees will be at risk of being made redundant. When employees are faced with a decision that was made for them, providing support with practical issues such as dealing with the job market, retraining, retirement or financial planning is not only appreciated but often increases morale and maintains high productivity rates through a difficult time.

Mergers/Acquisitions

Most mergers and acquisitions involve streamlining of services and reorganisation which may or may not involve making redundancies. Even if no redundancies are made, the strain on employees is often marked by a dip in morale and productivity - some people are moved to positions they do not wish to hold and the organisation's culture often changes.

By bringing in some of the elements of outplacement, such as career counselling, behaviour profiling, confidence building and change management, you can help your employees cope with the changes better and maximise their opportunities under the new, expanded company.

Change

Reorganisations, regardless of what causes them, mark a difficult time not only for employees but also for their managers. Learning to assess new career paths and seeking out opportunities in what can essentially can be a brand new company will increase the confidence of your staff in the business.