1. Outplacement services help HR and managers during redundancy
Redundancy is a stressful time not only for the employees going through it, but also for your HR team and managers who have to support the process.
Outplacement services include support for both HR and managers in terms of organisation and administration, guidance on processes and someone to talk through any challenges or questions. This is important not just from a practical and business perspective, but also from a wellbeing perspective.
2. Supports effective change management
Outplacement services include an employee engagement survey or alumni survey for departing employees to complete. These surveys provide valuable feedback and insights into your organisation, and help you resolve issues that may come up frequently.
You may also be able to identify changes you need to make that you weren’t previously aware of. Departing employees tend to be very honest with their feedback.
3. Preserves (and even strengthens) your brand and reputation
This may be the most important reason your company should consider outplacement services. Treating exiting employees in a respectful, honest way, doing what you can to help them in their career transition by providing practical resources and supporting their mental wellbeing go a long way to not only creating a smooth process, but ensuring your brand reputation.
This holds particularly true in the case of redundancy. Sometimes, redundancies are just unavoidable, but the way in which you deal with them as a business is in your hands. Choosing to support employees while they’re going through the process will gain your organisation respect and goodwill in a time that could be filled with negative feelings.
And when you have company review sites like Glassdoor, it’s especially important to preserve your reputation as it can mean the difference between being able to recruit high-performing talent - or not - at a later date. The stats back this up - 53% of job hunters look for information about companies, and 74% read four or more reviews of them.
4. Improves retention amongst remaining employees
Likewise, if remaining employees see that you’re supporting and treating exiting employees with respect, they are more likely to be more invested in your organisation. Using outplacement services helps you demonstrate your focus on people and supporting your employees.
Treating exiting employees badly can really negatively affect existing employees, but doing the opposite positions you in a positive way and improves retention amongst those who remain.
5. Helps to increase productivity
Following on from improving retention, corporate outplacement can also boost productivity - both amongst remaining employees and those who might be working their final weeks or months.
Supporting employees through such a difficult time goes a long way towards ensuring employees feel like they want to do the best job possible.
6. Reduces the risk of legal action
Simply by driving positive, healthy relationships in the workplace, outplacement services can reduce the risk of legal action.
After all, if you’re doing everything you can as an employer to support your employees through a difficult period, why would they recourse to or even need to seek legal action or advice, such as for a wrongful dismissal?
7. Supports your corporate values
Many companies have corporate values which focus on their people, and rightly so. Providing outplacement services to exiting employees supports these values and shows that you live and breathe them and they’re not just words. Upholding your values in this way also shows that you’ll do so in other areas, too.
Additionally, candidates select companies that do what they say, that take action rather than just talking the talk, and that look after their employees at all stages of their career. Offering outplacement service is not only the right thing to do, it also delivers additional benefits, such as brand efficacy and engagement of those leaving as well as those remaining. If you want to stand out as an employer of choice, you need to make sure you look after the employees who have served you well.
Tailored outplacement services from back office to board level
At Hanover, we offer outplacement services that meet your specific needs.
We can run workshops write impactful personal branding documents and memorable LinkedIn profiles, and we can also coach your employees to prepare for interviews, as well as provide advice on transitioning to a new role or sector.
If your organisation is anticipating redundancies, find out more about the outplacement support we offer. You can also call us on +44 (0)20 7100 6656 or email the Hanover Outplacement Solutions team for a confidential discussion about what we can do to support you.
