News & Views
OUTPLACEMENT - SO NO-ONE IS LEFT BEHIND:
Thankfully HR practices have moved on since past recessions and the management of redundancies and restructures now aims to protect employees and ensure a consultative and fair process for affected individuals. Despite this, several in-house Human Resource teams have never faced this scenario on a large scale and are unfamiliar with the theory and practice behind effective outplacement. There is no “one size fits all approach” however, offering professional, confidential and impartial third party assistance has several benefits for all concerned.
In broad terms, outplacement involves assisting affected employees to come to terms with their change in circumstances and find a positive way forward. This may include counselling to assist the affected employee cope with the emotions they are experiencing and also to help them communicate their situation to family and friends.
On the practical side, outplacement assists in preparing the individual for the job market. This involves walking them through the likely job search and introducing them to any new recruitment techniques with which they may not be familiar with. Experienced outplacement consultants will build a career map for the individual taking into consideration any development gaps they may need to fill to reach their employment goals. Resume building and interview coaching is also a valuable part of the process, especially for candidates who have not had to search for a new job in quite some time.
Aside from the obvious benefits for the affected employee, it is also necessary for organisations to consider the impact of a restructure on those left behind. There is often guilt, anger or a sense of unfairness associated with what has happened to colleagues, and this can have several negative knock-on effects within the team and wider company. Ensuring all affected team members are offered a tailor-made outplacement programme can alleviate this negative consequence and do much to protect the company culture during a difficult period.
In addition to doing the right thing by employees, companies need to protect themselves from legal risk. Managing a restructure to the letter of the law through utilising the skills of trained professionals is the only way risk to the business can be effectively minimised.
It is important to acknowledge that during restructures companies often need to let go of employees they would never otherwise chose to lose. There will be employees made redundant who the company may wish to rehire if times become more buoyant. Looking after these people now will result in a positive reception should this become an option. New Zealand is a relatively small employment market and news travels fast! Reputations are made and broken in times like this. Looking after people to the best of your company’s ability will have positive benefits on your employment brand in the long-term and will increase your chances of attracting talent back into your business when the economy improves.