Last week, we invited experts from our shareholder companies to join a discussion on outplacement. What it is, the benefits and how to choose a great provider. With a pan-European panel, including France, Germany, Belgium, Swizerland and the UK, we had a broad range of perspectives represented. And while there are many differences between these great countries, the reputation of outplacement does not seem to be one of them.
Read on to discover what our experts had to say or watch the session for yourself.
What is outplacement and where has the negative reputation come from?
Outplacement. The word already sets you up to think negatively. You are ‘out’. You’re going to be ‘placed’ somewhere. No control and no ownership for your carefully crafted career.
Laurence Ranchon, executive coach at Alixio Activ comments “I think the bad reputation can be linked with the fact we are thinking about going ‘out’ of something. We should think about going ‘in’ something new – in a new company, in a new position.”
Hilde De Brauw, brand manager at Travvant adds, “The mere fact that someone will ‘place’ you is a bit annoying. They’re not sure what they’re going to get and what they do get is totally different from what is in their heads.”
On the face of it, the industry is about building relationships, networking and helping people launch new careers, but the reduction of one-on-one coaching for technology-driven solutions has diluted its value, which in turn makes the service seem less personal and impactful.
“We, as an industry, ought to take the blame for this because ultimately outplacement is about helping people make successful creative transitions,” says Michael Moran, CEO of 10Eighty. “I think that’s as a direct result of reducing the amount of 1-2-1 coaching.”
Building a competitive edge
As competition in the job market increases, it’s easy to see what benefits an outplacement career coach can bring. A good one will help you focus on developing the skills necessary to enhance employability, not just for today, but for years to come.
“While outplacement in the early days was a mere service to help employees resurface and help employers manage a process which obviously has some negative aspects to it, I think it has developed into a skills building process,” said Carsten Sudhoff, director at von Rundstedt Switzerland. “The competition has increased. Companies are choosier. There’s more technology involved. It’s a question of gamification. If one person starts to be supported in the professional job search, he or she increases the barriers to entry for other people.
“While previously you might not have thought about outplacement as being a service for you, you realise that your friend, your neighbour, your husband, your wife or somebody else has benefited. It has a very strong impact on talent and on talent development, ultimately.”
Moran agrees. “In an era where we’re seeing the impact of AI, having transferable skills is really, really important.
“Working with individuals, not just from the point of view of the outplacement programme today, but getting them to think about what skills, knowledge and expertise they need to develop over the next five to 10 years to ensure that the marketplace wants to buy those skills. And that’s really at the heart of what a career coach does.”
Approached with the right mentality, it can be a really empowering, proactive process. Ranchon added, “The point is really for people to be the actor of the next part of their career. They will have to think what is the best place for them and what is the best position. This is really a change of mindset.”
And the benefits for talents don’t stop with successfully landing a new role.
Sudhoff explains, “The competencies that the talents learn in the process can be used for a lot of other things. Salary negotiations, applying for certain promotions, or for jobs leading a project. Because suddenly in this placement process you begin to reflect on your abilities and on your successes and you can use those to better position yourself going forward in future roles.”
Brand reputation, skills mapping and developing agility
When choosing an outplacement partner, you need to consider your brand reputation. Companies often talk about mental health, flexible working, volunteer days – building a reputation that says they care about their employees and their wellbeing. How these companies handle redundancies is another way to measure this.
Moran says, “The way companies handle outgoing employees will tell you very clearly – ‘does this organisation care for me?’”
“Companies can only know their people will be taken care of if they know that the provider cares, too. Every talents’ story is unique; they should really be people focused,” added De Brauw.
Another consideration is the ability for the partner to contribute before the outplacement piece even starts. For the organisation, the value starts before this step. A good partner can help identify upskill or reskill opportunities and assist your organisation in mapping out the people that will be transitioning or redeploying internally.
Christian Summa, managing director of von Rundstedt says, “We have more and more customers who are afraid that in a separation process, the wrong people leave the company. So, it’s not that people leave your company, but that the right people stay, and the right people leave. And this is what customers ask us for – can you help us identify this, with competency or skills metrics and so on, before we start this process.
“It then becomes more and more complex. They also want to respect their company values, their culture and the local values. So, a global partner needs local knowledge of labour laws, of values and cultural aspects as well.”
Moran says it’s about developing agility. “Work with a provider that helps you identify the talents you’ve got and how you can create that agility to move from A to B quickly because that’s what defines a successful organisation. If you’re looking for a provider, you’re not just wanting someone who can look after the people leaving, you’re looking for a provider that can help affect that change. At GTH that’s what we’re good at.”
