All the organisations to whom I speak are reviewing how to make the most of their outplacement budgets or trying to find some budget for outplacement from somewhere. No organisation wants to withdraw the support and some want to introduce it for the first time. At the same time, HR is under heavy pressure to make cuts and avoid any expenditure which could be viewed as optional to the continuation of their businesses; in particular during the difficult economic situation. Any investment in outplacement must deliver support of clear and practical value to affected staff but at smallest cost.
A recent survey of organisations by HDA showed that the majority polled believed that providing an outplacement programme made it much easier for their employees to absorb the news of redundancy and move to the next stage of looking at what they are going to do next.
Whether you are planning for changes or just want to be prepared, HR needs to look at what can be provided when budgets are limited and a strong business case for outplacement at all levels is required by the business.
There is a traditional view that outplacement programmes cost a lot and only have value when they are delivered face to face. In these difficult economic times this view needs updating.
HDA can deliver a lot of high quality career transition support for little expenditure over an extended time period. All that is needed is an investment in time to talk to HDA and get the programme planned to meet the situation.
HDA has built on its 30 years of success as a one-to-one / face-to-face outplacement provider by taking advantage of technological advances, and investing heavily in online support resources and highly experienced career consultants (who are also ex HR Directors), and who work online and over the telephone on a one-to-one basis. Our online/telephone service works as with a face-to-face service, but with significant savings generated by the remote/online format. Given the economies generated by the remote/online format, we are able to provide ongoing support to people transitioning their careers over a much longer period, supporting the need for a high quality service at lower cost.
It is the extended time period that gives great comfort to the employee who fears another role will not be found quickly and the HR and line manager who wants to know their employee is well looked after, despite budgetary limitations. HDA’s online and telephone support can be delivered over a number of months, from 1 month to 6 months.
Where budgets are limited; to nevertheless tell an employee that they have 6 months support is a very powerful statement when you are combining that with the statement their job is to be made redundant. HDA provides a hard-copy and online welcome pack for delivery to the employee at the time of telling. Something to take home or download at home, and review in a quieter moment with other family members allows for forward thinking beyond the immediate news.
All of HDA’s programmes, including its Online Programme, include access to a range of well developed online tools and knowledge resources to support career transition needs at all levels, including access to personal progress tracking tools, job search databases, psychometric assessment tools, and industry / organisation/ headhunter research tools.
The online and telephone support can be combined with jobsearch and specialist workshop attendance and dedicated face to face support with a career consultant, a networking coach or a candidate marketer if that is an option, (budget-allowing). All our work is available throughout the UK.
“The ultimate measure of whether outplacement has worked or not is if people get jobs in a timely manner. …I attribute a lot of this success to the way outplacement was managed. The program we devised with HDA was flexible enough to cope with individual needs and timely so that people got thinking about their future quickly enabling them to make clear decisions. The team at HDA have always been responsive, flexible and professional; it has been a pleasure working with them in this difficult time.”
European HR Manager, June 2008
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