What is outplacement and what are the benefits?

If you’re being made redundant you might have heard the term, but you may not know exactly what outplacement is and what the benefits are.  

The word itself is HR jargon used to describe the process of placing someone out of the business. In practice, it’s used to refer to the support provided to people who are leaving the organisation and is sometimes referred to as career transition support.  

The employee could be leaving the business due to a business change such as redundancy, reorganisation, merger or acquisition, or it could be as a result of a breakdown of the employment relationship when a settlement agreement has been reached.  Outplacement or career transition support is often part of a package supplied by the employer to support that person to leave, but you can also secure outplacement support directly with an expert and ask your employer to give the funds towards this, or of course you can pay for it yourself.  

What’s included in outplacement 

The process of outplacement can cover lots of things, from emotional support to more practical steps to help you secure a new role. 

Services might include a variety of support from practical career advice and mentoring around your CV, LinkedIn profile, relevant job search tools, interview guidance, strength, skills and values assessments and financial advice as well as emotional support to help you process the emotions around the change.  

You might be offered group outplacement services by your employer if you’re one of a number of people being made redundant. Other times the support will include personal one to one coaching, group workshops and career surgeries and other approaches are online virtual webinars or e-learning. Companies will select the most appropriate type of support to suit their budget, timelines and the situation, but that might not be what you feel you need.  

The benefits of outplacement support for people being made redundant 

There are lots of reasons you will benefit from outplacement support if you’re losing your job.  

1. Find a new role sooner – the support you get to identify the kinds of roles you want to apply for – which may be different to the ones you assumed you wanted, to polish your CV and to practice interviews will put you in the best possible position to secure a new job as soon as possible 

1. A neutral person to help you manage emotions – friends and family will be well-meaning, but they all have a stake in your situation. Coaching support from someone providing outplacement services will be neutral. I’m a trained career coach with 20+ years of experience supporting people to process their emotions, especially in highly-charged situations like the risk of redundancy 

1. Customised help – with record redundancies being made across the UK, competition for vacant roles will be tough. Taking advantage of outplacement support to guide your next steps means the help is tailored to your situation and focused on what you most need support with 

Benefits of outplacement for employers  

For employers the benefits of providing outplacement support include protecting their employer brand and making sure employees leave with a positive impression, despite not being able to keep their job. Providing outplacement support also shows employees who are staying with the business that the organisation is doing the right thing by those leaving, helping mitigate any morale issues which could be linked to the redundancy programme.  

To chat further about what outplacement is and the benefits of outplacement services if you’re being made redundant, email me to arrange a free initial conversation.