Outplacement services, which seek to help laid-off employees find new employment elsewhere, have been growing in popularity in recent years. But who cares whether an employee finds a new job quickly?
You should! Helping your former employees make the transition into new jobs is the right thing to do, but that’s not the only reason your company should offer outplacement services. It’s good for the company culture and helps those employees you retain feel more secure. It also minimizes your liability because it ensures that former employees quickly settle into new roles and don’t feel the need to post angry screeds about your company on Glassdoor. Of course, offering outplacement assistance can also help you attract better talent, by showing the best employees that they’ll be treated well and with respect to your company. Let’s take a look at the benefits of offering outplacement services.
Former Employees Transition to New Roles Faster
Laying someone off is never easy. It’s obviously devastating for the laid-off employee, and it can be emotionally draining for the managers and other staff involved. The best outcome is for the ex-employee to move into a new role quickly. When employees make smooth transitions into roles at other companies, it can ease the minds of managers and colleagues left behind.
It also reduces your company’s exposure to liability and lowers costs associated with redundancy. The less time an employee spends unemployed, the less unemployment insurance he or she will need to draw, which could impact your premiums. But the bigger concern is keeping the employee happy with your company even after the two of you no longer have a relationship. When you help a former employee find new employment, it does more than softening the blow — it eases the transition so that the employee feels respected in the offboarding process.
Employees tend to be less resentful, in general, after getting laid off if they’re able to find a new job and move on quickly. They have fewer financial problems, and they’re less likely to take to social media to protest working conditions or express negative views about a former employer if that employer helped them find a new position. Employees who don’t resent being laid off may also be less likely to sue for wrongful termination.
Remaining Employees Feel Better About Their Jobs
If you have to lay some of your employees off, it can come across to those that are left as a red flag that the company is in trouble or that they might be next. Some employees might decide to start buffing off their resumes, just in case.
But offering outplacement services shows your employees that you still care about their success, even when they’re no longer working for you. It can serve to reassure those who remain that if they should be the next laid off, they’re not going to be totally out in the cold. Using outplacement services can help you retain more of your talent.
Your Company Will Attract More Top Talent
Recruitment might not be at the top of your mind when you’re going into a round of layoffs, but how you handle layoffs can impact your reputation and, later, impact your company’s ability to attract and retain the best candidates. The most qualified candidates rightfully hold out for the best working conditions as well as the best benefits and compensation packages.
Building a reputation as a company that does right by its employees, even as it is letting them go, is important if you want to attract top talent, especially in this day and age, when the best candidates are looking for companies that align with their own core values. Offering outplacement services shows that your company fosters a culture of growth and helping employees reach their full potential.
Just because you have to let some employees go, doesn’t mean you don’t have an interest in making sure they transition into a new role smoothly. Outplacement services give employees the job coaching, interview practice, and other services they need to find another role and minimize the impact of a layoff on their lives. It’s the right thing to do for your employees, and it serves your company well, too.
Outplacement -DepositPhotos
