Outplacement: controlled redundancy

There are various reasons why organizations decide to make their employees redundant:

  • change in business strategy and resulting reduction of positions that are no longer necessary
  • closing a branch office / offices
  • merger or acquisition
  • restructuring
  • employees’ underperformance

According to the “Right Management” report (Manpower Group), 81% of European organizations who took part in the research said that one of the many criteria of a decision to offer employees outplacement services was the will to help them find new professional opportunities. It might seem that the only situation when outplacement services are not offered is when employees are made redundant because of their underpeformance. However, sometimes even then support is offered, provided that the employee worked at the company for a long time.

Challenges for the Board and HR Department:

  • How to communicate layoffs to employees
  • How to explain the reasons behind the company’s decision
  • How to take care of the atmosphere and work planning and most of all, how to keep morale high among those employees who are staying in the organization

One outplacement definition says that these are “planned, comprehensive actions aimed at effectively handling the redundancy process and supporting dismissed employees in managing their new life situation”. Three keywords are especially worth noting:

  • “planned, comprehensive actions”
  • “handling the redundancy process”
  • and last but not least – “supporting employees”

Outplacement is not only about “ad hoc” help to the fired. It is also a complex program involving:

  • the internal communication strategy
  • carrying out the redundancy process
  • supporting the board, HR Department and the functional managers in above mentioned areas

To read more about the program, click here.

Are you an experienced manager in need of outplacement support? For a confidential & complimentary career consultation, send an email to Bichl.Sandra (at) CareerAngels.eu or click here.

Would you like to discuss your outplacement strategy with us? Contact Bichl.Sandra@CareerAngels.eu to schedule a non-obligatory call.