How to Exit with Empowerment...An Outplacement Guide

There comes a time in every organisation when the difficult process of redundancy arises. In no uncertain terms, the key to businesses surviving and thriving is through the strategic management of their people and having the ability to adjust quickly. This can be the difference between the survival or failure of an organisation. The law is one thing, but your brand reputation throughout the process is paramount. This guide is designed to help you understand the value of outplacement services for both the employees being exited and the team on the ground who remain, and most importantly, should help you to deliver a consistent message which provides positive PR both internally and externally.

Here is what we at The Maine Group recommend should be considered when exiting employees, or what you can expect from an outplacement provider:

Brand management - Create a timeline of communication to ensure your brand is protected.  Consider all channels of communication. The message must be consistent and timely, to ensure your reputation is protected with both your remaining and exited employees.

Coaching through the redundancy process - exited employees should be supported and introduced to their outplacement coach (face to face) early in the process.

Confidence building and acceptance - after redundancy, the employee should have 1-2-1 sessions with their coach to understand areas of both strengths, that should be highlighted and weaknesses that need to be addressed and overcome.

Career coaching - The employee and coach would work closely together to understand in-depth the employees hard and soft motivators for their next role, and through coaching the employee will identify whether they wish to continue on the same career path or consider a career change.  During this phase it is important for the employee to become clear not only on the type of role they are seeking but also the organisational culture that they will thrive in.

CV & LinkedIn review – The CV and LinkedIn profile will then be reviewed and refined in a process of close collaboration with the employee and coach in order to make the CV fit for purpose to ensure successful application for new roles.

Personal Brand Development – The coach should guide the employee on their personal brand and work on developing this to improve perception.

Applying for roles and interview prep – The employee should be guided towards available roles in the market, where to look, and how to apply. They should also have training on how to deliver an exceptional interview and showcase their skills and personality fit. Multiple interview coaching sessions should be available.

Reference library and facilities – The coach will typically provide a range of supplementary information to the employee, including guides to networking platforms, access to appropriate literature on their career or sector of choice, introductions to training organisations or industry bodies that will assist them towards their chosen career as well as use of facilities throughout the course of their outplacement lifecycle.

Support – The outplacement provider is there to support and advise through the whole process as and when is needed.

Additional services available:

Employability Report - Market conditions will be analysed to establish how long it will take somebody to find a new role, assisting organisations where a settlement agreement may be needed.

Personality Profile – this in-depth report will help the candidate understand themselves and their strengths which will help in the job search process.

Follow up coaching sessions – Assisting the employee through the successful job placement,

For more information on how The Maine Group can help support you with Outplacement services, please contact our CEO Meeta Sahni.

020 7734 734