Outplacement Programme
The reality of the Global Credit Crunch is now hitting South Africa. Many companies, across virtually all industry sectors are being forced to reduce costs. Inevitably, as part of the cost cutting, staff numbers will be reduced.
Downsizing is never a pleasant experience. It is, however, from time-to-time a corporate necessity or even a matter of survival.
In most cases retrenchment or forced early retirement happens at the worst possible time for the victims. The job market is depressed, competition for positions is at the highest level and the outlook for those who are let go is bleak.
The impact a loss of a job has on the individual, and their dependents, is all too often devastating. The situation is exacerbated by the difficulty many of these individuals will have in replacing their jobs, and hence their income streams. It does not take a great deal of imagination to figure out what happens as retrenchment packages run out and they have still not managed to secure suitable employment.
In order to address this situation, Laser has developed a Programme to support and guide these individuals through the Job Search Process.
The focus of the Programme is on any person who has had their job terminated and needs to find new employment. The participants on our Programme could have been retrenched, placed on early retirement or even dismissed.
Outplacement Value Proposition
Research undertaken in the United States shows that there is a far greater imperative to use Outplacement Services than purely philanthropic reasons.
The research, undertaken by DBM, shows:
- 78% of companies using outplacement improve the organization's internal and external image
- 72% fewer cases of litigation when retrenches are afforded Outplacement
- 68% of managers responsible for implementing retrenchments suffered lower levels of stress than their counterparts where Outplacement was not offered to retrenches.
- 64% of Managers believed that they had received a positive return on investment in Outplacement
- An improvement of 59% in employee morale in companies where Outplacement was afforded retrenches compared to those where no Outplacement services were offered.
Alone, the results of this research make a compelling case for the use of Outplacement. There are, however, other compelling reasons to consider the use of Outplacement services:
- Potential certainly exists that some of those who are retrenched could become clients of the company at some stage in the future. Consider how much more positively disposed these potential clients would be towards your organisation if you had actively supported their search for a new role.
- Any company undertaking a downsizing risks losing key employees – usually your best people – who have concerns around their own security of employment. The fact that you have provided their former colleagues with support often eases these concerns.
- In most organisations care of people within the organisation is one of the pillars of the organisation’s value system. Providing support to former employees who have loyally served the organisation shows that management cares and that they live their value system.
- At some stage in the future, particularly in skills starved South Africa, you may need to re-hire some of the individuals who you are now being forced to retrench. Living the organisation’s value system will make this a great deal easier
- If your organisation has been recognised in the “Best Companies to Work For” implementing a Outplacement Programme when you are forced to retrench will certainly enhance your standing in future surveys. This will make it easier to recruit top staff when the upturn arrives.
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