By: Meredith Masse

Impending layoffs in 3rd or 4th quarter? Shopping for an outplacement provider that aligns with your company’s values and culture is critical to maintaining the employment brand you’ve worked so diligently to create and promote. Other business reasons for truly compassionate versus “check-the-box” outplacement services:

1. Sustain the morale of and demonstrate your commitment to “surviving” employees.
2. Manage former employees’ perception of the company.
3. Maintain the organization’s reputation in the community and industry.
4. Mediate new partnerships and future opportunities that remain in the industry by demonstrating how you treat employees.
5. Reduce the risk of potential, costly lawsuits by offering personalized services that address the emotional aspects of being laid off as well as helping displaced employees start to think towards the future.
6. Reduce unemployment costs from the long-term unemployed with services tailored to meet specific employees’ needs to help them land faster.

Do your due diligence. Questions to help you choose a partner to provide compassionate outplacement services:

• Can you help us plan for compassionate notifications?
• Can you help us train our managers and HR business partners on delivering the tough notification messages to our employees? What’s the cost for this training?
• How do you work to meet each employee’s unique career needs?
• What’s the process for connecting separating employees to your services?
• Can you help us create a plan for taking care of “surviving” employees, too?
• Will all my departing employees work directly with a Professional Career Transition Coach or are your programs only comprised of group seminars, pre-recorded webinars and online tools?
• How soon will my employees meet face-to-face with their
  Professional Career Transition Coaches?
• How often will they meet?
• What will they work on together?
• What program levels are available for my budget? Can you help us put together appropriate levels based on position, tenure and other considerations?
• In what cities do you offer in-person services? Virtual services? Nationally?  Globally?
• If my employee could benefit from other non-traditional services, what other services are available through their program?
• When are we invoiced for employees’ programs?
• Can we get updates on employees’ search progress? How often?
• Do you provide satisfaction ratings from employees?

Remember:

“Other employees are watching the process, judging the professionalism and dignity – or lack of – to which the terminated employee is subjected. Our reactions and actions set the tone for our culture.”

~Dawn Iselin, SHRM-SCP, COO and HR consultant, American Industrial Werks, Schaumburg, IL.