August 22nd, 2013 – Employers who are planning cutbacks but have been unable to afford career counseling for their laid-off employees now have two new cost-effective outplacement programs available from OI Partners designed to give displaced workers a quick start in their job searches.

OI Partners expanded its outplacement programs due to the overwhelmingly positive results of its recent survey on the effectiveness of outplacement. The survey validated that outplacement program participants OI Partners has counseled during the past two years have extensively improved their job-search skills.

The two new Quick Start outplacement programs – Quick Start Level One and Quick Start Level Two – are designed to extend the benefits of outplacement to more employees. They may be best suited for:

• Employers who have not provided outplacement assistance to displaced non-exempt or lower-salaried employees.
• Smaller companies and nonprofits that have not been able to afford outplacement programs for their employees.
• Employees who only have a limited length of service, but their employers still want to assist them during their career transition.
• Remote employees – people in branch offices or field sales offices – for whom outplacement services would be beneficial.

The Quick Start outplacement programs provide personal and powerful job search preparation delivered where and when former employees need it. They include: intensive job-search preparation, meetings with their coaches, OI Solutions® online job and career resources, professional resume, career transition manual, and other features.

The Quick Start programs are tailored to each individual’s particular needs that may include: assessments to understand their strengths, values and temperaments; evaluating the job market for their skills; preparing a marketing plan; identifying target employers; networking techniques; use of social media; contracting and self-employment counseling, and other elements.

Quick Start Level One and Quick Start Level Two outplacement programs are priced according to length of time outplacement candidates will have access to services.

Quick Start Level One is very cost-effectively and economically priced. Program content includes:

• One intensive month of job search preparation
• 4 meetings with their coach
• 2 months of access to OI Solutions® online job and career resources
• Pathway to Success or Beyond the Horizon transition manual
• A completed, professional resume
• OI Partners’ on-hold feature for up to 6 months if needed

Quick Start Level Two is priced a little more than Level One but includes more features. Program content includes:

• Two intensive month of job search preparation
• 8 meetings with their coach
• 3 months of access to OI Solutions® online job and career resources
• Pathway to Success or Beyond the Horizon transition manual
• A completed, professional resume
• OI Partners’ on-hold feature for up to 6 months if needed

An OI Partners survey of displaced employees the firm has counseled during the past two years validated the value of providing outplacement career counseling services:

• Extensive Improvement In Job-Search Skills: After receiving outplacement assistance, more than six times as many displaced employees reported having excellent or very good job search skills than before they entered the programs. Only 12% of terminated workers rated their job-search skills as excellent or very good before receiving outplacement compared with 78% who ranked their abilities that way afterward – an increase of 650%.
• ‘Good’ or ‘Average’ Job-Search Skills Not Good Enough: Displaced employees who rated their job-search skills as only good or average before receiving outplacement significantly upgraded their knowledge. 78% of former employees reported they had only good or average job-search skills before receiving outplacement, compared to just 21% afterward – a decline of 73%.

“Terminated employees continue to enter a very challenging job market. Some have not looked for new employment in several years and their job-search skills are rusty or outdated. Other former employees are experiencing their first reductions in force and need additional resources and support to cope with the stress and anxiety,” said Patty Prosser, OI Partners chairman.

“The new Quick Start outplacement progtrams will enable employers who have wanted to do more for displaced employees to speed their transition to new employment. The programs will provide the necessary information, training and tools for them to conduct a successful job search in an ever-changing job market,” Prosser added.