The service has become closely linked to the long-term brand value of the company offering it. It is important to ensure that the basket of facilities offered is what adds most value to the outgoing employees. That being said, this basket has, over time, acquired a fairly standard shape.

What has become more important is the choice of the right partner.

What should the company look for when deciding upon a partner who will work with their outgoing employees and provide outplacement support to them? Of course, it is to be assumed that while scouting for a partner, the company has determined the set of services it is looking for.

Capability set

What are the services the prospective partner offers or has the capability to offer? Career coaching, interview preparation, job search resources, personal branding and networking are some of the common services on offer. Which of these are they in a position to provide effectively? More importantly, are they aligned to the set of services that the company needs for its employees.

Prior experience

Like humans, companies also learn and progress. Once the basic fit between services required and offered has been established, the prospective partner’s prior experience in offering them should also be ascertained, including references from their past clients. This is not to say that first-timers should be ignored. In some cases, prospective HR partners looking to create a new service will offer great pricing and value to clients. Of course, as a client, you will need to ascertain their skills-sets to satisfy yourself that they can deliver to your requirements.

Complementary products and services

We live in a dynamic world, always on the move, always changing. Outplacement is usually a one-time or periodic requirement. It is not a ‘business as usual’ activity. While outplacement services may be required at one point in time, you may require hiring and staffing support at other times. Mature HR services firms like Ushankk create value by offering a bouquet of services for which there is an ongoing need, whether outplacement at one time and staffing at another. In fact, offering a bouquet provides the ‘network’ advantage to professional HR firms that enable them to create value for clients.

Industry expertise

In a competitive world, any form of advantage is beneficial, such as industry expertise. If you are a bank looking for outplacement support from an HR solution provider, everything else being equal, it might be helpful to have a provider on-board who has prior experience of working with banks. They might be better equipped to understand the rhythms of the business and its requirements. They will also be better placed at supporting employees.

Human touch

While it may be difficult to specify and quantify, in outplacement, the human touch is critical, perhaps over and above the technical requirements we have discussed earlier. Employees who have lost jobs feel vulnerable. It is an unusual situation to be in. A friendly, helping hand can help them tide over the situation. As we know, such situations are usually temporary. Most people will move on to another assignment soon. But while they do not have a firm offer, they need support and guidance. With several decades of experience, the people of Ushankk have a long history of supporting people through such times. In fact, many such people become individual customers of Ushankk for support with their career moves.

In conclusion, we would add that in addition to the selection of a partner who fits the bill, it is also important for your HR teams to closely work with the selected firm to ensure that the services are set up in a way that will help your company meet its goals. This helps in ensuring that the goals and strategies of the two firms are aligned.

An equally noteworthy development is that more and more companies are choosing to outsource outplacement services to an external partner. What are the reasons?

Sensitivity is better handled with an external partner

The need for outplacement arises usually on account of terminations and redundancies. Both are sensitive situations for the impacted employees when they are likely to feel vulnerable. Outplacement and career transition related interactions between employees staying back in the company and employees who need to go, could be emotionally charged. An agency taking the place of continuing employees is likely to defuse this tension. In addition, departing employees may be more comfortable in such discussions with strangers rather than people who have been colleagues and possibly friends.

Draws a finish line for organizational responsibility

Outplacement is generally effort-based. Success is not guaranteed. One of the primary objectives in offering this service is the protection of brand-value. A transition may or may not be successfully achieved through outplacement. Or, it could take long. In either situation, lack of success or delayed results could rub off negatively on the company’s image. It is considered best to separate the company from the actual task of outplacement so that its results do not reflect on the company. It has done its best by providing outplacement support. Its role ends there.

Allows the company to focus on its business goals

And, of course, this is not the main activity of the company. It would not like to be distracted from its goals, especially during challenging times; redundancies and terminations usually happen when the business faces headwinds. At such a time, a company needs to maintain laser-sharp focus on its goals and ensure all resources at its disposal, including human, are doing the same. Taking on responsibilities such as outplacement on one’s own shoulders will detract from the sharp focus needed to succeed in challenging times.

Once the strategy of outsourcing the service has been established, it is equally important to ensure that the right partner is hired. It is a sensitive time in the lives of people and needs to be handled with care by a competent agency, such as Ushankk, who provides a comprehensive suite of services covering staffing and outplacement. With its reach across the industry spectrum as well as work with different organizational levels, Ushankk is well positioned to have a bird’s eye view of opportunities and enable people to make the transition from one role to another, one company to another and even one industry to another.

Outsourced staffing is the service you need when your company is seeking talent. An expert provider helps you find that talent.

Outplacement, on the other hand, is a service through which your company seeks help from an expert provider to support the process of transitioning out excess staff. In the increasingly dynamic world we live in, it is no longer unusual for companies to shut down businesses or drastically curtail investment, often triggering the need for releasing at least a part of the workforce. While some companies do it inhouse, the preferred model for most is the retention of an expert provider to handle it for them, as it has really nothing to do with their existing business.

What services are included?

While the range of services included in the package could vary from one employer to the next, the objective remains the same – to achieve a successful, frictionless career-transition for the impacted employees.

The benefits usually include:

• Enabling the individual to evaluate his/her knowledge, skills and competence and identifying the type of opportunities that would be most suitable.
• Recommend suitable training interventions to augment skill gaps, or to build skills demanded by the new workplace which they are deficient in. Some training interventions could be included in the sponsored programme.
• Helping the individual navigate the employment ecosystem and its participants such as job boards and recruiting companies and equipping him/her to interact with it to one’s advantage.
• Creating the required artefacts, such as resumes, cover letters, recommendation letters, etc. that prospective employers will be interested in.
• Equipping him/her with the ‘moment of truth’ skills such as interviewing and negotiating compensation.
• Other tips and tricks that could be useful, such as networking.

Outplacement – benefits to the company

Outplacement programmes are sponsored by the employer. The question is, why would a company that is trying to save money by releasing employees no longer needed, at least for the foreseeable future, spend on sponsoring an outplacement programme?

As an ongoing enterprise, while the current need may be to reduce staff, the company may well have a need to hire people at some point in future. Hence, it cannot afford to be seen as an insensitive employer. Supporting employees not currently needed through outplacement support is seen as necessary for the maintenance of its brand value and appeal. Some studies show an increase in productivity and loyalty in the employees who remain in companies who provide outplacement services.

Everyone wants to work for a caring and sensitive employer, is it not?

Getting the right outplacement partner

Ushankk provides a comprehensive suite of services designed to support employees across varying skill and seniority levels, designed to provide satisfaction to impacted employees and empower them to transition to a new tomorrow. Ushankk’s own staffing projects often have the capacity to provide new opportunities for some of the transitioning staff members.

As the sponsoring company, you receive regular updates on progress for each individual. Ushankk’s leadership team works closely with you to ensure that you retain your goodwill in the marketplace.