The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of changes, and one of them is a steep economic downturn that has seen many companies grapple with the need to downsize. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the employee being laid off or the one doing the laying off, it’s never going to be a great time. Just because you have valid business reasons to let employees go, it doesn’t mean you don’t care what happens to them — and it benefits everyone if laid-off employees can transition into new positions quickly.
Outplacement services can help. Offering your former employees outplacement assistance as part of severance can help them find new jobs faster, and that can save your reputation by keeping your former employees happy and keeping up morale among those who remain behind.
Cushion the Blow of Layoffs
A layoff can be a crushing blow to an employee, especially when it seems to come out of nowhere. It’s more than losing a paycheck, although that’s bad enough. A job loss is also the loss of the social network in the office; it can mean the loss of a sense of structure in the day, the loss of somewhere to go in the morning, or even of a sense of purpose. Sometimes, losing your job can feel like losing your identity.
It’s not much more fun for the managers who have to break the news, especially when they’re tasked with mass layoffs. Firing one person for cause is unpleasant, but firing a few dozen people because the company is downsizing takes a toll of its own on the management team responsible.
Offering outplacement services as part of severance can give the employee being laid off a clear next step to take — something to focus on moving forward. And, because outplacement assistance can help terminated employees move swiftly and smoothly into new positions, it can help ease some of the psychological burden of letting employees go, too.
Outplacement services are invaluable for terminated employees, especially those who’ve been off the job market for awhile. Outplacement job counseling can empower employees to get back on the job market sooner, and make them feel more confident about applying for positions — and even reaching for a step up in their careers. Employees can get up to speed with the latest job search techniques and tools, update their resumes, build their LinkedIn profiles, and practice their interview skills. Employees can get insight into their careers and talents, networking advice, and even access to job opportunities they might not otherwise come across.
Protect Your Reputation
How does offering outplacement services protect your company’s reputation? Well, terminated employees are more likely to transition smoothly into new positions, instead of remaining unemployed long enough to become disgruntled former employees. Even if they don’t find a new position right away, the job coaching, interview practice, and resume help will keep them focused on moving forward, and they’ll feel better about the layoff knowing that your company did everything it could to smooth the transition.
If you’re fortunate, and especially if you can begin outplacement services before employees’ jobs are officially terminated, you’ll be able to transition former employees directly into new jobs and won’t have to pay unemployment claims at all — or, at least, unemployment claims will be minimized. Former employees will be more likely to speak positively of your company to friends and family members, or, at worst, more likely to remain neutral about the experience.
Meanwhile, offering outplacement assistance to the employees you have to let go will keep those who remain feeling confident about their job security — they might still worry a little that their own jobs could be on the chopping block next, but they’ll have the security of knowing that if it comes to that, they won’t be cut loose to make their own way on the job market. The relative security of outplacement services in an uncertain economic environment can go a long way towards keeping morale up when you’ve had to lay off a lot of employees.
Are you looking for a way to keep your company’s reputation sound, despite the need for layoffs? You should make outplacement services a part of your severance package. It’s the right thing to do to help terminated employees move on, and keep your remaining employees from jumping ship.
Authored by Samantha Waites, EMediaBuyers team