Background

Like many other businesses, professional services organisation need to downsize in order to match staffing levels to clients’ changing requirements. As part of its duty of care, one such organisation decided to set aside some funds so that proper Outplacement services could be provided to its loyal employees, when they were asked to leave. They were aware that offering such support to employees leaving an organisation goes a very long way in making that experience more palatable. It also helps the organisation to maintain its reputation for being caring, even when tough economic decisions have to be made.

Funds were limited and the organisation had to make sure that any spend was justified and would provide truly meaningful support. They were unsure how many individuals would take up the offer and how many of the services they would need. They wanted those who required the support to receive it. At the same time, they recognised that some individuals might not require any support at all. Some had already lined up new jobs or had decided to do something else with their lives. Allocating a certain amount of money for each individual just didn’t make sense.

They contacted Corporate Alchemy to talk through the conundrum and to see what solution could be reached.

What did we do?

The employees who were to lose their jobs varied greatly. Some were young professionals. Others were older, clerical staff with few qualifications but many years of useful experience. Holding group workshops was ruled out as not meeting their diverse needs.

Holding on site “surgeries” where individuals could drop in for support and advice was considered inappropriate. This was because having a consultant on site for several days was an expensive option, especially if their time was not fully utilised. It was also felt that the presence of a consultant at the workplace carrying out such “surgeries” might prove disruptive and possibly embarrassing to the staff.

Working through these options with the client, Corporate Alchemy came up with a solution which seemed to meet everyone’s needs.

“Long distance” support was offered to affected employees. Here was how it worked.

Employees about to lose their jobs were each offered up to two hours’ worth of a consultant’s time. Support was provided on the telephone and via e-mail. A tally of consultant’s time was kept and reported to the client regularly so that the spend was known and kept under control at all times.

Support and guidance was supplied on aspects such as:

• Producing a professional CV

• Completing application forms

• Filling in online applications

• Tailoring covering letters

• What to wear at interview

• What kind of questions to expect

• How to handle “difficult” questions

• Taking tests as part of the selection process

• Completing personality questionnaires as part of the selection process

• Assessment Centres and what to expect.

What was the result?

Some individuals took up the offer of support whilst others did not. Some exhausted their two-hour allocation quickly. Others used only part of the time offered.

Individuals were able to speak to the same consultant as and when it suited them. The contact was confidential and they did not have the awkwardness of being observed by their work colleagues attending a support session. Because the relationship was one to one, conversations and e-mail exchanges between individuals and the consultant were pitched correctly to the level required. There was no waste of time or resources.

Those who needed the most support, received it. Those who only required a little reassurance here and there, received that. The expenditure was far less than budgeted and the organisation was able to maintain its good standing not only with those leaving, but also with those who remained behind.

The affected individuals felt very positive about the Outplacement Support they received. One person commented:

“Thank you for all the guidance and advice that you provided. Fingers crossed that it all works out for me as I now realise that being made redundant may be the best thing to have happened. I realise that I am truly lucky that things have worked out this way it could have been so much worse.”