When employees leave your organisation, voluntarily or otherwise, it can be a difficult time for them, for your remaining employees, and for your HR team. Expert outplacement to support people transitioning into a new role can, therefore, benefit everyone.
While it’s always good to be able to ‘soften the blow’, this isn’t where outplacement delivers tangible value to your organisation. The real value is in keeping employees engaged throughout the process, whether they are leaving or staying, and that’s important for maintaining productivity. It can also help protect your brand through difficult times, underlining your organisation’s commitment to its people.
Not all outplacement providers created equal though. Although people will often use a variety of terms interchangeably to describe different classes of outplacement provider, the fact remains that there are different approaches to outplacement. For clarity, in this article we’ll be using two terms to differentiate between outplacement providers. Providers at the lower end of the spectrum, providing a basic service that may not meet all your needs, we’ll refer to as outplacement agencies. At the other end of the spectrum, we’ll refer to providers of bespoke, quality outplacement support (such as Connor) as outplacement service providers. Let’s examine the differences in choosing an outplacement agency to choosing an outplacement service provider.
Three key indicators of outplacement quality
If you’re looking for outplacement at a time of budget or cash-flow constraints, it can be tempting to select the cheapest option, even if it isn’t quite what you’re looking for. A bespoke solution needn’t cost that much more though — after all, you’re only paying for what you need and cutting out the rest.
We’ve evaluated the agency vs. service provider approach in three key areas — price/flexibility, quality of service and effectiveness — to see what differences you might experience: