| Career Transition Services: A Smart Move for Many Employers
Engaging the help of career transition firms is one approach many employers are taking, including companies who have previously utilized career transition services as well as those utilizing these services for the first time. Management and HR realize this economic crisis is deep and it may be particularly difficult for those who have lost their jobs to find new employment without professional help.
Many first-time users of these services do not consider the long-term hidden costs of layoffs, including lost time, lower productivity, retention risks, tarnished reputation, lower morale, decreased employee engagement and diminishing customer loyalty. All of these results can far outweigh the usual cost savings produced from a layoff. Career transition firms can help employers address these concerns.
The selection and timing of using a career transition firm is more important than ever before. How does an employer select a career transition firm? An important element is to start early, long before layoffs are anticipated. Create a checklist of what’s important to the organization and network with peers. Do your homework -- not all career transition firms are alike!
Be sure to investigate each firm’s:
Once the career transition firm has been selected, when should you engage their services?
When planning a restructuring event, it is critical that management and HR consider the long-term employer brand impact that it will have on the organization. Planning and managing the event are equally as important as clearly communicating services offered to the transitioned workforce. This approach will have profound effects on the way the company is received externally, as well as internally by your retained workforce.
Restructuring a department or organization can be all-consuming and includes decisions as to whom to let go and whom to retain, severance packages offered, as well as how to manage litigation and other risks. HR teams have a demanding task to efficiently and effectively manage this process.
Often companies bring their career transition firm on board toward the end of the restructuring process when their former employees are ready to use the outplacement services. However, the outplacement firm should be engaged early and preferably included in up-front planning. A quality transition firm can assist you and relieve your HR team of some of the burden of the transition planning process. Your career transition firm should have expertise in pre-event planning, strategies, communication, and offer services that include training managers in the employee notification process.
No one can predict how long this economic crisis will last. Companies will continue to look for ways to manage their business efficiently. If a restructuring is a part of it, select a career transition firm early and have them help you with the planning and restructuring processes. By doing so you will build a stronger employer brand, avoid costly litigation and help to create a positive image.
Author: Clay Parcells, Market Vice President, Right Management http://www.right.com/
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We are all aware that organizations are doing everything possible to lower expenses as we move into 2009: freezing salaries and hiring, reducing temporary payroll, eliminating bonuses, reducing discretionary spending, conducting voluntary retirements and planning layoffs. Over one million jobs were lost in 2008, and indications point to more to come in the year ahead.| Issue 13 | January 2009 |
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Letter from the President – Welcome 2009!
Communicating Low or Non-Existent Salary Increases
Leadership Development in a Down Economy
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