Online Outplacement
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If the Covid pandemic taught people anything it was that so much life stuff could be managed online whether this was talking to your doctor, staying in touch with family and friends, or work. Remote working and hybrid working are here to stay, but online interaction has also filtered into other elements of the employment sector, namely outplacement.
Outplacement is a service provided by an employer to staff who have been made redundant or redeployed elsewhere. Alongside this is right placement, which works with existing employees to ensure they are in roles best suited to their abilities and aspirations. Some outplacement services have always been offered remotely but the pandemic demonstrated like nothing else that an entire outplacement service can be provided online if that’s what the employer wants.
How does Online Outplacement work?
All outplacement traditionally provided face-to-face can be commuted to online services. This can make efficient use of consultants’ time and save travelling costs, offering a more streamlined and cost-effective package to the employer.
Here’s how online outplacement can work and what it offers.
- Group workshops which are an opportunity for brainstorming and shared experiences can be conducted collaboratively on Microsoft Teams or Zoom calls. Some people really benefit from the collectivism of these meetings as they feel less isolated with peer group support
- 1:1 sessions to discuss career progression and job aspirations can be held completely privately at a time to suit the individual
- Coaching sessions to update a CV and develop a LinkedIn profile, these can be group or individual
- Online mock interview sessions are particularly helpful as many interviews are now held remotely and there is a real art form to managing this medium effectively and successfully
- Employees can be provided with a virtual hub that holds all the resources they need and which they can access whenever they want. This includes template documents for CVs and application letters, useful webinars on all sorts of topics from managing money to starting your own business plus other resources like directories of employers, information about government grants for retraining, and software packages to assess skills and personality traits which can be useful in shaping a new direction. An online hub is tailored to offer information that the employer requests
- Online outplacement is limitless in what the service may easily provide so it can cover topics like retraining for a new role, starting your own business, and planning for retirement
- Training materials, helpful software packages, pre-recorded assistance, and CV-building tools with 24/7 access
The Advantages of Online Outplacement
Online outplacement offers the ultimate flexibility for employees. It avoids the rigidity of sessions at a defined location and time and lets individuals set the pace on when and where they access the services. Most employees relish the discretion and privacy of online outplacement but for those who seek a more collaborative approach, group workshops can also take place online so that staff can share their thoughts and experiences. Some employers opt for a mix of traditional outplacement which is on-site and face-to-face, blended with online services for document access and 1:1 coaching and counselling.
Online outplacement allows an employer to easily provide a service that is flexible and can be tailored much more readily to individual needs, it’s like they have made a bespoke outplacement package for each employee and essentially, this is how it pans out. Employees can choose the content of the support they want and how it is delivered; this is far better than the employer deciding how things will work and then imposing it on staff.
There are no real drawbacks to online outplacement, only benefits, and it tends to work out more economically for the employer too.
Choosing the right Online Outplacement Provider
A good online outplacement provider will be able to offer a suite of services that an employer can cherry-pick to suit their company or organisation and the level of staff involved in the programme. This should help employees through career transition whilst promoting staff engagement and retention and keeping reputation intact, so the company is still viewed as an employer of choice. There should always be flexibility in what’s on offer and the service provider must be able to gear the package to suit redundancy or redeployment within the organisation and preferably have a track record of experience within the sector and industry.
We provide a comprehensive range of outplacement services both online and on-site with experience in a wide range of sectors and industries to help redundant staff and redeployment projects. Our online outplacement includes a suite of services that can be tailored to staff numbers and levels. We also offer dedicated redeployment, change, resilience, and pre-retirement services, all available online or on-site.
Get in touch with one of our professional team today and see what we can do for your business.
