One thing is for certain for business owners around the world: investing in an outplacement service for your employees is a must. For anyone out there that is not familiar with outplacement, here’s a quick definition from Dictionary.com:
“The provision of assistance to laid-off employees in finding new employment, either as a benefit provided by the employer directly, or through a specialist service.” Providing a service like this is one of the best ways to help employees that you’ve been forced to terminate for one reason or another.
Now that we’ve established that outplacement is necessary, it’s time to start researching outplacement agencies in your area. The only problem is that there are tons of agencies to choose from, so how do you differentiate between the best outplacement companies and the not-so-good ones?
Variety of Services Provided
As the definition states above, outplacement is a “provision of assistance to laid-off employees”. This provision of assistance comes in a variety of forms (hence the reason for the vagueness of the definition).
The typical service provided is resume writing, but this is not the only thing that your employees will get out of outplacement. In addition to resume writing, the best firms offer a variety of services like interview mentoring, job hunting tips and tricks, and professional profile seminars.
Success Rates
The entire objective of outplacement investment is to increase your ex-employees chances of finding a job as fast as possible. You’ll want an outplacement agency on your side that has success in this, or else the entire point of hiring them is moot. Read reviews on sites like Yelp and Glassdoor as well as social media outlets to get an idea of their success rates.
Option for Online or Over-the-Phone Coaching Sessions
Not everyone learns in the same way. Some people do well with visual aids and one-on-one attention, whereas others do just fine teaching themselves on an online presentation. Outplacement is essentially teaching – teaching your terminated employees how to find a job, keep a job, and make themselves more valuable in the workforce.
Choose an outplacement service that caters to several learning methods. Some of your employees will prefer to be taught online and over the phone, while others will want to learn in-person in a small group or one-on-one.
Lengthy Coverage Time
The main hope is for jobs to be found for each and every one of your employees is a timely manner. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Highly-rated outplacement agencies understand this, so they provide a decent amount of coverage time. The duration of time the services are provided varies from company to company – it could be 30, 60, 90, or 120 days. Some agencies even provide coverage for a full year after termination.
Highly Qualified Outplacement Professionals
Your employees deserve only the best guidance. A qualified outplacement agency will employ only the most qualified agents. These professionals will have experience with resume writing, interviewing, and modern-day technology that can help with the job hunt.
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