Each touchpoint with your organisation, both internally and externally, will have impact on its employer brand value. From onboarding to offboarding; employee experience to customer experience; job applications to your social media presence. It has never been more important to have a strong strategy in place.
According to Intoo UK, ‘Every employer should be concerned about what their employees are saying about them, particularly those who leave as a result of redundancy.’ Offering outplacement services to your exiting employees can reduce the risk of any negative impact on your employer brand.
What are outplacement services?
In short, outplacement services are programmes offered to employees leaving the company due to redundancy. The programmes will differ between industries, countries and your career level but will usually include career reviews, CV/resume writing advice, career coaching, emotional support and even job-hunting services. The programmes can be delivered as workshops in groups, individually face-to-face or virtually. In general, programmes last between one and twelve months.
Outplacement services support exiting employees and help them to get back into a suitable role as quickly and pain free as possible. Outplacement experts who have a wealth of experience supporting people through career transition deliver the programmes.
Preserve your Employer Brand
When employees are leaving an organisation due to redundancy, HR professionals must preserve the employer brand. They must not only do this from the perspective of the exiting employee(s), but also the employees remaining within the business and their wider networks. Each person employed by an organisation has a professional and personal network who are paying attention to the stories they hear. How many times have friends and family had bad experiences in their jobs and you have vowed never to work for, or associate with, that company? All it takes is one bad ‘review’ and you could potentially lose new customers and/or future talented employees. Word of mouth and recommendations remains the very best form of marketing and it is no different for your employer brand.
As CareerArc point out, ‘Today, your brand reputation hinges less on the carefully-crafted content you put out there — and more on the quickly-written opinions shared on social media, job sites, and blogs by current and former employees, customers, and even casual job seekers.’
We all know first impressions are everything, but last impressions can also make a huge difference.
If you are looking for outplacement services, get in touch today with your local partner.