Congratulations on asking this question. You are an honorable employer that understands that although a business needs to make the tough choice in laying off staff, there are still people who will be out of work, applying for jobs and readjusting to life in a new career.
A friend of mine was a chef at a fancy NYC restaurant. She received a voicemail one day to go pick up her knives and things because they were not opening the restaurant; it was closed for good. Her last paycheck would be mailed to her address on record. Game over. This was a devastating blow to a young aspiring chef and loyal employee and surely the person that left voicemail was not coached in proper HR techniques in letting someone go gracefully.
But, the shock factor in the approach was probably more detrimental to her than the loss of income or stress of going back on the job market. This industry may be more transient than most and the everyone at that restaurant was out of job, but outplacement services proves to be a means of easing that shock and releasing employees back into the workforce rather than kicking them out the door.
When a layoff occurs, resources become tighter and staff becomes more stressed.
The solution: outplacement services.
Many transitioning companies choose to take the human resources department out of the equation and lets an outside company handle work with the displaced employees. The outside agency eliminates emotion and personal ties and focuses solely on providing resources to help them re-enter the workforce.
The next question is how in-depth a solution do you want to offer?
Financially, how much can your company handle, especially considering the pending layoffs?
Protect Your Company’s Brand Image and Reputation During Layoffs With Outplacement Services
Once the decision has been made to let staff go, human resources needs to handle the situation in a delicate and responsible manner. In this day and age of social media, the backlash and quality of life impact from former employees can be massive. Rather than letting the emotions run high, consider outplacement services as a peace offering. A free service that can assist with the stressful aspects of finding new employment.
Minimize Unemployment Costs After a Layoff By Offering Outplacement Services
Each employee that works for you gives you their time, energy and intelligence and in exchange you support their livelihood with income. When you cease to employ them, they need to shift their whole life to find new work, new allegiance, new skill-sets and possibly a new work schedule.
In support of using outplacement services, not all of the benefits are financially tangible, however the financial people might be happy to hear that ROI is achieved when you consider unemployment costs. By supporting transitioning employees to find new work quickly, you can minimize your company’s unemployment costs.
What Should I Offer A Newly Laid Off Employee?
Basic outplacement services may include basic group career counseling or resume writing lessons.
Some companies offer services that may include:
- Compensation/Severance Pay
- Job leads, recruiter networking
- Social media training
- Career counseling
- Grief counseling
- Unlimited one-on-one resume writing support for an extended period
- Resume work
- Business start-up assistance
- Insurance recommendation, COBRA support
Is Capstone Resume Outplacement Service Right For You?
We are a professional resume writing company with Certified Resume Writers on staff and located throughout the United States. If you are looking to offer your transitioning employees individualized resume writing services to help them market themselves back in the workplace, Capstone Resume Services is your one-stop solution.
We have worked with companies that provide just resume writing support as the only outplacement service as well as working as a small piece of the full outplacement package offered to laid off employees.
We can provide career counseling and resume advice in a group setting or individualized resume writing services to your transitioning employees. We can provide unlimited services for a set amount of time or a one-time service.
If you are looking to provide your laid-off employee services, Capstone Resume Services wants to help them prepare for their next move.
