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The Straits Times Recruit
July 3 2014
Time to move on
Outplacement, or career transition support, as it is sometimes called is very much a Western concept. An industry was born when an individual who had lost his job discovered there was a need for job seekers like himself to get guidance on how to write a resume, interview and network effectively, and how generally to do a proper job search exercise. Since then, the outplacement industry has become a main-stay in corporate USA and Europe.
Changes
Since the day I stepped foot in this industry some 18 years ago, there has been much changes in the corporate world. Just to highlight three. With the advent of technology, sending of paper resumes is no longer happening, everything is done on the net. The paper you are now reading was once the “go-to’ media to source for job leads – these days, you type in www.st701.com to apply for jobs, amongst many other websites. These changes have in-turn impacted the way professional job searches are done, and consequently the nature of support outplacement firms provide.
Whilst outplacement consultants will advise the then job seekers to network extensively – networking is still by far the most effective means of landing the next job – much of this was done locally. These days, networking can be done virtually almost anywhere in the world.
Outplacement support as an employee benefit
Not legally mandated, at least in our part of the world, companies provide outplacement support to preserve their image as a preferred employer of choice. In addition to taking good care of their human talent when they are still employees, they see it necessary to walk-the-talk even at the point of separation. Some bosses provide the support to ease their conscience but at the end of the day, it could be a win-win situation for both ex-employer/employee as outplacement is a practical means of making one’s job loss and career transition that much less painful.
When is outplacement provided?
There is a multitude of corporate changes that could result in job losses. Typically, companies do a regular review of their business needs, competition, etc, and decide what sort of talent/skills set is required for the business to continue to do well. Resulting from such reviews, jobs could be re-designed, necessitating a fresh set of skills set, knowledge, experience, etc. If job incumbents are short in some of these areas, and there are no other relevant jobs within the organization, plus short-term re-training is not feasible, Management will have no choice but to outplace them. Changes in senior leadership teams could also result in job loss – sometimes, when a new CEO takes over, they prefer to bring in their own (known) team members. Cost-containment, outsourcing, relocation of businesses/functions offshore are some of the more common reasons too. In short, when people loss jobs through no fault of theirs– outplacement support may be considered.
What does the service cover?
In essence, there are two key areas of support. Emotional, the hands-holding support that outplacement consultants can provide to their charges. Job loss victims sometimes need a strong pair of shoulders to cry on – literally, and this does tend to include individuals of both gender. The other important piece is the sharing of knowledge, imparting of skills that is required to perform an effective job search – marketing documents i.e. resume/CV, marketing e-mail, interview techniques, avenues of job search, etc. The support can be aptly described as giving job seekers the skills to fish for a job.
It used to be that outplacement support also included office space – since the participants would not have an office to go to when they are job-less. However, it is now a case where this is not so much required as most of the working class are now so e-connected, and most homes would have at least one PC or laptop. One exception – there will be job seekers who prefer not to be in their homes, away from distractions, and to work on their job search exercises in the office environment. For these folks, office space will still be available in an outplacement outfit – it probably feels different to be doing a networking call, or phone interview when you are dressed-up and sitting in an office versus when you are home in your boxer and T-shirt.
Types of Program
There are typically two – individual, one-to-one and group. Increasingly, and this has already happened in the US (where the industry is matured), outplacement firms are offering ‘face-less’ programs where job seekers engage with their consultants via phone and e-mails.
What comes to mind when the term “outplacement” is mentioned these days is the movie “Up in the Air”, starring George Clooney. In this 2009 movie, the outplacement consultant (Clooney) is portrayed as a jet setting outplacement consultant, flying thousands of miles every month to fire people. This does not happen in real life. The responsibility of communicating the job loss lies with the direct boss – and we come in only after that. For this reason, though less common these days, we are sometimes called the corporate undertakers – not a very nice term at all. Delivered professionally, outplacement consultants do play a useful role in the business world. Changes are a constant, we all know that. With changes, jobs could, and will be lost.
Paul Heng
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Programs 
