What is Outplacement?
Outplacement’ is the process of easing unwanted or unneeded staff out of a company by providing company-paid assistance in re-establishing their careers.
In other words, if companies have to make their employees redundant they supply the redundant staff with a service that will enable them to re-establish their careers, often in very diverse areas from which they have been previously employed, in the shortest possible time frame.
The outplacement industry began in the 1980’s when a wave of downsizing swept the South African economy.
Losing a job is one of the most stressful events that can occur in a person’s life.
Everyone reacts in a different way. Some can cope with the situation quite easily, others need expert help and guidance.
After reading the above definition one would think that an outplacement agency is the same as a recruitment agency. However, recruitment and outplacement are based on opposing philosophies and market structures. Outplacement in today's environment is concerned with assisting people adjust to the change in their employment situation and deal with the complexity of career decisions.
A career consultant’s first and foremost concern would be to ensure the individual can successfully go through this difficult change. The recruitment industry, on the other hand, is based on finding the best possible person for a particular role. Their focus is on solving their client's "problem” that is, getting the right person for a job vacancy.
Is Outplacement Support Really Needed?
For many, it is the first time that they have had to look for a job. The buoyant labour market of the past 15-20 years has meant an abundance of opportunities. The abrupt turn in the tide has meant that some of the victims of retrenchment have never even been required to write a CV, let alone tackle a highly competitive job market.
They are totally ill equipped to find alternative employment. Not only do they not understand the formal job market, but their mental state, following retrenchment, is such that the likelihood of securing employment is hugely diminished.
For many senior executives and managers who lose their jobs, often through no fault of their own, the situation is equally dire. The market for middle-aged executives and managers is equally tough.
The result is that many of them enter a vortex of despair. The longer they remain unemployed, the faster and deeper the vortex becomes.
Many become paralyzed into a state of inactivity and simply have no one to whom they can turn.
Our Outplacement Programme provides your displaced employees with the tools and training they desperately need to re-establish their careers regain their self-respect.
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