Outplacement
How can we help organisations make redundancies but remain an employer of choice?
Purpose of Outplacement
Redundancy is a stressful time for organisations – for the people going, the people staying and the people making decisions. Outplacement support for the leavers enables them to make a smoother transition and to leave as "good" leavers. For the survivors, the stress of the process, guilt about have a job when others have lost theirs, possible envy for those moving on, worry about their colleagues' futures and resentment about having more work to do, all create emotions that could have a negative impact on their own performance. Ideally, coaching the staff that stay can help remove some of the "survivors' syndrome" and reinforce the psychological contract. At the very least, seeing their colleagues sensitively handled by an outplacement provider can remove some of the negative emotions for them and reinforces their loyalty to the organisation so that they can move forward also.
Why Second Careers as Your Outplacement Provider?
Clients choose Second Careers rather than the larger outplacement providers because of our personal approach, with ongoing support from a single, highly experienced and qualified coach throughout the programme. We work with individuals to deliver the solution they want, rather than try to slot them into a structure that may not suit their individual needs. In between meetings we offer telephone and email support as needed – reviewing CVs, role-playing interviews, even helping to negotiate job offers!
Our Outplacement Programme of Four Months' Flexible 1:1 Support
Zena provides a personalised outplacement programme which commits her to a collaborative relationship with the client for up to four months, including regular sessions (weekly at the beginning, extending to fortnightly when the client is ready) and unlimited telephone and email support. Zena's coaching and counselling training, her network within the professional services recruitment industry and her understanding of contemporary job searching techniques gives her unique advantages in the outplacement sector. Previous clients have said these factors have saved them fruitless weeks of job-searching and enabled them to "focus quickly on the skills the job market needs."
The programme covers:
- Understanding the emotional impact of redundancy and then moving forwards.
- Examining your career to date (achievements, good times/bad times, patterns and themes).
- Identifing your self-concept (beliefs, values, skills, interests, behaviours, abilities and personality traits).
- Deciding upon a career goal that fulfils that identity and resolves your current issues.
- Determining a planned route to achieve that goal.
- Implementing that plan – including career management techniques such as networking, company research, information gathering, CV writing, interview preparation, pre-interview briefing and debriefing, and negotiating your new terms of employment.
- Becoming social-media savvy, using tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Focusing on a marketable skill-set to differentiate yourself from other job-seekers.
- Researching your chosen career path.
- Advising you on job boards, recruiters, advertising media and other contemporary job-searching methods.
- Optimising your CV correctly so that it is picked up by Aggregators.
- Advising you on career paths such as setting up your own business, getting started as an Interim Consultant or Contractor, or retirement.
- Feedback on development areas and calling in our Associates to give you extra support if needed (on areas like confidence in public speaking, retirement planning or writing a business plan to get funding).
- Managing the challenges along the way.
- Preparation of your CV and LinkedIn profile for you
- Strategic positioning of your personal brand
- Identifying suitable roles/organisations for you and preparing applications
- Managing direct approaches
- Research into target companies
- Selected recruiter introductions
The cost of this programme is £2,800 plus VAT per person. For more information please email: zena@second-careers.co.uk
Senior Executive Intensive Outplacement Programme
This programme includes all the elements of our outplacement programme but is designed for Board level individuals who don’t have the time to manage their own job search and want their own expert Career Manager to support them. Zena will work pro-actively on their behalf, devising their career management strategy, identifying leads and facilitating introductions. It is particularly suitable for executives who are targeting the unadvertised job market and need specialist time, creativity, connections and expertise to identify the right opportunities. These opportunities will be Executive or Non-Executive roles or a combination of the two.
The programme involves a more pro-active marketing approach to outplacement, including:
Particular emphasis is placed on enhancing the individual’s brand and network to ensure a continuous career path is achieved and future derailment avoided.
As well as the hands-on support, there is scope for additional coaching input to reflect the challenges of working at senior level as well as provision of psychometric testing if necessary. Attention is then paid within the coaching relationship to the challenges of the new role when it is secured and to removing obstacles to success within it.
This is a bespoke solution for successful individuals seeking a combination of hands-on research support to help navigate the job market and insightful coaching guidance to enhance self-awareness. The cost is £7,100 for a six month programme and this should be allowed for as a tax deductible expense within a compromise agreement. Availability is limited. To discuss if this would be appropriate for you, please contact zena@second-careers.co.uk for an initial consultation.
"So given all that, I just wanted to say an enormous thank you. Without your support and encouragement I would never have gone for the job at the London Development Agency in the first place. Your advice on structuring my CV and your uncanny ability to make me answer my own questions was invaluable, as were your recommendations of the approach to take and questions to ask in the interview. So once again, many thanks for helping me take the next step on my career." — Rachael Knowland
"Before meeting Zena I had been approached by quite a few career advice consultancies. I met with two, both who went straight for the hard sell and exactly which package I wanted to buy. They had no soul or personality; I didn't feel enthused or any desire to enlist their services. Zena is a breath of fresh air and heads above the corporate giants in her sector. She really cares about your needs, the direction you would like to go in and helps you find the path to do so. At no time do you get the feeling that it's about her making a living; it's all about her prompting discussion and actions to help you decide how you want to live and what you want to achieve in life. Zena is practical, focussed and a great motivator who will provide you with the optimism and tenacity that is often required when seeking a career change or career guidance. I would highly recommend her if you want to deal with someone who will do their utmost for you at a time when you really need some help and support." — Sharn Orchard, Operations Director