Letting one or more employees go can be an incredibly difficult and emotional process for not only the employees, but the management and Human Resources staff responsible for the offboarding process as well. At the same time, experiencing significant team changes can create a level of uncertainty amongst current employees, and precipitate a lower office morale.

Given the climate in the labor market, career transition services – also known as outplacement – have become highly sought after by companies big and small facing difficult times in the economy.

What is outplacement, exactly?

Outplacement and Career Transition Services help move organizations and people forward through times of change. These efforts made by a downsizing company help former employees transition to new career opportunities and help them re-orient themselves in the job market.

What are the benefits of Career Transition services?

When doing a mass layoff, it is helpful to have a human resources team to coach managers on how to conduct the layoff, deal with any employee issues that may arise, advise on arranging the transition of benefits, and any IT needs.

It is paramount that the employer properly equips employees for the next step in their career. From a legal standpoint, employers that provide Career Transition Services are showing good faith in their employees and, as a result, are less likely to deal with legal processes and extra financial loads associated with severance.

Downsizing can be a very emotional process. Employees may take the process personally. Career Transition Services teams also deal with emotional management to help mitigate tension as the third party responsible in the process.

It is also a benefit to have an independent third party to witness terminations and walk employees off-site. It is highly beneficial to have appropriate professionally certified employees who have been trained to deal with crisis situations.

Lastly, your company’s brand and reputation will be better protected as a result of the due diligence and preventative actions taken to ensure that the departing employees were treated with respect and care beyond the short term.

What do Career Transitions services encompass?

In addition to the services listed above, Career Transitions Services teams work with the employees on a one-to-one basis to help them prepare for their job search. The sessions will assist employees and equip with the tools and information they need to be successful in the next step in their careers.

Some of the services TPD's HR Services team offer clients for their departing employees include:

• Improving and building resumes. This can be especially helpful for employees who have been working for your organization for longer periods of time, as they have been out of the job market and may not have current resumes.

• Building and/or improving LinkedIn profiles. The importance of professional social media profiles these days cannot be overstated.

• Consultation on the employment market. Our team educates employees on where to apply and how to get connections to increase their likelihood of finding employment quickly.

• Interview skills workshops. We conduct mock interviews, ‘elevator pitches,' provide interview feedback, and advise the employees to be successful in their interviews.

It is important to have a process for outplacement established in your organization for employee departures. This Employee Departure Checklist will help ensure that you are prepared for when employees depart on a small scale.