Outplacement: An empathic redundancy

Outplacement, the process of supporting outgoing employees and helping them to find new career options, is still resisted in Spain outside the multinationals

One of the least pleasant situations to be experienced in a company is letting a member of staff go. It is an uncomfortable moment for the person who has to tell them but above all it is a hard blow for the person receiving the news. In order to reduce its impact, the concept of outplacement arose. “It is a programme to help people search for a new job or new career opportunities as well as giving emotional support during a period of change,” explains Olivia Borquez, Director of BSP Executive, the company in the Talent Search group which is responsible for outplacement services. These programmes are not only used for redundancies. “Companies are constantly restructuring, merging or being taken over,” adds Sylvia Taudien, CEO and founder of Advantage Consultores, with over 20 years’ experience in this field.

Even though it is a practice which comes from abroad, in Spain it is still mainly used in large multinationals. “We work with the industrial, banking and pharmaceutical sectors,” Borquez explains to VIA Empresa. “Spanish SMEs don’t provide this service and it is a pity they don’t even offer two or three sessions to a person who feels alone at such a difficult time,” laments Taudien. “In countries such as Austria, the United States and Holland, outplacement forms part of the employee’s development. It is an obligatory service,” she states.

"Companies are constantly restructuring, merging or being taken over"

Either way, the reform of the Labour Law in 2012 included an obligation to offer these programmes for group redundancies of more than 50 employees (Article 51.10 of Law 3/2012 on urgent measures for labour market reform). “When it wasn’t a legal requirement 10 years ago, only the American companies did it,” remembers Borquez. After the financial crisis and the legal modification, “In many cases the programmes were merely symbolic because they put 40 people in a room with a computer and showed them how to write their CV,” she criticises. 

Emotional Support

In Spain, however, outplacement basically takes place when a person is let go and the company offers them a support service to find new work through expert consultancies such as the ones managed by Borquez and Taudien. “This includes an element of coaching so that the individual can manage the change process. We work on how they will communicate it to people or financial planning,” explains Borquez.

“We place a great deal of emphasis on working with the emotional factors associated with unemployment. If you are not all right or haven’t assimilated why you have lost your job, this is noticeable when you look for new employment, for instance during an interview,” comments Borquez. “The person can become unnerved if they are asked why they lost their last job and we use coaching techniques to help them be confident, which is the first step in searching for work,” she adds.

Taudien explains that normally the consultants visit the company when the redundancies are being announced and they are in an adjacent room so that the individuals involved can be helped immediately. “It allows them to let off emotional steam just after receiving the news,” she considers.

It is a meeting which tends to be very emotional because “the person is visibly affected, particularly men. They cannot conceive of a life at home without working.” In contrast she states, “A woman recomposes herself more easily because she always has plenty of tasks to do.” Whatever the reaction, Taudien insists on the emotional assistance outplacement demands. “The situation is analysed and their professional life is weighed up, encouraging and teaching them on the route to finding a new job.” In the end, she states, “What most affects them is the uncertainty.” New Tools

Beyond the psychological support, the outplacement programmes work with the latest job search tools. “We work in the segment of more mature professionals with middle management or executive positions, with people who haven’t had an interview in 15 years or who have never written a CV because they were recruited as a graduate,” states Olivia Borquez. “Having a great CV, knowing how to give a good interview, mastering social media and online employment portals or websites for companies with direct recruitment is crucial,” she adds.

“We provide financial management support according to the compensation they receive,” notes Sylvia Taudien. “We do a personality assessment to see their weak and strong points. We practise job interviews and explain how to create a CV or create a personal brand on social media. And how to look for work through contacts or on the Internet.”

One organisation which uses outplacement services is RACC, as they explained to VIA Empresa. “We have used it occasionally for cases where work placement is complicated,” says their Human Resources Director, Josep M. Feliu. “The criteria we follow is when for some reason we have to make a redundancy or terminate someone’s contract who will have difficulties in finding a new job. As well as the financial compensation they receive, we provide an outplacement service,” he states.

For the RACC, Feliu assures that it is “an added value service, because sometimes companies have to make decisions we wouldn’t if we weren’t forced to.” With outplacement, therefore, to some degree “you help with the transition process. The results are good and in 70% of cases, people have found new positions or created a business,” notes Feliu.

How Long Does the Career Guidance Take?

“During the financial crisis, it was much harder for people to find new work and the process was somewhat longer,” admits the RACC manager. “Now the average is four to six months, but back then it could take between eight to twelve months,” he calculates. According to Taudien, “In Spain, placement can take between six and twelve months whereas in the United States it can be as little as two months.”

The time span also depends on which services each company employs. “The company offers the chance to participate in an outplacement programme as part of the leaving conditions. They normally last about three months,” says BSP Executive's Olivia Borquez.

“There are companies which hire us for 10 sessions, others for three or six months, and others for an indefinite period,” reveals Sylvia Taudien. The Director of Advantage Consultores adds, “The volume of our outplacement work is no less than it was before[SM3]  the crisis, if anything it is slightly higher.”

"In Spain, placement can take between six and twelve months whereas in the United States it can be as little as two months”

Origins

Outplacement is a concept which arose in the United States in the 1970s during the first oil crisis, when companies were forced to let many workers go. “They asked themselves how they could help these people in their professional transition and offered them coaching along with support to help them find a new job,” recalls Taudien.

In Europe the service began in Holland in the late 1980s, reaching Spain in the early 1990s. “Around 20% of Spanish companies currently offer outplacement to outgoing employees,” asserts the Director of Advantage Consultores. “New placement” is actually her preferred term, “Because of the negative connotation of ‘out’. The same goes for ‘redundancy’, which is why we talk about ‘letting people go’.”

According to the consultant, “Companies do it to keep the social peace and so that the people who are still with the company see that there is CSR. At the same time, they are helping the people who have been let go to find new work in an effective way.”

Original Post at Via Empresa by Pau Garcia Fuster