At Let’s Talk Career, we understand the complexity and challenges of organisational change for employers and employees alike. That’s why we offer outplacement services to help ease the transition.

Outplacement Services are designed to support employees who are leaving an organisation involuntarily, often through redundancies, by providing job search, resume writing and career guidance. We collaborate with operational management teams and/or HR departments across Australia to offer compassionate and tailored outplacement services to departing employees.

Our personalised program aims to ensure that both businesses and individuals navigate transitional periods positively, setting them on the path to successful futures. By offering outplacement services, employers enable exiting employees to depart with dignity and respect, while also maintaining corporate integrity by demonstrating care for all parties involved in the transition.

As part of our career outplacement services, we provide our clients with:

• One on one career coaching and job search advice in line with the package purchased (valid for up to 2 years)
• Access to our online resource materials to support their job search education (valid for 2 years)

WHERE WE ARE BASED

We offer assistance with outplacement Australia wide with locations in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Far North Queensland. Locations outside of these cities are effectively serviced by video conferences and phone-based coaching sessions. If you need assistance with outplacement services, regardless of where you are located across the country, please get in touch to learn how we can help.

WHO OUR CLIENTS ARE

We work with busy HR departments who are seeking a trusted partner to arrange outplacement services for their employees, as well as individuals faced with navigating an unexpected career transition. We have worked with blue collar/unskilled individuals through to senior executives including CEO level candidates.

We work with all industries including (but not limited to) technology, manufacturing, professional services and not for profits. We tailor our approach, content, and our coaches to best suit the needs of each business, individual and circumstance.

READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN SECURING OUR SERVICES?

If you have further questions, please reach out by calling 1800 284 255 or emailing info@letstalkcareer.com.

If you are ready to book in outplacement support, we will ask the following (feel free to email us these answers or call us):

• Where are your employees located?
• When do you want them to start the program?
• What package would you like to provide your employees? (5 sessions or 10 sessions)
• What occupation and level are the employees? (This assists us match with the best career coach)
• Do we need a purchase order number with our invoice?
• Is there anything else we should know about the employees to better support them?

All enquiries and information will be held in the strictest of confidence (so feel free to include us in your pre-redundancy planning). We understand the utmost importance of confidentiality during these difficult times.

ARE YOU AN HR MANAGER OR EXECUTIVE LOOKING TO OFFER CAREER OUTPLACEMENT SERVICES FOR YOUR ORGANISATION?

Email info@letstalkcareer.com or call us on 1800 284 255 for a free, confidential discussion about how we can partner with your organisation today.

See Also: Career Coaching

Executive Coaching

Everything You Need to Know About Outplacement Services

If you’ve been wondering what outplacement services are, if your company could benefit from career outplacement support or just how much this kind of service might set you back, you’ve come to the right place. As experienced career outplacement specialists, we regularly receive similar queries, so we’ve pulled together some of the most frequently asked questions to make life easy for our clients.  

This guide is designed to clarify not just the definition but also the value of these services for your business. It will provide you with key items to consider, insight into how professional providers deliver support and advice on how to choose the best executive outplacement in your capital city. You’ll also find a helpful checklist and contact details for our highly professional and experienced Let’s Talk Career staff. So, let’s explore.  

What is outplacement support?

Outplacement support is known by various names, but whether you call it outplacement support, outplacement services, executive outplacement or redundancy outplacement services, the aim is always the same: to support employees who are exiting a business through no fault of their own. No matter if it is due to economic hardship or business restructure, supporting the transition from gainful employment through unemployment and back to a rewarding workspace is challenging and is best executed by a quality service provider that understands and is equipped to face the demands. 

Outplacement support needs to be flexible in order to provide the most appropriate service to the client; it often includes practical information and advice, skill building, emotion management opportunities, and the occasion to take stock of goals. In this way, services are often aligned with personal or professional aspirations, and can even differ depending on how recently the employee left the work environment. Talk to us about our Outplacement Services Guide to get a quick feel for the basic terms associated with job outplacement services. 

How can job outplacement services support your business?

You could be forgiven for thinking an exiting employee receives all the benefits here – it can certainly sound that way on the surface – but outplacement services are crucial for businesses too. As a business that supports your outgoing employees, you are obviously keen to uphold your positive business reputation, but there are other advantages too. By providing this service to outgoing employees, you are helping to protect your workplace culture now and into the future. And this is something that can’t be emphasised enough, particularly in today’s difficult economic market. 

Providing a positive experience for those exiting the company reassures the survivors left behind. Many of the surviving employees may have close friendship or collegial relationships with those who have been made redundant. Then there are line managers, senior managers and human resource managers who are responsible for announcing and processing redundancies while still needing to undertake their usual duties. Expressing your commitment to the business and compassion for redundant staff is likely to result in more engagement and focus from those remaining staff members. And the statistics show less likelihood of survivor syndrome taking hold.  

Let’s Talk Career understands it can be difficult to introduce the concept of spending company money when economic sensibilities are encouraging frugality. We recommend talking to us to find out some of the important points to raise at your next management meeting to announce any outplacement support intentions. 

By inviting exiting staff to use outplacement services, you may also reduce the risk of potential legal action against your business and therefore help to ensure its ongoing viability. 

What should an exiting employee receive as part of a career outplacement support package?

You’ve already got some idea of what constitutes outplacement support, but there are many different facets to delivering excellent services – and not all providers are cut from the same cloth! A great package provider appreciates that the client in this relationship is twofold: the business itself, as well as the exiting employee.  

There are multiple factors that influence how much a business can, or wants to, spend on support for outgoing employees, and it can be difficult to know what should influence the package you decide upon. Let’s Talk Career has the experience and know-how to give you specialist advice on how much support to give your employees.  

We have our head office located in Melbourne, and so have key local knowledge to provide you with the best support for executive outplacement Melbourne has to offer. We also offer dedicated staff in offices in most Australian capital cities, so for professional outplacement Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide businesses can trust, visit our team webpage. 

In terms of the specific support an exiting employee will receive, this can vary drastically even for those who receive the same ‘value.’ Some clients will require more support centred around their emotional needs; a focus on self-confidence and identity post-redundancy is important for many people. For some, identifying and building on specific soft-skills can mean all the difference in a difficult job market – this is particularly valuable for those who have remained in one role for a substantial period of time and have little recent experience applying for vacancies. For others, outplacement services may represent a beacon of hope. In some instances, a redundancy can signify the opportunity to change roles or industries. In these cases, outplacement support is given more in the form understood as ‘career counselling,’ and the experienced provider will assist the client to recognise their transferable skills and understand how to promote these skills in a new industry.  

Executive staff and upper-level managers aren’t safe from redundancy. As indicated above, outplacement assistance can aid executives to be conscious of the experience and skills they have amassed over the years, and to suggest the best ways to state these in an application or interview. Outplacement for executives, whether in Melbourne, Sydney or Auckland, can boost even the most confident exiting employee. 

It’s important to remember that no matter where a client came from, each individual should receive customised personal or professional support assisting them to regain or maintain confidence and resilience when attempting to re-enter the workforce. As with businesses the world over, online facilitation is now commonplace. But Let’s Talk Career knows the value and benefit that can be gained from true interpersonal connection and so we also offer face-to-face sessions to get the most out of your package deal.  

Show me the money

As we come to the pointy end, let’s speak frankly about how much general and executive outplacement services cost. It’s likely your business has a ‘three-quote policy’ for sourcing goods and services and, for the most part, will accept the lowest or middle quote. Let’s Talk Career knows the financial dilemmas businesses face – particularly where they relate to redundancies – and we’ve deliberately placed ourselves in the middle bracket, pricewise. You can be assured that you will receive a whole lot of bang for your buck from our professional, experienced and comprehensive teams. 

As with any service, there are differing levels of expertise. Let’s Talk Career has a wealth of specialised, local knowledge accumulated in Australia and New Zealand that is delivered to our clients with professional ease. 

In most cases, you’ll get what you pay for. By picking the lowest quote, you may risk spending your hard-earned cash on a ‘Cornflakes-packet’ provider. You know, the one who completed an online, six-month course rather than an established provider that has a diverse team reflecting years of experience and knowledge.  

Remember: the money you spend on outplacement services is an investment in your business. You may not reap benefits immediately, but you’ll be sure to notice the ongoing effects of engaged employees and a positive workplace culture. 

What to look for when choosing a provider

When deciding who to allow to work with your business, there are some obvious criteria to consider: price, quality advice, experienced coaches with expertise in a wealth of areas. Some of these can be easily verified by reviewing testimonials or doing a quick online search. But there are some other important factors to consider when choosing an outplacement service provider, and these have to do with emotional intelligence.  

You can spend years gaining experience understanding the recruitment industry, or hold the ‘right’ qualifications, but if you can’t build rapport with your client, it will be for naught. If you feel comfortable and at ease with a service provider, it’s likely your exiting employees will too – and that is a key part of ensuring they work well together to gain future employment. 

A great outplacement service professional isn’t just good at writing CVs or explaining how your skills transfer between occupations, they are also full of energy, eager to encourage success, and savvy enough to provide a nurturing environment for clients who may be going through one of the most stressful experiences in their lives. 

The Let’s Talk Career team members are experts in providing individualised services with a personal touch. Our packages are generally months long – enough time to support people at the pace that suits them. It’s also important to note that a quality provider, such as Let’s Talk Career, will be able to differentiate its approach to services depending on the client’s needs. 

In addition to customised service, Let’s Talk Career has local expertise in cities in Australia and New Zealand. With over 15 years’ experience, outplacement Sydney coach, William, has worked in multiple industries and consulted to many more. For outplacement Brisbane & Far North Queensland, Rita brings more than 30 years of human resource and organisation development, coaching and facilitating experience to the table. Carol, outplacement Perth expert, has experience in national and international organisations, and provides a strong solution-focused approach with all her clients. Anne and Valerie, outplacement Adelaide, each have vast experience in human resource and consulting, and together make a formidable South Australian team. Four coaches constitute the outplacement Melbourne team, with decades of experience between them. Across the Tasman, outplacement Auckland now boasts over 20 years of coaching experience. Rich experience and diversity of backgrounds, as well as the ability to provide local knowledge and insights, is clearly beneficial to clients. 

Business checklist: what to contemplate as part of your strategy

Once you’ve determined outplacement services can provide your company with support required to navigate necessary redundancies, we recommend you consider some questions that will assist us to provide you with the ultimate level of help. Some of the items to consider will already be on your own list (like, how many people are affected?), but as professionals we know there are others you may not have considered (like, will the notifying manager need support before delivering redundancy news?). 

It’s common to find a certain level of defensiveness surrounding people who have received a redundancy notice. As experienced outplacement coaches, we’ve seen those who more readily accept assistance are likely to obtain employment in a shorter timeframe. At Let’s Talk Career, we encourage our clients to be open minded, honest and action focused. 

Let’s Talk Career for all your outplacement needs

Many Australians have come to understand how our environment – both social and economic – can have a big impact on our self-esteem. Mental health has come front and centre in Australia recently, and there is a push for industry to recognise the important part it can play in helping to maintain a healthy environment for employees. The benefits of outplacement services are evident for a multitude of reasons – for those who remain employed, as well as those who are made redundant – and the good thing is, you have experts at your fingertips who are prepared to support your business through this experience. Contact Let’s Talk Career now to discover how we can help. 

Kris

Kris has over 20 years executive HR and executive coaching experience in Australian corporates. With a Masters Degree in Leadership, she works with senior executives to both improve their leadership performance and achieve greater career satisfaction.

Author: Kris

Kris has over 20 years executive HR and executive coaching experience in Australian corporates. With a Masters Degree in Leadership, she works with senior executives to both improve their leadership performance and achieve greater career satisfaction. View all posts by Kris