Because of the current climate of economic uncertainty, providers of outplacement services are experiencing a growth in business, especially now, due to the impact of the credit crunch and a longer-term trend towards restructuring that has been apparent in larger companies.
Peter Dudgeon, Outplacement Specialist for the German-speaking region with PDC, explains: “For some time now, major corporations have effectively been going through a continual restructuring. This has increased demand for outplacement over the last few years, because their aim is to improve their organizational effectiveness and their cost structures so they can be internationally competitive and improve their profitability and return for the shareholders.”
On the other hand, companies in Germany also seem to be maintaining their levels of spending on retention initiatives, such as coaching: “Employers are finding that in some ways it has become even more critical to retain and engage the key people that they have,” comments Peter Dudgeon. “Coaching services, talent management services and employee engagement initiatives still seem to be right at the top of the agenda for a lot of companies currently experiencing the rapidly changing market conditions.”
Outplacement continues to be vital for companies hoping to manage their employer brand, as they need to focus on both employees that are leaving and those that are staying, as well as the wider community. Peter Dudgeon explains the benefits: “Part of the ongoing engagement or re-engagement of employees that are staying is to help them understand that the company has supported the leavers and is providing assistance that will help to enable those people to tackle the employment market. Having that kind of support is really helpful in terms of focus and skills, so if people feel that they’ve been well treated and properly supported then they’re likely to retain a favorable image of the company.”
However, with redundancies becoming a survival strategy for more and more companies, employers need to consider the impact of their actions which are often far-reaching. Closing a factory or office facility completely, can have a devastating effect on a regional community and could damage a company’s reputation for a long time. Therefore, when making employees redundant it is important to ensure that they understand the reasons behind their redundancy and that – where possible – they are provided with support and skills that can be used to find their next position. Peter Dudgeon: “This is where we can bring in our experience, as we are familiar with the most frequently encountered problems in this area and can provide the answers and the support needed.”