With today’s economy, more and more companies are discover themselves faced with the situation of having to reduce headcount to remain competitive. Here are five key factors to consider when selecting an outplacement firm if your company is ever faced with a workforce reduction.
1. Types of Services Provided.
One decision you will need to make regarding employee outplacement is whether your put out of place workers would profit most from group or individual one-on-one outplacement. For the majority of out placed employees, if your budget permits, individual outplacement is the preferred
option since it provides one-on-one support that will help them move forward more rapidly than they would on their own.
If you decide they would benefit most from individual employee outplacement, you will then need to determine what services would be most valuable to your displaced employees. One option would be to select an outplacement firm that develops their resume and cover letter for them. Another option would be an outplacement firm that offers office space and a computer for the displaced worker to prepare their own job search materials.
2. Areas of Specialty.
Another factor to consider when selecting an outplacement firm is whether it is important to you that they have determination working with the type of displaced employees you will be sending them. A related factor is whether it is significant to you that the outplacement company focus in dealing with companies like yours. If their areas of specialty are important to you, review the outplacement company’s website and other marketing materials to notice what their specialty is or ask them directly. If an outplacement firm’s expertise lies in serving large companies displacing administrative staff and your tiny business is displacing experienced managers, this outplacement firm may not be the best fit for you.
3. Experience with Current Job Search Practices.
How important is it to you that the outplacement firm be experienced with Internet job search techniques? Is it likely that the Internet will play a key role in your displaced employees’ job search strategy? If you determine that Internet savvy is an important evaluation point for an outplacement firm, check to see whether the outplacement firm recognizes the importance of the Internet by having a web site. Are they aware of the top online career sites? Do they offer a service to post displaced employees resumes on these top online career sites? Do they have the ability to distribution resumes electronically to a select group of employers and recruiters?
