10 Questions to Ask an Outplacement Provider by RiseSmart

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Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources:

10 Questions to Ask an Outplacement Provider

In HR, you make difficult decisions all the time. Some of the most difficult choices you have to face are when layoffs are necessary. What’s the best way to handle the delicate balance between doing what’s best for the company, and doing what’s right for your former employees? And how do you work to protect your company’s image and brand now that your laid-off employees are sharing news of their layoff all across social networks? Is there anything that can be done from an HR perspective to protect all the parties involved? One benefit you can provide to your displaced workers is an outplacement solution. The very gesture of helping laid off employees find new jobs creates a sense of continued corporate loyalty—even after the employee has been laid off. However, selecting the best one to meet your individual needs can be a challenge—unless you have a specific goal in mind, and know what to ask when you’re trying to find the right solution. Follow this guide to make the most of your conversations with outplacement companies, and decide, from the answers you get, what would be the best solution for you.

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

1 What do outplacement solution companies do? What don’t they do?

Most outplacement firms offer basically the same services; they vary widely in the philosophy and business model. It’s important to have a solid understanding of this changing and growing industry so that you can level-set your expectations with such firms, and you can also educate your employees about what they should expect when you offer them outplacement services. Outplacement solutions help laid-off employees find jobs. How do they do it? Outplacement companies work with displaced employees, either individually or in a group setting, and help prepare them for the job search. They provide training, resume services, classes, seminars, and webinars on a variety of job-search related topics such as how to deal with difficult interview questions, how to tailor a resume to a job posting, how to use social networking to find a job, how to network with associates, how to write customized cover letters, and more. Outplacement solutions do not find jobs for people. They don’t “place” employees into jobs. You and your employees should not mistake an outplacement firm for a recruiting agency, and they do not do the work for the employee. Their value comes, however, in education, counseling, and providing job leads. The newest method for communicating with each employee and tailoring the job search to every individual is through advanced technology.

At the heart of that type outplacement program is a popular online model that enables employees to get a consistent level of service, no matter where they’re located. With a web-based personalized job portal, and virtual support from an industry professional, employees can feel “taken care of” after a layoff—and not have to incur the expense of travel. “My transition specialist was highly effective as well as diplomatic and supportive,” said RiseSmart Transition Concierge client Sandra Perry. “He unerringly identified flaws and gaps, pointed out what needed to be done, and shared relevant experiences. In addition, he went out of his way to respond to questions and offer suggestions. I not only learned to trust him, but also developed great respect for his expertise.” In the eyes of your transitioning employees, your organization is reflected in the quality and effectiveness of the outplacement you provide for them. That’s why it’s so important to choose a solution that offers a quality and service level that matches your own employment brand.

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

2 What do you mean when you say you offer resume services?

3 What sort of counseling do you offer?

A cornerstone of every outplacement solution is resume services. Traditionally, “resume services” in the outplacement world has meant sending displaced employees to group workshops on how to write resumes, or providing a templated, computer-generated resume. This “one-size-fits all” approach is often ineffective, and produces less-than-desirable results. According to a Wall Street Journal article, mass-produced, canned “plug in” resumes have hindered job seekers. One outplacement client, the article reports, had her resume “sent to a prospective employer with a cover letter that included a typo

and bore her signature—which she says she never saw.” However, today, because resumes are so personal, and their delivery is almost 100% online, some companies offer higher levels of service.

It can be devastating to lose a job, and that’s why some outplacement companies offer immediate grief counseling. Think of your goals in contracting with an outplacement company. Are you trying to help your former employees feel better about having lost their job, or do you want to help them get back to work and get on with their lives? You might have different goals, so it’s best to ask about specific levels of counseling.

core competencies, no matter what they tell you. It’s someone else’s job to do that; a qualified counselor or therapist. That’s not what outplacement companies are for. Outplacement exists to help clients find a new job. If they’re not doing that, but rather spending your money to do something they’re not qualified for, you’ve hired the wrong service.” Here are the types of counseling outplacement firms offer, and how they compare:

“There’s no question about it. Some clients need grief counseling,” said Karen Stevens, SPHR, Director, Client Services, RiseSmart. “Losing a job is an emotional experience, and they have to learn to let go of the baggage and move on. But helping laid off workers with their emotional issues is not in an outplacement company’s

Other companies offer a critique of the employee’s existing resume, and offer suggestions for layout and for optimizing it for computerbased keyword searches. Still others provide a complete consultation with a Certified Professional Resume Writer, who then works collaboratively with the former employee to create an entirely new resume and cover letter.

Grief Counseling vs. Career Counseling Some outplacement services offer none at all, some offer grief counseling, and yet others offer solid career advice, assigning a transition specialist to work one-on-one with each employee to determine goals, create a job

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

search strategy, and provide personal coaching to help get them to their next jobs. Different outplacement services have widely varying philosophies about counseling, so it is imperative that you choose a service whose offerings in terms of counseling match your goals for your exiting employees. Do you want to train your former employees to become better job seekers, or do you want them to get help finding a job quickly? In Person Seminars or Webinars? The question remains as to whether you think it’s better to keep laid off employees together in a group setting, working with an outplacement counselor, or whether you believe your employees would do better working individually with a transition specialist who focuses in on the unique needs of each employee. Some of the larger outplacement firms have offices in several cities, and employees must drive to those cities for in-person, group seminars. Smaller, more modern companies have a virtual model that allows them to offer a consistent level of service, regardless of the employee’s— or the company’s— location. Really effective outplacement pays no attention to borders or distance—it’s available online, at any time, through a combination of online technology and human, one-on-one interaction over the phone, email, chat, or video conference. “This is a new model

for transition services,” says Mark Squiers, executive managing director, ACS, A Xerox Company. “By eliminating costly traditional services like office space and group seminars, which have been found to be of low value to employees, the focus is on aggressively helping workers find a new job.” An Individualized Approach One of the most important benefits of the online model, aside from the obvious breaking of the distance barrier, is the individualized attention each employee receives. Although the employees may have come from a similar situation—the same company, the same type of job— once they have separated from the company, goals may be very different. A layoff can be an opportunity to explore new options. Perhaps an employee is interested in a new field, a different industry, furthering his or her education, or starting a business. Taking an individualized approach to outplacement lets each employee discover the each new option with the personal guidance of a career transition specialist who is there to address that person’s concerns only. In the one-on-one model, each transitioning employee is paired with a transition specialist who is already familiar with the job seeker’s field, so they already “speak the same language,” professionally. Often the language barrier is broken there as well—a good outplacement service will

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

4 How do you help employees find new jobs?

pair a specialist and employee who speak the same languages in general, to help ensure maximum learning and communication. During each session the transition specialist can do anything from help an employee talk through an upcoming interview, strategize the job search, discuss the pros and cons of various opportunities, de-brief on recently-passed

interviews, and so much more. Different companies have varying policies about the amount of time each employee can spend with a transition specialist, if that service is offered. Find out whether the outplacement company offers transitioning employees unlimited one-on-one time with the specialist.

This is the make-or-break question for any outplacement solution. Some outplacement companies do little or nothing at all to actively match jobs with employees. The “job search aid” many companies provide is little more than a list of resources—online job boards, local career centers, and suggestions for networking groups to join. Other companies might provide more—and it’s vitally important for both you, as the employer, and the transitioning employee, to understand exactly what that service level is. Here are some options to look into:

can use the portal as the starting point for the job search. A welldesigned, state-of-the-art portal includes frequent job postings pushed directly to each employee, gleaned from all over the Internet, and hand-selected for each job seeker by career specialists. Within the portal, the job seeker can also strike out on his or her own—looking for similar jobs, and using the portal’s built-in tools to research the companies, find social networking connections within companies, and with whom to share jobs, and to make on-the-fly decisions about the appropriateness of a job by using the portal’s built-in tools, like salary calculators, maps, and more.

An Online Portal Imagine giving each employee a centralized place to manage his or her entire job search. A personalized, online portal allows job seekers to log in to see content customized to personal career interests. Each employee sees relevant and constantly changing articles, notifications about networking groups in his or her area, and can click directly to links about local upcoming career events. Most of all, the employee

Web Mining Technology and Human Filtering There are millions of jobs available, even in the worst of times. But the web is so enormous; those jobs could be hidden. No one has enough time to find job postings on every company’s web site, every job board, and every social networking site, every day. It’s easy to miss the perfect opportunity.

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

Powerful, effective outplacement solutions offer semantic search engine that mines the web every day and returns relevant job postings that others might not find. The concept of semantic search—that is to say, an intelligent search that understands the meanings of key words and phrases and matches them to job seeker preferences much in the same way other types of online relationship services work— can predict with much greater accuracy the chance the job listing will be a good fit for the seeker. No web mining system is perfect, however. It’s vitally important for you as a buyer of outplacement services to understand that technology alone is not the differentiator.

5 What other services do you offer employees?

mining software isn’t smart enough to figure out that a “Manager” might be the same as a “Supervisor,” or that a “content strategist” is also a writer. Semantic search technology understands that, and can come up with more relevant matches. But just like you would never let an automated system manage your personal finances without keeping track of them, you don’t want to let a computer alone pick out jobs for people, either. That takes a human eye, someone who’s trained to match people with jobs. The computer makes the first cut, but the final matches should come from a real person.

Semantic search is very powerful. Any service can mine the web using resume keywords, but web

Look for an outplacement solution that combines semantic search with human filtering to ensure your laid-off employees are getting only the most relevant, best-matched positions, with no fluff.

Once you’ve selected a provider you like, you’ll find that there are other options available within the services. Chances are, companies lay off employees at all different levels—from front line managers and executives to entry level staff. It isn’t necessary to offer the same level of service to everyone. So make sure you get a good idea what sort of services are available to each level—they come at different price points, so you won’t waste money on services a transitioning employee doesn’t need.

Executive Services Corporate executives’ unique needs include reputation management. These individuals have been the face of your company, and even when they separate from the organization, they are often still associated with it. When executives get laid off, other people talk about it, post online about it, and more. An excellent outplacement solution will work with you and with the executives on a plan to manage the public perception of those executives, and keep

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

positive buzz going about both the individual and the organization. It’s also true that high level executives have often been with the organization for a long time—and may have no idea how to conduct an online job search using social media like Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter, and, in a high-visibility role, there is no margin for error. Make sure your outplacement source has plenty of experience with public relations, and has proven expertise helping top executives preserve both personal and public reputations. Multi-level Packages Newer, less-public facing employees don’t need such in-depth reputation management, so there’s no reason to pay for

6 What are your qualifications as an outplacement solution?

Can anyone hang out a shingle and call themselves an outplacement service? In theory, yes, they can. But any organization looking to partner with an outplacement service is going to do their homework. Organizations should choose a provider with a proven track record of success for a multitude of companies in varying industries. The career transition experts should have a certification as a transition specialist, backed up with several years’ experience in a corporate HR department or as a recruiter. The outplacement provider should pair transitioning employees with

executive level service. While some of the needs may be the same—such as learning to protect privacy online during a job search, how to use social networking effectively, and resume updates, the level of service required might not be as intense. This is the category into which most layoffs fall, so be sure the outplacement provider’s standard package covers all the basics any employee would need. Make sure that includes exclusive webinars led by industry professionals who can help employees at any level succeed in a job search, and of course, personalized attention with a blind eye to job title. Be sure your outplacement provider offers varying levels of service, but make sure, too, that you, too, choose the appropriate level of service based on each employee.

Certified Professional Resume Writers, if you choose to offer employees resume services. Don’t rely on companies that provide templates, or give ideas to take home and create a do-it-yourself resume. Measuring Success It can be difficult to pin outplacement services on their success levels. Did participants find a job within the allotted program time frame as a direct result of the service? “It’s hard to get accurate data since some clients leave mid-program and others don’t notify the firm when they land

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

7 What sort of flexibility do you offer?

jobs,” reports the same 2009 Wall Street Journal article. Smaller, more nimble outplacement companies that work hard to develop relationships with each client as individuals don’t have that problem. In fact, when a transition specialist has worked closely with a client, it’s often the transition specialist that the client calls first with good news about having landed a job. It’s important to choose an outplacement firm that strongly believes in building such close ties with its clients, because they’ll be able to deliver accurate success rates based on

those relationships.

There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to outplacement solutions.

look for an organization that can create a multitude of scenarios for your employees, based on location, employee preference, and your price point. Your goal in partnering with an outplacement firm is to help your former employees find jobs, so choose one that can do that in the most effective way possible, for the most people—no matter where in the world they are.

Providing office space, for example, doesn’t necessarily make sense in areas where those amenities are readily available, however, and it would be more of a burden than a benefit to make those employees drive to an office to look for a job. In order to get the highest opt-in and success rates,

“Outplacement clients really like to have such personal attention,” said Lori Beemer, associate director of employee relations for the biotech firm Gilead. “It’s not only vital to keeping the client engaged and getting the most from the service, but it’s also good for the outplacement company’s track record. When they’ve developed that personal rapport, it’s much easier to ascertain specific levels of success—and when you’re considering an outplacement company, you need that kind of specificity.”

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

8 How long does the outplacement program last, and what guarantees do you offer?

9 What does an outplacement solution cost?

Typically, participation in an outplacement program lasts three to six months, but it could be longer, depending on the service type and level you choose. That 90-120 day range is based on the average length of time Americans are out of work following a layoff, which currently stands at about six months. The job of a good outplacement solution is to beat the odds—that

Costs are determined based on the type and specific level of service you choose for each employee. The cost can be different for each employee. A good outplacement solution will conduct a needs assessment, and create a quote based on those needs, the number of employees affected, the length of time you’d like for each employee to be part of the program, and the level of engagement you require from the outplacement staff. Some outplacement companies can be

is, to help laid-off employees find new jobs ahead of the national average. Naturally, no outplacement company can make guarantees, because the individual behavior and engagement level of each employee is going to be different, but look for a company that has a solid track record of helping laid-off employees find jobs in about half the time of the national average.

on-site to help your HR staff on the day of the layoff notification, provide notification training to your HR staff, either in person or online. You can choose a virtual solution or an in-person grouporiented package, or a combination. An outplacement organization should offer basic packages, standard packages, executive packages, and custom packages, and be able to come to you with an exact price, based on a specific number of opt-ins.

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

10 What is my return on investment?

To fully understand your ROI, choose a provider that gives your organization absolute transparency into every phase of the process. Look for a provider that gives you access to individual and group reports whenever you need them. Understand, however, that HR privacy laws apply to outplacement services. It is not possible to provide specific information about any individual employee in your program if that employee has indicated that he or she does not want that information shared. This is a rare occurrence, and when it does happen, that individual’s information is nonetheless included in aggregate reports. For the vast majority of employees in the program, you should be able to get individual records about each employee’s key milestones: joins the program, engagement levels,

job search process, and when they get new jobs. Look for a company that provides this information in an easy-toaccess, easy to use software-as-aservice (SaaS) based platform, so you and your HR staff can generate ROI reports on the fly. If you can quickly generate charts that show outplacement costs verses the cost of severance and unemployment taxes over the full course of the outplacement program, the delta will clearly show a dramatic return on investment in a tangible sense. The intangible ROI, comes in the costs saved by preserving your employment brand, retaining employees, and maintaining your organization’s good name—even when you’ve had to lay off employees.

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

Choosing an Outplacement Provider: The RiseSmart Advantage Layoffs are an inevitable part of every organization’s business landscape in today’s marketplace. How an organization handles the layoffs, both internally and externally, speaks volumes for its integrity, and sends a very strong message to the public about how it perceives its employees. When the time comes in the cycle again to hire, your organization will rank high among the most desired companies to work for. One of the best ways a company facing layoffs can gracefully handle the situation is to engage with an outplacement company that provides a high level of professionalism, expertise, service, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and transparency to both the employees and the organization. The outplacement company should blend cutting edge high technology and the human touch to bring relevant jobs and job-hunting training to each employee, and, above all, should treat each employee with individuality, caring, and compassion. An outplacement solution should be able to work anywhere, morphing its core program with local limitations, language, and customs, and must provide a consistent level of high-quality service to every employee in the program, anywhere, and offer the same type of listening, coaching, and reporting quality to anyone in the organization that engages them.

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

RiseSmart Outplacement Options At RiseSmart, we believe outplacement should be a win-win for both transitioning employees and the organization. The RiseSmart solution delivers a modern, efficient, and cost-effective approach to outplacement. Coupled with a caring, personalized approach that spans its customized, dynamic portal to the unlimited one-on-one time with a Transition Specialist, RiseSmart is the catalyst that’s bringing jobs to laid-off employees 50% faster than the national average*. In addition to the individualized, virtual contact, take a look at what else RiseSmart provides:

• Each employee is paired with a Professional Resume Writer

Resume Services

Virtual Service Delivery

• Resume writers have experience in the employee’s field • Resume writers create entirely new resumes, cover letters and social networking profiles • Employees can interact with the portal or their transition specialist from the comfort of their own home • Coaching, mentoring, professional seminars, and job leads are delivered online and over the phone • RiseSmart is not confined by borders or buildings, so employees get a consistently high level of service no matter where they live

• Transition Conicerge is a complete job search management tool • Ever-changing, “smart” job search tool that learns each employee’s preferences and gets smarter with each feedback interaction

Dynamic Portal

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2011

• Within 48 hours of joining the program, employees start to get job leads delivered to their Job Inbox •

Employees can research companies, make social networking connections, attend webinar, keep track of interview, make notes, check commute distances, and read articles and blogs chose especially for them

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider

• Up-to-the-minute, relevant content from industry experts

Easy-to-find Content

• Content is pushed directly to the portal, based on the employee’s preferences—no need to search through libraries • RiseSmart sends notifications for upcoming local networking events to employees, so they don’t even have to search

• Employees can share jobs and statuses directly from within the portal to more than 200 worldwide social media sites

Social Media Integration

• Linkedin integration allows employees to check who he or she may know at a particular company • Hoover’s integration allows employees to read company stats and news, all without ever leaving the portal • Track every aspect of your outplacement program

Corporate Support

• Keep tabs on former employee’ progress and generate detailed reports on-the-fly • Determine actual dollar return on investment with real-time analytics

Client Services is always available.

• RiseSmart Client Services professionals keep in continuous contact with you to address any issues or questions—so you never have any concerns. • RiseSmart Client Services is happy to work with you to customize any service we offer, to ensure maximum satisfaction with the program, communication, and results.

For more information about RiseSmart, visit www.risesmart.com or call 877-384-0004, option 1.

About RiseSmart RiseSmart provides next-generation outplacement solutions to companies of all sizes. We leverage a common technology platform and proven methodologies to help corporations with their transition needs— quickly and cost effectively.

Putting the “Human” Back in Human Resources: 10 Questions to Ask An Outplacement Provider