Right-Placement vs. Outplacement. What’s the right choice? There are several types of placement services that I offer to companies. Right-Placement – makes sure an employee is in a role where they are effective, motivated and high-performing. Outplacement – helps an employee who has already left a company to prepare for their next job, wherever that may be. Both of these types of placements have their time, value and benefit. Let’s take a look at what they are all about.
Outplacement – The Basics
If you’ve seen movies like The Company Men (2010, starring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, and Tommy Lee Jones) or you’re up on human resources (HR) services then you may be familiar with a service called Outplacement. Just to make sure we’re on the same page, Outplacement, is career coaching and related help that helps someone who has been released from their current job find suitable new employment.
Here are outplacement’s key features:
- The former employer pays for the service
- Should help identify other suitable jobs and/or career paths
- Can include help with resumes, cover letters, and help improve a client’s online presence
- May also include strategies and tactics to help the affected employee gain access to employment opportunities through networking and outreach
- Should help the affected employee prepare for job interviews
Outplacement is one of my core services that integrate the HR and Career Coaching aspects of my consulting practice in a unique way. On the HR side, my practice deals with the delicate circumstances when an employee is no longer in the right role. They should transition into a different role within the organization or at another workplace. On the Career Coaching side, my practice incorporates elements of career management for the affected employee.
Now There’s “Right-Placement”
My Career Coaching services are, on occasion, made available to employees at the employers’ expense. Forward-thinking employers recognize that training resources should be set aside for Executive Coaching for members of the C-suite and for Career Coaching for non-executive employees. Typically, two types of employees have made use of this employer-supplied Career Coaching: top performers and employees who underperform and/or are unhappy.
What has been fascinating is that these employees who underperform found more suitable niches where they could thrive and make meaningful contributions. The magic is that these employees moved on without being terminated and without triggering an expensive severance package. Basically, I’ve created a cheaper, happier alternative to firing an employee who was no longer a great fit for his/her previous role.
It’s Important That Employee’s “Fit” Their Role
An excellent professional development coach can help these types of employees find and flourish in different roles. So instead of a negative, costly firing process, businesses use my Career Coaching services when a problem with an employee’s “fit” within the organization becomes obvious. This course of action is like outplacement since the employer pays for it and the end result is that the employee ends up in the right new role – it’s Right-Placement!
What Makes Right-Placement So Effective?
This form of Career Coaching helps “stuck” employees identify their career strengths, ideal roles and land a new job. It may only take an employee 20 hours (or less) for this transition to happen. Plus, it is a happy, voluntary and far less costly process than to wait until the only option is to fire someone and pay them severance. There’s no comparison between paying for 20 hours of support versus paying for months of an employee’s salary plus possible legal fees (if things go sideways).
Part of why Right-Placement by I/O Advisory Services works so well is because the approach is different from approaches used by others. For instance:
Right-Placement – A Great Alternative to Traditional Outplacement
- Often, outplacement amounts to liberal access to a collection of online videos, webinars, and PDFs with up to an hour or two of contact with an Outplacement Advisor — it’s “self-serve” and generic.
- As a business model, this is smart for the service provider because once the generic materials have been developed, they are “evergreen” and they can be re-sold again and again.
- For clients who need to move on to another job before they are released, it’s probably inadequate support to get from their current position to one that fits them better.
If your organization would benefit from access to Right-Placement due to an employee(s) poor fit within their role, or if you anticipate restructuring or downsizing, please contact me by email, phone, or via direct message on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. I’m happy to discuss the right choice for your organization.
More than career coaching, it’s career psychology®.
I/O Advisory Services – Building Resilient Careers and Organizations.™
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