The huge challenges facing the public sector over the next few years to cut spending will regrettably mean redundancies for many public sector workers. Faced with this painful course of action, organisations of all shapes and sizes from local authorities, NHS health trusts and Government agencies will want to make it as painless as possible for all concerned, and do what they can to smooth the path to a new job for their ex-employees.
As an organisation you also want to safeguard yourself from litigation a reality that too many employers face undertaking redundancy action. Being seen to be doing everything in your power to ensure the wellbeing of the staff you are laying-off is an important defensive strategy. Offering outplacement support is one approach that will assist with this.
Traditionally, outplacement support has been the preserve of senior management in big private sector corporates with the money to fund one-to-one job search support and coaching sessions. Today, outplacement it is a mass market offering thanks to the power of technology. The world has changed and organisations of all shapes and sizes have the opportunity to support all employees going through redundancy.
The advice and guidance that has typically been provided by an outplacement consultant can now be received through on-demand e-learning. Clearly there are huge cost advantages which have implications for a sector facing significant budget cuts. Also, unlike traditional outplacement, online programmes can be swiftly tailored or scaled, and there are no logistical challenges in rapidly getting the service to its users. There are also no practical limits on resource provision. With traditional outplacement service availability is rationed according to the budget, however a technology solution can be accessed 24/7 and provision is not constrained.
Online outplacement services are also increasingly more relevant to the challenges of finding a new position in the toughest job market we’ve seen in years. In today’s economic climate each job-seeker is competing with 50 to 150 others per role.With these odds the enthusiastic but unprepared candidate is in for a rude shock.
But now, many of the time consuming tasks that a job-seeker has to undertake can be automated. Examples include searching for and aggregation of vacancies, or identification of relevant employment sources. Wizards with attractive templates make creating targeted CVs considerably easier than used to be the case. Process automation means that job search activities can be tracked, reminders provided and reports generated. Triggers can monitor activity and provide encouragement and advice based on what a person has done, or indeed not done.
Managing redundancy is tough and being faced with redundancy is even tougher. On-demand online outplacement services offer both employer and employee an effective and affordable solution to a difficult and challenging situation.
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