Outplacement Support: Good for Karma, Good for Business
We believe that companies that provide meaningful support to exiting team members not only help them, they help themselves live up to their brand promise and reputation in a highly competitive market for talent.
With more than 13 years in the talent business, I’ve met literally thousands of people who found themselves on the job market mid-career. Some were looking for a change while others had been terminated or their organizations were forced to downsize.
One of the things I take pride in is the support Ari Agency has been able to provide to people in career transition. For some it was helping them brush up on how to build an effective resume, for others it was helping them figure out what their next move should be, and for others still - it was actually helping them strategically conduct a successful job search. These individuals were appreciative and motivated, with the vast majority finding their next opportunity within a reasonable period of time.
Last year we surveyed every single person in our database, asking them about their experience between termination and re-employment. The majority of respondents told us that for the most part, they jumped right into applying for jobs and tapping into their networks.
They said their anxiety was often the main driver. When asked to describe what they remember about their state of mind terms like “shocked”, “depressed”, “confused” and “angry” came up frequently. They said that their biggest hurdles were lack of structure, wasted time and difficulty letting go of the past.
Close to 35% of respondents told us they were offered Outplacement support. 75% said they found it helpful, but the general feeling was that the services were vanilla - mainly webinars, online libraries and group training sessions.
There was also a strong feeling that the service providers didn’t really understand the marketing, advertising and tech industries and were not helpful in terms of uncovering alternative paths, interesting opportunities or valuable leads. This is where we come in.
Ari Aronson, Founder & Executive Recruiter at Ari Agency
Based on this information and our deep experience, we decided to create a different kind of Career Transition program. Our aim is to help individuals get the support they need, whatever that might be, to get back on their feet.
We tailor each program to the person and provide high touch support. For some this may mean helping them explore now career paths, for others it could focus on building an effective job search strategy.
Every person comes into this in their own emotional state and with different priorities which is why generic approaches can only have limited effectiveness.
Helping a formerly valued employee through what is known to be one of the most significant events in one’s life is not only humane, it’s also good business. It amazes me is how many people held grudges or were upset by the way they were treated when they were let go. It’s never an easy situation, and the way this is handled could mean the difference between a disgruntled exiting employee who could tarnish your brand in the market and one who will speak about you with goodwill.
Almost 40% of our respondents indicated they would not recommend their former employer to colleagues and friends.
For all of these reasons we have tried to make our program affordable and flexible. We have created different packages ranging from “lite” support to a full re-envisioning and personal rebranding offering. We have also partnered with outplacement industry experts to create a full suite of services that includes:
Personal coaching
Self-assessment and career discovery
Resume rewrites and personal rebranding
Job search strategies
Interview prep and skills development
Career planning and mapping
Ari Agency has always been about connecting great talent to the right opportunities. Our Career Transition service offering is a logical extension of this mission using the skills and experience we’ve built over more than a decade.
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