With the current business environment driven by disruption, innovation, and efficiency, restructures and redundancies are inevitable. Although redundancies can be a common, and necessary option to ensure business survival and growth it can often expose your organisation to risk and reputational damage.

One of the best ways to minimise your risk is through outplacement. Not convinced? Here are the ways outplacement can help protect your business now and in the future.

Protect against litigation

One of the greatest outplacement benefits for employers is the prevention of litigation. When an employee is surprised by redundancy in most cases, they will feel angry and betrayed. If left this anger can build and lead to legal action.

Outplacement, however, is designed to support an employee through their redundancy. It ensures a smoother transition by providing them with every opportunity to secure another job quickly and minimise the impact job redundancy has on their life. While there still may be anger and betrayal, an outplacement program shows your employees that you still care about them even though you had to let them go.

Provide employees with an easier career transition

Let’s imagine you were the one made redundant for a moment and provided with severance pay. While that money will provide a buffer while you’re in transition, the truth is it would only get you so far.

Now also imagine that you have been in the same job you’ve just been made redundant from for decades. You have no idea about the latest recruitment methods, how to network or even the best way to layout your resume.

This is the reality some employees face through redundancy. It can be paralysing. Now team this with a string of rejections because they don’t have the knowledge they need to present themselves as a great candidate. How do you think you would be feeling about yourself in this situation? What about your previous employer?

Inspire greater loyalty and productivity from surviving employees

It’s strange to think that redundancy could inspire greater loyalty and productivity, though it can when handled correctly. The reality is that redundancy doesn’t only affect your exiting employees. It affects everyone within your organisation.

Your surviving employees will watch the way you treat exiting employees knowing that if business gets tough again, this could be how you treat them. If they can see that you are committed to your employees, even through the hard and difficult times, they will become more committed to you.

Guard your reputation

When we are unhappy, we tend to talk about it – to everyone! Now imagine you have a stream of disgruntled employees coming out of your company all eager to tell their story to family, friends and anyone who would listen. Add in a good dose of social media and your reputation can take a big hit.

Public perception is everything. Customers and candidates can be heavily influenced by the opinions of others. You don’t want to find yourself suddenly in the position of being the company no one wants to buy from or work for.

While outplacement can seem like a non-essential cost going into your restructure, in hindsight it can help bring the savings your company desperately needs.

Want to find out more about the different outplacement programs available? Call the transition experts, Turning Point Partners today on 1300 27 83 45.