Offering outplacement services to all of your employees is just good business. It keeps remaining employees satisfied and productive during layoffs. Even executive-level employees can benefit from outplacement services when they’re made redundant — in fact, one could argue that executive-level staff need outplacement services more.
Many, if not all, of your organisation’s C-suite executives may have been with the company for most of their careers and worked their way up. Executive level staff tends to need more support in finding new opportunities, because much of C-level hiring takes place through networking, recruiting, and word-of-mouth rather than through online job postings. And because they may be older and may have been out of the job market for longer, C-level execs tend to need more training in modern job search methods, more CV help, and more interview coaching than lower-level employees. And, of course, the process of negotiating severance for executive-level employees can be more complicated and carry a higher potential for litigation, and so needs to be navigated more carefully than it might for low- and mid-level employees. Here’s what executive outplacement services can do for your company.
Provide Execs with the Transition Support They Need
Your organisation doesn’t need to be doing mass redundancies in order to lose C-level executives. While large-scale redundancies can put execs out of work, they’re arguably just as vulnerable during economic boom times. Mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings can see many C-level positions made redundant, even when most employees further down the ladder remain in their positions.
And executives tend to have more complex needs than lower-level employees, which is why executive outplacement services typically include a different level of support than outplacement services for lower-level employees. The hiring process at the executive level can be long and draining, as there tend to be far fewer open roles available at this level. Even when out of work, executives need administrative support in the form of an assistant (virtual or otherwise) to take their calls, schedule their appointments, and manage their calendars.
Most execs going through a career transition are going to need some CV help — often, they were in their previous roles for years or decades, and may neither have updated materials nor any idea how to write a CV and cover letter for the modern job market. Furthermore, they’re also going to need guidance on writing both a role-focused CV to help them seek full-time work, and a board-focused CV that will help them land one or more board positions. Some executives may even want to take this time to evaluate whether they need full-time work going forward, or whether board work is more appropriate for their needs and schedule.
Executive outplacement services can tend to last much longer than lower-level outplacement services, as these roles may not be advertised in the same channels used to advertise lower-level positions. The skills of a professional who specialises in executive outplacement can help candidates get the right meetings with the right people to help them move forward.
Protect Your Company’s Reputation
The last thing you want is for an executive to leave your organisation on bad terms. C-level executives have the opportunity to do serious damage to your company’s reputation, should they not be happy with the way they were treated when they were let go. An appropriate executive outplacement plan can help you keep the departure of your executive quiet, which is particularly important if it’s a contentious departure. Keeping the departure and, more importantly, the reasons for the departure under wraps can do a lot to protect your company’s reputation as you restructure. And you want the executive’s final impression of your company to be good, because you never know when you might need to work together again, with your former executive now in an important role with a customer or client.
Steer Clear of Litigation
Negotiating the terms under which an executive will leave your organisation usually requires the help of legal counsel on both sides. Offering the best severance package you can will minimise the risk of your organisation facing litigation later, and could save you a lot of money in the long run.
When it comes to letting go of employees on the executive level, you need to be prepared to offer the best executive outplacement services your organisation can afford. It’s well worth it to maintain the goodwill of your former executives as they move into new roles with competitors, customers, and clients.
