This article examines the correlation between outplacement and psychological safety at work. Job loss doesn’t just affect people financially. It also affects them emotionally—especially if they're older employees. When workers are laid off from their jobs, they can be left feeling lost and devastated.
But thankfully, there is a way for employers to create psychological safety at work and keep their employees (those given notice and those staying on) in a healthy headspace. One of those ways is by implementing outplacement services for their workers.
If you're new to the idea of outplacement coaching, you may want to take a look at the information below to learn more about it.
What Are Outplacement Services?
Outplacement services—also called job transition services—are coaching and other job search services that help workers land their next role more quickly. Such benefits are provided for by the employer, supplying the departing employee with free job services.
A heavy focus is placed on self-branding and coaching through outstanding outplacement providers. Outplacement services guide the employees to build effective branding plans to advertise themselves online. By aligning them with the technologies and procedures used by today's recruiting managers, they help former employers maximize their efforts.
The resources today stretch far past the drafting of resumes and guidance on using career boards. A coach plays a vital role in helping individuals transition effectively.
Job applicants working with experienced outplacement providers find jobs more quickly than people who do not—actually, more than 2.5 times as fast. Exiting workers benefit from one-on-one outplacement services relevant to their specific preferences and job priorities.
The outplacement program includes resume and cover letter writing, information on how to use cover letters and resumes effectively, job interview training, interview simulations and coaching, compensation negotiation training, LinkedIn assistance, and much more.
Psychological Safety at Work: Keeping Employees Happy
Outplacement offers workers who are shell shocked by a layoff with assistance and focus. The finality of the last day and the fear of temporary unemployment is a blow to the mind of people—regardless of whether they've been warned that a big layoff is coming.
Employers can give workers a lifeline in the sea of confusion by offering them instant outplacement resources. Having concrete help that they can rely on will quickly give them hope and concrete next steps to take.
Outplacement coaching is the best way to provide psychological safety at work so that employees don’t feel lost and confused about how to move forward. Following are the benefits of outplacement services.
Effective Resources
An outplacement program helps laid-off workers to move on faster to the next job. As an employer, you give them the resources to identify their ambitions, direct their next moves, and usually get recruited again faster than if there were no outplacement.
Outplacement coaching, especially for people who have been out of the job market for quite a while, is worth more than its price in goodwill, risk mitigation, and morale for those still working. If you're laying off long-term workers, chances are they're not up to the current developments in job hunting. They don't realize LinkedIn's relevance, are unaware of Glassdoor, or have no clue how to plan their transitional time to get employed the fastest.
Quick Turnaround
Outplacement services speed up the process of career searching. Successful outplacement coaching also helps people with transitions that are more complicated. Supporting those with more complex searches is important. For example, people can find it hard and time-consuming to change career paths if they don't have skills and experience outside of your company.
Free for Employees
Fear of reduced earnings is a prime issue for individuals who are losing their jobs. Fortunately, employee outplacement programs are complimentary. You cover these services, so they're free for workers.
By putting an outplacement program in place and publicizing it internally before you need to use it, you significantly improve employee psychological safety at work. You can even put the existence of such a program into offer letters to sweeten the deal and reduce the risk for candidates to change employers during economically volatile times.
Resume and Profile Assistance
Employees need to carefully plan the voice of their resume by creating a specific job target. Coaching will help them zero in on the best organizations to work for. If your employees have not been in the job market for a long time, then outplacement services can help them navigate searching for jobs in the modern world.
Career coaching also helps with putting together a resume and a LinkedIn profile so the employee looks professional and ready to work.
Interview Prep
Interviewing for a new job can be scary. However, good outplacement services assist workers with preparing to answer difficult questions. They will also help them to avoid saying certain things that might deter an employer from hiring them. Some companies offer advanced interviewing techniques like Interview Aikido, which trains employees to play a more active role in their interviews and networking meetings.
The bottom line is that a professional resume is only part of the battle. The interviewee has to know how to land the job.
Positive Reinforcement
When people lose a job, they often feel nervous. They may begin to feel even worse if the job search is extensive and takes a long time to result in a new position. Outpatient services are just what employees need to relieve that burden of uncertainty.
Outplacement allows them to express all of their concerns and have them addressed. It also keeps them feeling like they're accomplishing something—which inevitably creates psychological safety for them during their remaining weeks on the job, as well as for those still employed.
Creating Psychological Safety at Work
In summary, creating psychological safety at work is essential for maintaining the mental health of employees. Losing a job is a devastating loss, and employers’ reputations and operations will benefit by providing their workers with the tools needed to help them move forward. Most individuals rely heavily on steady income from a job. Therefore, implementing outplacement services is the best thing that a company can do when it has decided to lay off its workers.
If you are looking for outplacement services for your employees, you are welcome to schedule a free consultation or call us at 202-740-3032. We offer a variety of outplacement packages that include resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile writing; Interview Aikido training; and career coaching. All services are satisfaction guaranteed, and some packages even include a job offer guarantee.
We're here to help you create psychological safety at work during economically volatile times.