Season 3 – Episode 3 What you can do when outplacement isn’t an option

Welcome to today's episode

of Redundancy Matters.

2

I'm June Hogan.

3

I'm a qualified career coach and

outplacement specialist, and I've

4

got a background in hr, and today

I'm going to be talking about the

5

things that you can do if you are not

able to offer outplacement support.

6

So I know that when you are managing

redundancies, it can bring up a real

7

mix of feelings because working in HR

and in the people profession, many of

8

us choose to do that because we want

to make an impact and because it aligns

9

with our values, doing the right thing,

actually caring about people and wanting

10

to improve people's working lives.

11

So when you're asked to manage

redundancies, that mixture of feelings

12

about caring about people, knowing

the impact that this is going to have

13

and also caring about what happens

to people after they leave, is often

14

something which I would carry when I

was managing redundancies, wondering

15

what was gonna happen when someone left

the organization, if they'd be okay.

16

But I also know that many teams are

managing in difficult circumstances

17

and that outplacement support might not

always be available as much as you know

18

that is the best and best practice.

19

Way to conclude redundancies.

20

Sometimes it might be that there

just isn't any money available.

21

Companies gone into administration,

for example, it could be that the

22

leadership team don't want to offer it.

23

Or they think it's too expensive, they

don't want to make the investment.

24

And so in these situations, I know

that you are gonna want to do the

25

best for people and offer support

and try and manage that internally.

26

So in this episode, I'm gonna talk

about some practical in-house ways that

27

you can support people to leave well.

28

So if outplacement isn't

offered, it doesn't mean that

29

people aren't being supported.

30

It just means that that

support has to look different.

31

And in reality, you are not going

to be able to replace professional

32

outplacement support with an in-house.

33

Offering because outplacement support

covers lots of different elements, such

34

as helping individuals to process the

emotion of redundancy, help them think

35

about what next practical things like

looking at their cvs, helping them through

36

LinkedIn, preparing for interviews,

et cetera, giving them accountability.

37

A sense of momentum.

38

A safe place and a safe space that

they can explore things with you.

39

First 100 days planning for a

new role and in role coaching.

40

So the time that you have with

somebody who is at risk of redundancy,

41

it's just not practical that you're

gonna be able to cover all of that.

42

So I think it's about thinking about.

43

What is practical, what's realistic,

and what's gonna have the most

44

impact for the people that you

are supporting in their particular

45

circumstances, in their situation?

46

So I'm gonna talk through each one and

talk about what's realistic and then just

47

talk about how our placement support can

help in a slightly different way, because

48

it isn't necessarily all or nothing.

49

It doesn't mean to say that you either

offer outplacement support and you

50

give that to a provider and they do

everything for you, or that you don't,

51

and you have to do it all in house.

52

Sometimes there is a blended

approach that can work quite well.

53

And if you are listening to this thinking,

well, I would really would like to offer

54

outplacement support, I'll put a link

in the show notes to a previous podcast

55

episode where I talked about building the

business case for outplacement support.

56

And there's also a blog if you

want to have a read as well.

57

So starting with the emotional side.

58

Of redundancy.

59

So redundancy, as you'll know if you've

managed redundancies before or maybe it's

60

your first time, that this is a shock.

61

People will experience a whole

range of different emotions.

62

Can be anger, grief,

some people are relieved.

63

There can be confusion, anxiety,

and these things can change from

64

day to day for people depending

on what they're going through.

65

In that situation, there will be a

role that HR teams can play in helping

66

individuals to acknowledge that what

they're going through is difficult.

67

This is some of what we do when we

work with individuals, and we can

68

provide them with that safe space,

that independent space, and that

69

opportunity to talk to someone who's

completely removed from the situation.

70

But if you are offering this in-house.

71

Then it's important to create those

boundaries for people to create

72

that safe space to contract and

make sure that they understand the

73

confidentiality if they are having

conversations with you, for example.

74

That can be quite hard to do if

you're involved in the process itself.

75

So just think about how you might

navigate that or whether you might have

76

other people who aren't involved in the

redundancy process itself that you might

77

sign posts individuals to if they want to

have those kind of deeper conversations.

78

And I'll come on to talk about how that

works with boundaries, et cetera later.

79

But in the first instance, if

you are faced with someone who

80

is overwhelmed with emotion, it's

not about jumping into sympathy.

81

And again, I've got a podcast episode

I'll put a link to around why empathy is

82

hugely important in redundancy situations,

but simply something like people

83

experience this very differently and

any reactions and that you may, emotions

84

you may be feeling are entirely valid.

85

So you are acknowledging what the

individual's going through rather

86

than trying to fix what they're going

through and hopefully providing an

87

open conversation that they then

might want to talk more about, those

88

emotions and how they're feeling.

89

But the role of the HR team in this

situation where it can get difficult

90

is if you are trying to kind of hold

all of those emotions for yourself.

91

So it's important to have your boundaries

in place when you are in a redundancy

92

consultation process and you are not

just sort of in the process itself, but

93

you are also offering support outside.

94

Just make sure those boundaries are

really clear , because when you see

95

someone who is struggling and when

someone who's suffering, it's a natural

96

human reaction to want to step in.

97

But you really do need to maintain your

boundaries in order to maintain a level

98

of distance and also a level of capacity

to be able to do all the other work that

99

you have to do as well, without getting

dragged into too much of the detail for an

100

individual in their particular situation.

101

If someone is really struggling, there

are things that you can signpost them to.

102

For example, you could signpost them to

an emotions wheel to help them name their

103

emotions, and you can signpost them to

104

stephen Covey, circle of control.

105

Circle of influence.

106

That can be quite a nice exercise

to get someone to do if they feel

107

overwhelmed and not sure, what to

do next, and feeling out of control.

108

So thinking about your role

in all of that, what you.

109

Realistically can do what you practically

are able to do and feel kind of

110

qualified and comfortable to do, and

also what is going to be most useful

111

for that individual in that situation.

112

And then another element

of outplacement support.

113

Is around the kind of career

coaching side of things.

114

Now, depending on where somebody is on

that change curve, and depending on how

115

long you have to spend with somebody, some

consultation periods can be quite short.

116

It might not be practical.

117

For you to have career conversations

with somebody because they might just

118

not be in that right place, which is

where when you use outplacement support,

119

it gives people time to kind of come

to terms with as much as they can do

120

what's happening to them during the

consultation process, and then start to

121

work on some of the practical stuff later.

122

But in this situation what we often

find with working with clients is

123

there's a whole lot going on for people.

124

Because redundancy impacts

self-worth, self-esteem, confidence.

125

It can undermine your, the

thoughts and ideas and plans

126

that you had about a career.

127

So things to think about would be to.

128

Have a career conversation with someone

if they're open to that, to ask 'em

129

about their thoughts about what they

might be thinking about in terms of

130

next roles, things they want to leave

behind from the role that they're

131

leaving, things they want to do more

of, less of things they're proud of.

132

You know, there's loads of things that

you can ask in a career conversation

133

setting, and some of the most practical

and helpful things for people are.

134

To have access to a CV template

because lots of people will have a CV

135

that's out of date, understandably.

136

They may have worked in the

organization for a long time,

137

might not have a CV at all.

138

And so if you can provide a CV

template and some examples of what

139

good looks like from your perspective.

140

You might also want to provide them with

a guide of how to succeed in interviews.

141

You may want to put on a lunch

and learn, for example, where

142

you ask people to drop in.

143

And that lunch and learn could

be just for general questions.

144

It could be on a specific topic

and particularly things around cvs.

145

Interviews, those are really popular.

146

You might want to do something around

how to look for a job because the world

147

of work is changing, and again, for

some people they won't be up to date

148

with how and where to look for roles.

149

If you've got an internal talent team,

I would suggest you draw on their

150

experience and their resources and get

them to support you with some of this.

151

Maybe run a session on how recruitment

works from their perspective.

152

Providing some kind of drop in

career clinics, if you've got

153

capacity to do that again, where

people can come in, they might have

154

been doing some work on their cv.

155

They might have been giving some thought

to what's next, and they can come and

156

talk to you or people in an adjacent team.

157

You could issue a skills audit to get

people to think about the sorts of things

158

that they enjoy, the sorts of things

that they're good at, because this can

159

be a time when people lose sight of

that because redundancy nots confidence

160

and all that people can think about

is that the redundancy is about them.

161

We know that redundancy is about

roles, not people, but it does not feel

162

like that when it's happening to you.

163

So encouraging them to think about

their skills, to think about their

164

experience, and to think more broadly

about some of this can be helpful.

165

And one really important part in all

of this, if you are looking to do

166

outplacement internally as much as

you can, is to enroll line managers.

167

Because line managers know

the people more than you do.

168

They'll know their strengths, their

skills, the work that they really

169

shine in, and really encouraging line

managers to offer those one-to-one

170

conversations with individuals.

171

This can be around feedback.

172

For example, it's not a

performance review at all.

173

It's not a formal conversation.

174

It's just about a line manager giving

some insights, giving some ideas,

175

giving some feedback, observations in

an honest and supportive way to help

176

that individual to remember what they're

good at, where they add value, and to

177

give them some ideas if they can't.

178

Think about these for themselves are

the kinds of roles or environments

179

that might suit them based on their

knowledge of them as an individual.

180

And of course, when we are working

with people, this all goes a lot

181

deeper in terms of when we're

digging into confidence or identity.

182

But using what you can do and

using line managers can be a really

183

powerful thing for individuals.

184

And then job search support.

185

So again, this can feel.

186

Like a mountain to climb for

some people because they just

187

don't know where to start.

188

Maybe they're not confident

with technology, maybe they

189

haven't got access to technology.

190

And that's an important point.

191

And something that I would encourage

anyone to do in a redundancy process

192

is to provide individuals with

access to technology where relevant.

193

Um, of course, you need to provide people

with reasonable time off to look for

194

work, and that might be that you provide.

195

People with access to the technology

to look for roles and to get confident

196

and familiar with where to find jobs.

197

So it might be that you provide a simple

kind of job search tracker for people.

198

You might do some initial research

on job boards or recruiters

199

that you've used in the past.

200

You might bring somebody in who's

a local recruiter, depending

201

on the size and scope of.

202

The exercise that you are managing,

give people a LinkedIn demonstration.

203

Give them a tour of LinkedIn.

204

Show them how and where they

can find roles on there.

205

LinkedIn recommendations are really

powerful if you can get line managers to

206

give those to people before they leave.

207

And then just give people some

time to do their own research.

208

And again, if you are running

dropping career clinics, then people

209

can come in and ask for advice.

210

So these sorts of things really help

people move forward because they can see

211

and access things in a practical way.

212

And as well as job boards and the

practical ways to look for work.

213

Also emphasizing the importance

of their network, and that's

214

where line managers can introduce

people or make recommendations,

215

and that can be really powerful.

216

And then the last element is around

helping people to maintain that momentum

217

and to have a level of accountability

that can be really hard to do internally,

218

as I've said at the start, depending

on how long you've got with somebody

219

in terms of the consultation period.

220

So being clear about what you can

do for people and for how long?

221

It's pretty much impossible to

have an ongoing relationship

222

after somebody's left.

223

So it really has to end at the point

of which consultation has finished

224

and concluded, and that individual

is leaving the organization.

225

But be really clear about that.

226

So they understand the timeframes, they

understand the boundaries, and that

227

this isn't something that's gonna be

carrying on after they leave in the

228

event that their role is made redundant.

229

And also signposting.

230

That is one way of helping you to not

feel like you're holding everything and

231

carrying everything, as well as trying

to manage and lead the process and.

232

If you notice that you are starting

to feel responsible for how someone

233

is coping, or you are feeling that the

conversations that you're having with

234

someone might be veering into more

of a counseling or therapy need, then

235

it's really important to acknowledge

that and to signpost and not to

236

feel that you have to fix everything

because that's not helpful for the

237

individual and it's definitely not

helpful for you, as a HR professional.

238

So thinking about your boundaries.

239

And being really clear on those because

they do protect both you and those people

240

who are at risk and in signposting, it

also helps to give people agency over

241

their situation and what they need next.

242

So signposting to people internally.

243

So you might have mental

health first aiders.

244

You might have an EAP, A

pension provider, for example.

245

And then there's also external support

in the Department of Work and Pensions

246

Mind, charity, the Samaritans.

247

So feeling like you can give people other

places to go for support because at the

248

end of the day, your support can only

last until they leave the organization,

249

which might not be for a very long time.

250

So if you're not in a position to offer

out placement support, I hope that's given

251

you some insights into what you can do.

252

And also think about the fact that

you could do a blended approach

253

in terms of offering some things

in house and then offering some

254

things through an external partner.

255

So I heard that's been helpful

and do join me again for the next

256

episode of Redundancy Matters.

257

Thank you so much for listening

to the Redundancy Matters podcast.

258

I hope you found today's episode helpful.

259

It would mean a lot to me if you

would follow rate and review this

260

podcast wherever you listen to your

podcasts, as this helps it reach more

261

people who are managing redundancies.

262

Let me know what you thought,

and if you have ideas for future

263

episodes, I'd love to hear from you.

264

You can find me on LinkedIn, June

Hogan, and get in touch via my

265

website, wildwood coaching.co.uk,

266

where you'll also find more resources

to help you manage redundancies.

267

I hope you'll join me again soon for

the next episode of Redundancy Matters.