The brief
In 2012, the firm’s HR director was made aware of Connor. “We had a pretty nondescript outplacement service with another provider, which offered outplacement on a standard 30 or 90-day basis. What’s more we didn’t get any comments about it, we didn’t hear from our provider and feedback from employees was limited.”
Why Connor?
“I met Paul Connor and immediately liked what he told me. I was impressed by Connor’s commitment to a bespoke, personal outplacement service, which is offered on an as long as it takes basis. It showed me that they had great trust in their method.”
The approach
“Our leavers tend to have some trepidation and nervousness about change, particularly if they’ve been with us for a long time. We wanted to offer a best in class career transition service. Why? Because we value the expertise and commitment that our previous employees have provided to us. We wanted the confidence that our leavers are getting the finest outplacement care available.
Our role in HR is to follow the right processes and help our line managers to explain the business rationale behind any change. We are involved in the consultation process, the internal job search and, if required, the severance. When it comes to redundancy terms we place great importance on Connor’s career transition service – it’s a key component of our offering. Connor matches our leavers with a consultant who has a style and approach that suits them. They help them until they find their next opportunity – there’s no limit to the number of meetings and no set time duration.”
What we did for the client
Connor has been the preferred outplacement partner for the last five years and has:
- Supported up to 20 leavers a year with a personal, one to one outplacement service offered on a for as long as it takes basis
- Worked with all levels of employees across a number of business streams – from senior management to junior investment professionals
- Been successful at helping leavers to find a range of new opportunities from other corporate roles in the financial services sector to setting up their own businesses.
Their HR director continues: “We get feedback from Connor in the form of monthly updates. These let us know how employees who use their outplacement service are progressing. We also take comfort from the unsolicited messages we get from former employees about Connor. Leavers appreciate the one to one coaching they receive and many tell us how much they value outplacement when they find out it is about much more than just updating their CV.”