Employee wellbeing is no longer a ‘nice to have’ on the HR agenda, it is – and quite rightly – expected by employees across the workforce. According to recent data from Gallup in the US, 63% of workers say that wellbeing is very important to them when considering whether to take a job. As an employer it’s not enough to offer a competitive salary and financial benefits package, people want to feel looked after and treated as a whole person physically, mentally, and emotionally – not just as a resource there to do a job.
Outplacement as part of your wellbeing strategy
Having an embedded wellbeing offering is a must – so have you considered talking about outplacement as one of your wellbeing-related employee benefits? It might seem odd to talk about outplacement across the employee lifecycle – surely it only applies at the end of an employee’s journey with you if you have to let them go?
Actually, talking about the offer of outplacement right from the start of your journey with a candidate can really support the embodiment of your approach to wellbeing. Whilst it may seem counterintuitive talking about redundancy when you’re hiring, we all know that nothing is certain in life or employment and sometimes, with the best intentions of all involved, circumstances change. By being able to talk about how you look after people in this situation right at the start of your relationship with a new employee, you are letting them know from the off that you care about them, even past the point of their employment with you.
If the worst happens and you have to let people go, your employees know they will be supported in making a positive transition without being left to navigate all the emotion and practical demands alone. Offering something like outplacement support to your people – and talking about it the whole way through your employee lifecycle – gives your employees the peace of mind to know that they will be looked after in the face of the unexpected and removes a lot of anxieties and disruption that can otherwise come with business fluctuations.
This means that if your business goes through a period of uncertainty, you can help to maintain your productivity and reduce the number of people that leave your organisation out of fear that redundancies may follow. Another recent survey found that 53% of UK-based tech workers are pre-emptively looking for new jobs in response to increased redundancies – essentially jumping before they are pushed. You end up losing people from your organisation to fear that they will be forced to leave when in reality that might never have happened. If your employee base is clear that comprehensive outplacement support will be provided if they do need to move on, you help reduce this fear and unease that prompts people to leave before they would otherwise have considered it.
And then if you do need to let people go, you may find that with an outplacement-educated, engaged employee base you have more people prepared to put their hand up for voluntary redundancy and potentially even remove the need for a compulsory process. Morale remains higher than it would do otherwise – both amongst those leaving who you need to provide a comprehensive handover, and amongst those retained staff you need to perform at their best now more than ever.
At a time when you need your employees to be engaged, motivated and performing well, redundancies have a real risk of destabilising your retained employees. If you can show that you have treated their former colleagues and friends in the best way possible, you reduce those feelings of disengagement and unease with the organisation, and in turn, also reduce the number of people that start job hunting as a result of other people being made redundant.
Having a clear stance on wellbeing and a range of offerings that support employees around the direct requirements of their day job is imperative to help you attract and retain the best talent and support a positive organisational culture. Embedding knowledge and provision of outplacement support throughout your employee lifecycle is a great way to really show that you live and breathe your values and care about your employees as real people, not just resources hired to fill a seat.
To find out more about Connor’s personalised, as long as it takes outplacement offerings and how we can support your holistic wellbeing agenda across your business, call us on 01491 414010, or email info@connor.co.uk.
