Departure of an Executive: Adopt the “Outplacement” Reflex – Anne-Laure Pams, Director, Grant Alexander – Leadership Development, for FocusRH
17.07.2024
While increasing attention is paid to the quality of onboarding, that is, the conditions of a collaborator’s entry and the quality of their integration into the company, it is also necessary to pay attention to offboarding, which is its natural mirror at the moment of exit.
In an economic context of recession, and after 2 to 3 years of euphoria in recruitment, we have for several months been in a period of slowing hires and, for some companies, departures of executive managers. In these contexts of individual departures, outplacement may be requested or offered.
What is outplacement?
Outplacement is a support system that is part of a structured and personalized process. It aims to secure and professionalize the executive’s repositioning process. This can be a return to salaried employment, but also the creation or takeover of a business. It may be requested by the executive or proposed by the company. It may also be recommended by the lawyers of both parties.
It is important to keep in mind that the discussion on departure conditions cannot rely solely on the amount of severance. And in the current economic context, repositioning can prove more complicated than in the past. It is therefore essential to ensure the quality of conditions for the executive’s return to employment. This is where outplacement takes on its full meaning and becomes a true point of negotiation.
A clarification, however: outplacement is not coaching. Even if the trend around coaching can create confusion between what outplacement is and what an outplacement consultant does, it is important to remember that it is not the same profession. It is an HR service in itself, based on a dedicated methodology and specific tools. While coaching relies on a tripartite contract aimed at supporting an employee in post in their development and in achieving objectives linked to those of the organization, outplacement aims to allow an employee leaving the company to be supported in implementing their own professional project.