The conditions of the world economy, new technologies and competition have pushed companies to make significant cuts in staff. However, this work that has always been considered one of the most traumatic for human resources departments is being modified through new techniques such as outplacement
The processes of globalization and economic integration added to the progressive and consistent technological advances in the information age have brought with them a wave of layoffs that has made companies reconsider how far their responsibility goes with the employee who is laid off and has provided, for the benefit of the company, much of your effort, your life and your time during the course of your employment relationship.
Firms have understood that it is not "kicking out" and "kicking out" people that successful relationships and work climates are created, they have realized that maintaining personnel reduction policies without more only results in declines in performance and motivation of those who they stay, which can generate a result totally contrary to that sought when personnel are laid off: instead of saving costs and allowing the reduction of losses or increasing profits, it is possible to increase losses or decrease profits.
That is why within companies assisted dismissal programs (outplacement) have been implemented to minimize the injuries caused to people due to the loss of their jobs.
What is outplacement
Outplacement or Programmed Disengagement is a process of advice, support, guidance and training aimed at the person to graduate or be transferred to search for a new job or activity of quality, level and conditions similar to those of their previous occupation, in the shortest possible time
INJURIES
Work is understood as one of the most valued elements of our society, generally the unemployed are seen as a second class person and the opportunities to acquire a home, a vehicle or another type of good through credit are directed to employees since they are considered a safer market than the independent ones, in addition, the academic training of most institutions is oriented towards the training of employees.
Given these conditions and understanding the customs of our societies, it is understandable that the loss of employment is one of the problems that most affects people, both economically and psychologically. The person loses self-confidence, economic power, self-esteem, in addition they tend to feel guilty and have problems within their family nucleus, marital problems increase, children, if any, do not show respect,…
The problems caused by the loss of employment generate such a blockage in the individual that it prevents him from developing strategies and actions that lead him to the rapid achievement of a new one
Although outplacement seeks to solve individual difficulties, it is also a tool that contributes to reducing the problems that companies may face when making layoffs such as replacement costs, falling productivity and the motivation of employees who remain, among others.
ASSISTED UNLINKING AS A SOLUTION
Outplacement, more than a tool, is a human resources policy that deals with disengagement and whose application reduces the traumas and inconveniences suffered by both the disengaged and the company. This policy is based on two premises, the need for the scheduled termination process and the fairness with which those who will be terminated are chosen and treated.
Today scheduled dismissal is a process integrated into human resources policies, just as is the selection and hiring of personnel and as a process it has certain stages of implementation, namely:
1. Diagnosis
Corresponds to the situational analysis, during this the program is designed, its objectives and scope are proposed, the candidates to be separated are identified, communication strategies are developed and the entire program is planned.
2. Intervention
This stage seeks to determine the training needs of individuals through psychometric tests, through its application the strengths, competencies and abilities of the candidate can be determined.
3. Preparation
After identifying what the candidate can do, what they like, and where they feel comfortable, they proceed to develop a personal skills development plan that includes personal marketing and training tasks and then plan how they will be reintroduced to the labor market.
4. Implementation
It is about developing an individual career redesign or potentialization plan, establishing if the individual can create their own business, if there is the possibility that they continue working with the same company but through outsourcing or what are the best employment profiles that they can exploit. A search campaign is then undertaken, accompanied by improvement of skills to obtain new jobs, which seeks to improve the communication and negotiation skills of the individual, all aimed at obtaining the new job.
5. Feedback
Once the individual has been employed again, either independently or through a company, the program is jointly evaluated and each experience is examined to determine how and in what to improve
With outplacement, the individual can overcome the unemployment stage faster and with fewer risks, also creates a new mentality among those who remain, since they know that they will not go through this bitter experience alone.
BENEFITS
This program creates benefits on a personal level since the unemployed gain in self-esteem, training and competitiveness in the labor market, while at the business level the benefits are found in that the morale and motivation of the employees are not depressed, which it results in the maintenance of productivity and in many cases its improvement. Furthermore, outplacement is a response to the commitment that the company has with those who have given part of their lives to achieve corporate objectives, thus creating a solution to this great moral responsibility of "abandoning" those who have served and produced for it.
Rodríguez-Kábana, L. (1987) Outplacement has advantages for the terminated employee and the company. Business. Madrid, cited by Luis López Mena in "Assisted disengagement, (outplacement) and continuity in employment" Journal of Psychology, University of Chile, Faculty of Social Sciences.
