Career Transition ROI

I was recently asked to deliver a presentation to a prospective client on why they should provide career transition support and what return they could expect for their investment.  This was the first time in the 27 years that I have been a Career Transition Consultant that these questions had been asked as plainly or bluntly.  Perhaps I was naive in initially thinking that this was too narrow a focus for any organisation to have in determining whether they would provide such support to their staff. However, as I began to plan my presentation, I realised that these were valid questions for them to ask. It was now down to me to demonstrate to them that they will indeed get a return on their investment and that some of these returns will be tangible.

As career transition/outplacement is now a mature service, having been provided for several decades, there are now a number of studies that show that in addition to the benefits to the individual it can also enhance morale and lead to an increase in productivity. So, for organisations embarking on major change programmes there can be considerable net cost savings to be gained. Providing career transition support should be seen as an extension of the employer’s duty of care, demonstrating their commitment to the employee’s welfare, fulfilling their social responsibility. It should also be seen as adding value to their recruitment and retention strategy. Remaining and future employees will see that in the event of future redundancies they will be supported. It will help organisations deal with the impact of survivor syndrome.     

These were a few of the ways in which I could see that an organisation would get a return on their investment. Not all are tangible or quantifiable. I could argue that actually and quite simply it is the right thing to do. Outplacement has always been valuable, now it’s priceless.

By Shaun Allred, CDS Operations Director : Senior Consultant