Solving Employee Problems as an Alternative to Outplacement

About seventy-five percent of the candidates who come into outplacement
today lose their jobs because of "fit" issues. Something changes. A new
CEO comes in and brings along his own CFO. Or maybe he doesn't get along
with a member of the team. In short, the marriage doesn't work, and in the
long run, the change will benefit all concerned, if handled with
consideration and compassion.
Despite the fact that some "fit" issues cannot or should not be resolved,
many can be if the firm desires to keep a person who might otherwise be
terminated and is willing to take action early enough to address the problem
and to formulate a solution before the issues grow beyond the point of
remediation. Three reasons.
First, even with competent outplacement counseling and support, job loss is
a challenge that will continue to test the mettle of the displacement
employee and his family. While most outplacement candidates do find new
opportunities commensurate with their former positions, the strain on their
psychological, social, physical, and financial resources is a challenge that
can well be avoided under certain circumstances.
Second, the effective cost to the firm of termination and replacement can
easily exceed one hundred percent of the employee's total annual cash
compensation when the cost of severance, outplacement, and search are
considered. Not to mention the indirect costs of lost productivity, morale,
and trust on the part of remaining employees.

Finally, finding and keeping good people will become increasingly difficult
as firms begin to experience the full impact of the poor quality of American
education and a diminished work ethic on the part of available employees.
A major thrust of the work of York Career Development now and in the future
is to intervene within an organization in order to remediate the
interpersonal difficulties that are frequently the root of the "fit" problem
itself. I recently worked with a senior executive of a major corporation
who had brought the organization through the dark days of the recession and
had led it to an acceptable level of profitability only to find himself "out
of sync" with his new boss, whose leadership style and philosophy were
different. Understanding the effective reality of the direct and indirect
costs associated with the situation could have saved this valuable employee.
The time to initiate the remediation process is when things begin to go sour
between an executive or an organization and an individual or group. I
frequently ask a client, when I am called in to discuss an impending
termination, "If you could save this person, would you do so," only to be
told, "No, we think it's too late." Had I been given the latitude to work
with this person in a Career Continuation Program, the only risk would have
been the loss of a few weeks. Because, if we were unable to effect a
satisfactory solution, the modest fee that I would have charged for my
services, would have been credited to a full executive outplacement fee. And
if we do not succeed and the person is terminated, everyone can take
satisfaction in the effort that was made.

A few month ago, we began a Career Continuation Program with the controller
of one of our high-tech clients. Yet two weeks after we began to work with
the individual and his boss, we all concurred that it was too late and that
the employee would be better off to leave. In a sad post mortem, the CEO
said, "If we had brought you in six months ago, this thing could have had a
different outcome."
I suspect that his words apply to many situations.

Norman J. York, President
York Career Development, Inc.
3307 Northland Drive, Suite 280
Austin, TX 78731
Austin: 512-502-8258
Houston: 866-502-8258
Cell: 512-656-8239
Web site: www.yorkinc.com

"Your vision will become clear only
when you look into your heart.
Who looks outside, dreams
Who looks inside, awakens"
Carl Jung