MANAGING OUT: Deploying an Effective Exit Management Process
The Inability to recruit and retain top talent is one of the issues increasingly affecting organisations. A survey carried out by SHRM (2019) reports that 83% of respondents within several organisations have had trouble recruiting suitable candidates in the past 12 months.
Recruiters and hiring managers can testify to the length and difficulty in the process of sourcing critical skills. This points to the importance of having well defined and smart strategies to attract and retain top talents. Some of these strategies include exciting onboarding initiatives that encourage inclusiveness and early engagement of new recruits, sometimes lasting till the end of the first year, all the way to exit management strategies that are well managed to ensure ex-employees become brand ambassadors of the organisation and remain connected to the system.
A decade ago, organisations were less concerned about how exiting employees felt about their exit management process. However, in today’s world, organisations who wish to remain attractive to top talent cannot afford not to think strategically about Exit Management Processes. According to Glassdoor, 69% of job seekers would not take a job with a company that has a bad reputation — even if they were unemployed. Increased interconnectedness coupled with widespread use of the internet, means that, at the press of a button, millions of users all over the world have access to opinions which could either make or mar the brand of an organisation.
It is interesting to note that most organisations tend not to plan for layoffs as it leads to feelings of unrest for both management and employees. While the employers are thinking of the potential damage layoffs can cause to the reputation of their brand, employees are more unsettled about the fear of losing their job. Sadly, only about 29% of organisations have a formal employee exit management process in place as posited by Cushing (2014).
Employee layoffs due to reasons such as merger & acquisitions, technology adoption, restructuring, cost-cutting, or to maintain global competitiveness are increasingly becoming a norm in the business world today. Everyone knows at least one person in the past five years who has experienced a layoff. The Bureau of Labour Statistics in the U.S. (2018) has reported the number of worker layoffs by April of same year to be at 1.7 million. In Nigeria, the year 2019 has seen many layoffs in the financial services industry, foreign start-ups, technology companies, oil and gas firms to name a few.
To adequately manage an exit process, organisations must normalise the process and remove the stigma surrounding addressing and planning for lay-offs. Employers need to work proactively to protect their organisations and employees as best as they can if the need for a lay-off arises. It is essential to ensure that those affected are treated fairly. This reduces the chances of the unaffected employees and the public at large perceiving the management as insensitive to the affected.
For example, the poor management of Nokia’s exit management process led to a huge drop in profitability as a result of bad press and employee grievances. Nokia lost an estimated 700 million in sales and 100 million euros in profit between 2008–2010. Poorly managed exit management processes can adversely affect your ability to attract top talent, dampen the internal team morale and damage the brand in the eyes of the public, be the source of unnecessary litigations. Hence, it should not be taken lightly.
This is where exit management and outplacement experts can be of assistance. A comprehensive outplacement service will provide emotional and practical career support services following declaration of redundancies or restructuring initiatives. Our experience shows that outplacement assistance for exiting employees should form a critical part of an exit management process. Some of the benefits of a well-managed exit process include:
- The conversion of exiting employees into brand ambassadors and advocates instead of enemies
- The rebuilding of trust in the system and the psychological contract between the company and the unaffected employees
- An opportunity to show the organisations commitment to employee welfare
- An opportunity to position the organisation as an employer of choice ultimately attracting top talent
- Reduction in the probability of litigation by disgruntled and affected employees
The benefits of using external exit management and outplacement experts to plan and implement an exit management program is enormous. For example, experts provide you:
- Access to objective advice on best and leading practice and support
- Experienced coaching and counselling opportunities i.e. Both to your internal exit team and the affected employees
- Time for your internal exit or HR team to focus on managing the unaffected employees
In choosing the right exit management and outplacement service expert, organisations should look for providers whose service offerings and mode of operation align with their internal culture and those willing to adapt the programme to the specific needs of the business. The creativity and flexibility of the exit management and outplacement service provider is also a critical factor to consider as a business requirement during the exit process. It can change and would require a lot of nimbleness or agility to manage.
Lastly, a service provider who has experience in delivering successful exit management or outplacement services for clients across several industries, with evidence of results and testimonials to ensure a seamless and successful execution must be sought.
Through our experience in supporting exit management and outplacement projects over the years, we have learnt amongst other things, three (3) critical factors to delivering successful exit programs. They include:
- Employer and Employee Empathy: To offer valuable insight and advice on the best approach to manage any exit or outplacement program, service providers must be able to see through the eyes of both the organisation and the exiting employees.
§ Flexibility and Agility in Approach: Service providers must be willing to meet changing delivery requirements of both the clients and those receiving the outplacement services. This would help to boost participation levels and the delivery of results to the client
§ Have a Partnership Mentality: Be involved as a project partner and owner. Service providers should support and advise from the perspective of ‘if this fails, I and the client are in soup together. Our brands are at stake’.
In conclusion, exit management processes can be painless when well-managed by experienced professionals who are realistic, inclusive, and driven with compassion.
REFERENCES
Cushing (2014) https://www.aberdeen.com/hcm-essentials/employee-lifecycle-offboarding/
Glassdoor (2019) https://b2b-assets.glassdoor.com/50-hr-and-recruiting-stats.pdf
U.S. Bureau of statistics (2018) https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/layoffs-and-discharges-edge-up-to-1-point-7-million-in-april-2018.htm
- Nimi Adeyemi
- Joshua Ademuwagun
