The Changing Outplacement Process: New Methods and Opportunities for Transition Management

312 Pages·1994·14.87 MB·English

by  John L. Meyer

The Changing
Outplacement Process
This page intentionally left blank
The
Changing
Outplacement
Process
New Methods and Opportunities
for Transition Management
John L. Meyer & Carolyn C. Shadle
FOREWORD BY David A. Lord
Q
QUORUM BOOKS
WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT • LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Meyer, John L.
The changing outplacement process : new methods and opportunities
for transition management / John L. Meyer and Carolyn C. Shadle ;
foreword by David A. Lord,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-89930-890-2
1. Job hunting. 2. Unemployed—Counseling of. 3. Outplacement
agencies. 4. Employees -Recruiting. I. Shadle, Carolyn C.
II. Title.
HF5382.7.M49 1994
650.14—dc20 94-2988
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright €> 1994 by ICS, Inc.
All rights reserved No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, w ithout the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 94-2988
ISBN: 0-89930-890-2
First published in 1994
Quorum Books, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32
Copyright Acknowledgments
The authors and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to reprint the following pre
viously published item:
Selected quotes from Career Planning & Adult Development Network Newsletter, Vol. 14,
No. 11, November 1992, pp. 1-2. Copyright O 1992 by Richaid L. Knowdell. Reprinted with
permission of the author.
In order to keep this title in print and available to the academic community, this edition
was produced using digital reprint technology in a relatively shoit print run. This would
not have been attainable using traditional methods. Although the cover has been changed
from its original appearance, the text remains the same and all materials and methods
used still conform to the highest book-making standards.
Contents
Figures and Table ix
Foreword by David A.Lixd ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xvii
PARTI. THENEWCAREERISM 1
1. The Turbulent World of Work 3
2. When the Employee Is Outplaced 19
3. The Ripple Effect 27
PART II. THE NEW OUTPLACEMENT PROCESS 41
STAGE ONE: PLANNING AND PREPARING 43
4. Contracting for OTR 45
5. Getting Terminated Employees Started 51
6. Accoutrements for People in Transition 63
7. Personal Counseling—What and When 69
VI Contents
STAGE TWO: MAKING DECISIONS 81
8. Assessing the Unemployed Candidate 83
9. Career Decision Making 95
10. Career Pathing 103
STAGE THREE: LAUNCHING THE CAMPAIGN 113
11. The Marketing Metaphor 115
12. The Resume—A Personal Sales Representative 125
13. Networking: Contacts and Connections, Links and Linkages 131
14. Employment Interviewing 145
PART III. THE OTR PROCESS AND ITS INDUSTRY 169
15. Changes in the OTR Process 171
16. The New OTR Process and the New Careerism 185
17. The New Face of Today's OTR Industry 199
18. Challenges and Responses: Issues and Ethics 225
19. Choosing Wisely: How to Select the Right OTR Service 247
Appendix A: Historical Perspective 265
Appendix B: Chronology of the Outplacement Profession 265
Appendix C: Career Transition Resources2 265
Appendix D: Reemployment Act of I94 265
Selected Bibliograp h 265
Index 283
Figures and Tables
FIGURES
1.1 PeopleData 4
2.1 Reactions Along a Curve 20
3.1 Communication of the Plan to Remaining and Separated
Employees 33
4.1 The Three-Stage OTR Process 44
7.1 Financial Review Form 75
10.1 Biographical Worksheet 105
13.1 One Link or Tie 134
13.2 Inner-Circle You 135
13.3 Outer-Circle You 136
13.4 Weaker Ties 136
13.5 Steps and Links 137
14.1 Screening Interviews 148
14.2 Taking Stock 152
15.1 Management Levels Receiving Outplacement 173
15.2 The Helping Continuum 181
16.1 Research Techniques 192
17.1 How the Outplacement Market Is Divided 202
VIII Figures and Tables
17.2 Circle of Services 208
17.3 Outplacement/Career Transition Activities 219
TABLES
14.1 Six Stages and Phases to the Employment Interview 156
17.1 Outplacement Industry Serves More Candidates Every Year 201
17.2 Types of Outplacement Assistance: A Five-Year Trend 201
Foreword
This book is about professional services, but it also provides a professional ser
vice: a comprehensive, independent view of outplacement^ history, its current
state-of-the-art methods, and its prospects for change and growth in a changing
economy.
This is a first-of-its-kind effort, and one that probably could not have been car
ried out by anyone within the outplacement profession, since the true value of any
professional service lies largely in the independent view it brings to a situation of
significance. The situation of significance here is the transformation of what we
know as outplacement to a broader field: transition consulting, both for individu
als and organizations.
It's never easy to write about change—it is a moving target. And in this case, the
moving target is seen from several vantages: corporate clients, individual job seek
ers, consulting practitioners, and observers from related businesses and profes
sions. These differing views are reflected, and well-documented, in this very
thorough report. But the authors have gone one important step further: They have
assimilated the most impressive elements of today's transition consulting methods
into what can be considered a model program for the profession.
As outplacement practitioners continue to redefine the profession's body of
knowledge, The Changing Outplacement Process will be an important point of
reference in a rapidly evolving business. The authors have indeed provided a pro
fessional resource to these professional services.
David A. Lord