A box on the organization chart is being emptied, rather than filled...and a consultant stands ready to help.
Two decades have gone by since outplacement as we know it today first began to be practiced. Since then, a genuine profession has developed.
Many fine firms now perform functions that help both employers and employees.
However, as in any other profession...from law and teaching to medicine and the clergy...there are wide variations in integrity, knowledge, diligence, and ability. And in outplacement...as in executive recruiting...the range of competence is especially wide, because there are no limitations on entry. There is no college curriculum, no rigorous accreditation procedure. Anyone can become an outplacer, merely by purchasing stationery and business cards.
So whenever your employer provides outplacement, you may be getting anything from the best to the worst possible assistance. Understand the business yourself, and you'll maximize your benefit from it.
Take a look at this chapter even if the grim reaper is nowhere near your office. And come back here again whenever you suspect that your job may be in jeopardy.
Why were there no outplacement counselors until about 20 years ago?
Because up until then nobody had got the brilliantly creative idea that employers would pay large fees...typically 15% of the individual's annual compensation...to facilitate the discarding of executives.
The advantage of filling empty chairs in the executive suite had been seen and exploited. But nobody had guessed that corporations would pay handsomely to have executives removed swiftly, compassionately, and without a traumatic trace left behind to disturb former peers, subordinates, and superiors. The corporate undertaker/chaplain/resurrecttionnist had not yet offered to help.
Today when a senior executive who might "take it badly" is about to be fired, there's probably an "outplacement counselor" waiting in the next room to take charge of this understandably shocked and disturbed individual...to talk consolingly and optimistically with him...to remind and help him to remove his most valuable and personal items from his office during those last few minutes in it...to reassure him that the rest of his things will be packed up and delivered to his home tomorrow...and to introduce him to the job-hunting services and the office-until-he-gets-another-office that his former employer has graciously seen fit to provide.
Day after tomorrow...perhaps even by tomorrow afternoon...there'll be a different attache and other family pictures on the credenza. A successor will already be busying the former executive's subordinates with new assignments, and business will be "back to normal."
And everyone associated with the departed will have been made aware that he's been "very well taken care of." He has received a generous severance. And far from being cast adrift on the seas of fate, he's been provided "outplacement services at company expense." Instead of mourning another victim of the corporation they're still at the mercy of, the survivors will be thinking, "Even if the worst happens and you get fired, at least this is a company that tries to take care of you."
Does the corporation get its money's worth from outplacement?
Compare the instantaneous postpartum we've just witnessed with what used to happen, and I think you'll agree that the answer is yes, the corporation does get a valid service from its outplacement firm.
Prior to outplacement, the person firing our outplace might have been in for a much rougher time. Instead of a brief five to ten minute encounter ending with, "Come, Ruth, there's someone next door I want you to meet," there could have been a more protracted and difficult session with no stranger to turn Ruth over to, who'd stick with her all the way out of the building.
And before outplacement, assuming the corporation wanted to appear at all humane, Ruth might have been given the rest of the week as a "lame duck" in her own office, and then exiled to a smaller office with a shared secretary elsewhere in the building...possibly on an infamous "death row," along with other previously prominent players. In both places she might have held court, receiving farewells and furtively exchanging "don't-let-the-bastards-get-you-down" sentiments.
Just the intangibles we've touched on so far justify what the employer pays for outplacement. If Ruth is helped to find another job more quickly than she otherwise would have, so much the better. Indeed, the company may even save some money on a shorter period of "continuation pay" and sustained medical insurance, if that system, rather than lump-sum severance, is used.
And of course, even despite her swift surgical removal, at least a few of Ruth's colleagues back at the office will track her progress. They'll get further "good vibes" if she feels her outplacement service has helped her find work sooner than she would have without it.
On the other hand, if she's slow to find another job even with professional help, that merely confirms the wisdom and fairness of the firing decision.
1. Removal
We just saw the advantages to the employer of getting the terminated employee off-premises immediately. "Out of sight, out of mind" makes for much better morale among the workers who remain on the job. And if you fired the guy, it's nicer for you too, not to meet him every day in the elevator or the parking lot.
Since the advent of outplacement, demoralizing "death rows" of fired-but-still-here executives have all but disappeared from the corporate scene. The main exceptions occur during massive layoffs, when the outplacement "counselors" may work on the employer's premises, leaving the executives right where they were, until they find other jobs.
2. Avoiding Litigation
Another reason corporations purchase outplacement is to soothe employee resentment that might otherwise lead to a lawsuit. Today statutes...both state and federal...prohibit age, sex, and minority discrimination. And if an employee sues, the employer's legal expenses are very likely to exceed the cost of outplacement counseling, even if the court never grants any cash to the employee.
Moreover, there's also the possibility that an employee may bring a "wrongful discharge" action. Many states don't recognize this lawsuit unless the employee can prove some kind of contractual coverage... either a specific document, or implied coverage under old-fashioned "welcome-to-our-company" literature that most corporations have now eliminated. But even if the employee does not prevail, the outplacer beats the attorney on cost.
3. Re-employment
The third benefit could be more accurately stated, "A demonstration of concern for re-employment." Again employee morale is the operative factor. The employer buys visible proof of caring. And that proof is delivered instantaneously...just by hiring the outplacement firm, regardless of how soon or how late re-employment actually occurs.
Naturally, the corporate personnel department should be checking employee satisfaction, and steering its outplacement business toward the firms that employees seem to like best. But beyond that, whatever results are achieved are strictly a matter between the employee and his or her outplacement counselor.
The idea is that the person who decides to grant outplacement is often the same one who decided to fire the individual or to sell the business unit...or who so mismanaged her part of the corporation that a whole cadre of managers had to be swept away. She feels guilty. And by granting some of the corporation's money for outplacement, she achieves some kind of atonement and feels less guilty.
Maybe in rare instances such self-indulgent feeling is the basis for spending large sums on outplacement. But try to picture the president of a corporation speaking to someone who's just spent thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of dollars on outplacement:
"Good going, Laura! I'm glad you spent all that money so you could feel better. Try to spend more tomorrow. Maybe you can feel even better."
Perhaps guilt does figure in the outplacement decision. But I see simpler, more publicly-supportable motives such as convenience, employee PR, fear of litigation, and peer pressure to keep up with the humanity and modernity of other corporations.
I say "if there's still time," because when you're taken next door by the person who just fired you and introduced to "someone who can help," it's too late to have any say in selecting your outplacement firm. The company has chosen. Now all you can do is try to get the best possible assistance from the firm they've picked.
Merely having read this book will help, because you'll have a comprehensive knowledge of all the techniques for changing jobs, and you can work much more effectively with your counselor in designing a campaign that fits your particular circumstances.
Moreover, there's a good chance that you will get to choose the out-placer you prefer. Today a great many corporations do business with several different outplacement firms. The Chief HR Officer of one of America's largest companies told me that, corporately and through various U.S. divisions and subsidiaries, he spent over $11 million on outplacement in a single year, using 34 different suppliers ranging from the giants to individual practitioners. He feels each local operating unit should decide which outplacers are the best in their community, and which among those are best to handle specific situations...from a mass blue-collar layoff, to cutting a group of executives, to firing a particular person who may have special needs that certain counselors handle unusually well.
Smaller and medium-sized companies aren't such big spenders. But for the very same reasons, they too may routinely use more than one supplier of outplacement.
So suppose you're fired, and then told you'll be getting such-and-such a severance arrangement...which will include outplacement. As you begin discussing the details in the personnel department, say something like this:
"Oh, I've heard quite a bit about outplacement...some of it very good, and some of it not so good. I guess it makes a lot of difference what firm you get, and even which counselor within the firm. Would it be okay with you if I interviewed more than one firm and chose the one I'd feel most comfortable with?
"Of course I'll give first preference to the firms you recommend. And I'll stay within the right price range, if you'll just tell me what that is. But I'd also like to check out a couple firms where I've heard of people getting really good help. I don't know the names off-hand, but I can find out...maybe they'll be the same ones you have in mind. Would it be okay for me to shop around a bit?"
Chances are, you'll be told that the company is way ahead of you in this line of reasoning, and you'll be handed an already-prepared list. Or one may be jotted down for you. Since a main purpose of outplacement is employee PR, your request, when presented in this rational, dispassionate fashion, will probably be cheerfully granted.
On the other hand, if you fail to express interest in selecting your out-placer, you may merely get the next one on a rotation schedule...or the least expensive one...or in a large layoff with several firms or counselors operating at full-capacity, the one the choosier folks aren't choosing.
You're most likely to have a choice when you're the only one leaving, and everyone wants you to be as happy as possible on the way out.
If, on the other hand, a whole business unit is being spun off or closed, then the company is likely to have contracted with a single supplier to outplace multiple people at a fixed rate. Then you'd better plunge into the prescribed program. Outplacers, like everyone else, tend to give better service to their enthusiastic supporters.
When I started writing Rites of Passage at $100,000+, I had no idea that it would rapidly become the #1 bestselling career book for executives.
I also had no idea that Rites would cause a furor in the outplacement industry...praised and used for their executive-level work by a great many firms and individual practitioners, and cursed and reviled by some others.
Indeed, it was a negative reaction that hit me first. A couple months after Rites came out, I got a phone call. The Association of Outplacement Consulting Firms (the industry's trade association) was holding a national conference...the first in its history...and my caller would be moderating a panel of authors discussing their books. Would I be willing to appear?
From my caller's tone of voice and her apparent surprise at my acceptance, I sensed that I was headed into unfriendly territory. Had she read Rites'!
Obviously, the outplacers she'd talked to didn't like Rites, and she wasn't about to go out and buy it. So I sent her a complimentary copy, plus some early reviews.* Four weeks later I called to see if she'd read the book. No, but she'd passed it along to a personal friend who was looking for a job. "I'll get his reaction." By then I'd heard from several job-seekers that their outplacement counselors vehemently opposed their reading Rites. So I sent her another copy and crossed my fingers, hoping she'd read it before the conference.
I also arranged to have complimentary copies of Rites placed in the hotel rooms of everyone attending the conference. "If they're going to be disturbed by it," I thought, "they should at least look at it first."
I enjoyed mingling at the conference, and soon was up on the dais with three other authors, being introduced by the very charming and professional woman who had invited me. To my surprise and delight, she began by acknowledging that Rites had sparked controversy, and added that she'd now read the book herself and was favorably impressed. Moreover, my presentation was applauded very warmly by most of the audience. Some, however, were sullenly silent. And one middle-finger was prominent in the front row.
Then came questions-and-answers. The nearest microphone was seized by a red-in-the-face outplacer who, despite his obvious anger, launched his tirade with a wonderfully humorous zinger:
Here was the spokesman for the opposition. Indignant, he fumed on...declaring war on Rites. I didn't shout back.
Instead, I reached into my briefcase and pulled out a photocopy of a letter. I handed it to Richard Wong, author of The Outplacement Solution, who was sitting next to me on the dais, and asked him to read it aloud. It was from someone I did not know, a Vice President of one of the largest and most prestigious outplacement firms, who had written by hand on his personal stationery. I'd removed his name and address and the name of the firm, to preserve the personal and confidential nature of the letter...and because it was dynamite:
There was stunned silence when Richard finished reading. I said nothing. The questioner sat down. And the moderator restarted the proceedings by accepting another question. Frankly, I wasn't quite as pleased with this exchange as you might expect. The letter was the perfect put-down. But it stated someone else's views, not mine.
The writer's huge firm was at that time noted for its policy of unobtrusively counting the letters its outplacees sent out. At or beyond 100, they were told that they were close to the firm's limits on the preparation and mailing of letters, and should single-mindedly focus on networking. Since Rites, I understand that this firm has become far less restrictive. But against that summer '88 background, you can see why one of their regional Vice Presidents was moved to write his "thank you."
The reason I wasn't entirely pleased by the impression his letter created, however, is that the whole premise of Rites is that there are four possible ways to look for another job: (1) skillful handling of personal contacts, (2) networking among strangers, (3) referrals by recruiters, and (4) direct mail, which takes up only about 10% of these over-600 pages.
I didn't want a shouting match, and the letter avoided one. So I "quit while I was ahead," even though more needed to be said. The words of the VP who wrote the letter arose from his own personal experience. And for that reason, they were far more general and negative than mine would have been.
Each job-hunter is unique. And despite the prevailing odds, not everyone needs to contact 1,000 or 2,000 companies to hit three to six with openings. Nor does everyone need to reach a lot of recruiters. And not every outplacer who tells you only to network is putting his interests above yours.
So what, if anything, is the moral to be drawn from this dramatic confrontation?
In effect, we've seen a shoot-out between spokespeople for two extreme positions within the outplacement industry. And, as they say on TV, "before a live audience," which was comprised of the industry's leaders at their first national conference. A fiery speech vs. a scathing letter.
And the moral of the story, I'm pleased to report, is that the letter from the good guy won!
The Other Letter I Took to the Conference
Here's another letter, which I also had in my briefcase...from an executive, not an outplacer. It wouldn't have blown away the guy at the microphone, but it far better illustrates what Rites is all about:
Dear Mr. Lucht:
This is simply a "thank you" note for Rites of Passage at $100,000+.
In January, I had been a second vice president and counsel for eight years at (X) Insurance, a $1 billion company, and decided to explore outside opportunities, because there was little prospect for further growth within the company.
In March, I bought your book and put your advice to work.
In July, I was appointed senior vice president and general counsel of (Y) Insurance Co. of (city/state), a $5 billion company.
I learned of the vacancy through networking; (Y) Insurance learned of me through direct mail; I was inserted into the field of candidates by the retainer search firm, (name of a prominent one); and when I received the offer, I knew it was the best opportunity available because I had previously contacted all other targeted insurance companies through sponsored direct mail from the CEO of another insurer who had been my principal client when he was executive VP of (X) Insurance. Although I didn't send out 1,000 letters, I did follow almost every other piece of advice in your book. I found it invaluable, and the results speak for themselves.
We've never met, but I feel I know you and owe you a debt of gratitude. Hence, this note-and my recommendation of Rites of Passage to my colleagues.
Thanks again. You've done a great service to me and, I'm sure, to thousands of other executives and professionals whose knowledge of the world of job changing was woefully inadequate to the task.
Sincerely,
Here's a fellow who learned all four methods of job-hunting, and used each with great skill. Only a few dozen companies were the right size and prestige to advance his career, and he reached every one of them by sponsored direct mail. Through networking, he learned of the opening and the identity of the retainer recruiter.
However, having read Rites, he wisely didn't contact the recruiter directly and put him on the spot. Instead he asked his prominent sponsor to write the employer who, duly impressed, passed him back to the recruiter. And afterward, the recruiter supported his candidacy even though previously he'd considered him out-of-spec because he was only number-two in a too-small company.
Here we have the ultimate in job-hunt maneuvering.
And also a coincidence worthy of a Russian novel. This fellow, who discovered Rites in a bookstore and used it to score his career break-through, happens to be a personal friend of one of the most respected founders of the outplacement field, John Drake, co-founder of Drake Beam, which has since become America's largest outplacement firm, Drake Beam Morin, Inc.
John is one of those endlessly productive individuals who never "retire." Today he practices outplacement in Portland, Maine, at Drake Inglesi Milardo Inc. and continues to write books, including periodic updates of Effective Interviewer, his definitive classic on employment interviewing.
When I called the insurance executive to thank him for his note, he informed me that he'd passed Rites along to John, who was already using it in his practice. Later, he introduced me to John, who says:
So much for the point of view I'd have preferred the conference to hear. What they got instead, was tough talk...poles-apart perspectives from two of their own people.
Immediately after the "authors panel" came a large cocktail reception. Never before or since have so many people come over to me and said, "Please don't think we're all like him," often followed by compliments from people who either had already read Rites and were using and recommending it, or had begun reading the complimentary copy in their hotel room. One "user" even arranged to bring me out to Denver to address the Colorado State Personnel Association and conduct a career-development seminar.
Of course, the man at the microphone held court on the opposite side of the room, where he too attracted an ample following of supporters and well-wishers.
But overall, I left that conference a couple days later with a profound respect for outplacement. I had observed and met a great many outplaces. And I came away knowing many wonderfully talented, sincere, and dedicated men and women who care very deeply about whether and how soon their "clients" find re-employment.
In the years since those sunny October '88 days in St. Louis, I've come to know almost as many outplacers as I do executive recruiters. And whether I end up in heaven or hell, I expect to meet about an equal proportion of both professions in either place.
In the earliest printings of Rites, I included tips on how the employee could go about getting cash from his employer in lieu of outplacement, if he knew in advance that the outplacers the employer normally used would provide very little tangible help. Then he'd at least have some extra money to finance his own multi-faceted, practical, and aggressive job campaign.
That's not what I say today. Now, if your employer is offering outplacement, I say, "Take it!"
Today there are plenty of fine firms who deliver absolutely excellent and highly personalized advice, plus equally impressive support services. There are also lots of outstanding individual counselors who either work independently or are given plenty of latitude to serve you to the fullest extent of their ability and conscience, by the high-quality firms they work for. If Rites came out today, rather than in early '88, it probably wouldn't spark that heartfelt "thank you" from the frustrated VP who wrote the letter read at the conference.
And the reason lies in something else I'd have loved to have said at the conference, rather than "quitting while I was ahead" after Richard Wong read the letter:
"You ought to fire that Controller who's been watching the postage meter. And your firm ought to fire you!
Not for any moral or ethical reasons, as the letter implies. But rather, just for poor business judgment.
Believe it or not, there are plenty of your peers in this room who don't think as you do. And in the years to come they'll eat your lunch, if you don't change your outlook!"
No question about it. The outplacement industry has kept right on improving. And today outplacers are more alert and better equipped than ever before to help you conduct a multi-faceted and truly aggressive job-hunting campaign. In the end, the outplacers who lag behind will be left behind.
Why do so many outplacers recommend and use Rites?
The success of a great outplacement counselor is in one-on-one consultation with the job-seeker, custom-fitting advice and encouragement to the unique circumstances and needs of a particular executive at a specific point in time. Such personal interaction is something that no book… Jiltes or any other...can possibly provide.
Virtually all of the outplacers using Rites tell me they do so because it's a map of the outside world. As John Drake puts it:
As you're probably aware, the only reason today's sparklingly-appointed health clubs can prosper is that not everyone who pays for a one-, two-, or three-year membership actually uses the club. Many lose their enthusiasm after a few visits or a few weeks, and don't come at all. And fortunately almost nobody uses all the "facilities." Some only come to aerobics classes...or just swim...or just use the machines...or play squash or basketball on rare occasions. If all the "members" came three times a week for just a couple of activities, the club would be swamped and would have to shut down. Indeed, it's not unknown in the health club business to subtly discourage some members...usually the unattractive, self-conscious ones...from coming in and overcrowding an oversold facility.
Expect a bit of the same "modus operandi" at some of the less-good out-placement establishments you'll visit, as you select the one to serve you. Be on the lookout for a long list of facilities and services which they "supply," but might not like to see you use to any meaningful extent.
Outplacers are like everyone else. To stay in business they have to cover expenses and make a profit.
Bear in mind that, at least as far as I know, no outplacer anywhere delivers all of the following services to the maximum possible extent. Give "plus points" for honesty to the ones who clearly and voluntarily reveal their limits on each item. Being careful what they promise is a good indication that they intend to do what they say, and therefore may perform a lot better than the ones who affirmatively gloss over everything you ask.
Moreover, knowing where you stand on each service up-front may enable you to negotiate giving up something you don't need, in return for additional help with something else. Or, if you otherwise prefer the firm and the counselor, you may negotiate to pay extra for an enhancement. Whatever you do, don't expect to wheedle and charm your out-placer out of something later on that she's reluctant to promise at the outset.
Start out by asking whether the firm offers more than one level of service... what the differences are...and which level your employer has you ear-marked for. There may be a VIP service featuring a better seating arrangement and/or unrestricted sending of letters. You may never know about it if you don't ask up-front. And knowing, you may be able to get your employer to spring for it.
Even if your employer refuses to upgrade you, you'll be better off knowing where you stand. And the outplacer won't be in the awkward position later on of having to encourage you to do only a minimal program, just because that's all your former employer is paying for.
Touring the Facility and Checking the Services
As each item is pointed out, express your favorable impression...and pin down a promise as to how much you'll be allowed to use it. And talk about the maximum, even if you're not planning such aggressive use of the facilities. That's the only way to find out up-front where the real limits are.
Neither you nor I can ever be certain why an outplacement firm emphasizes certain techniques and discourages others. The presumption I always start with is that they recommend what they earnestly believe will be most helpful, and discourage what they believe will be counterproductive. However, you sometimes wonder.
For example, I vividly recall this phone conversation with a counselee, who explained he was operating out of his outplacement firm's location and could show up in my office within two or three minutes. Surprised and intrigued, because that meant he couldn't be more than a block away in absolutely the highest-rent neighborhood in Manhattan, I asked about the facilities he was getting:
Finally I understood. Ambience was the competitive edge. "This place is a real class act...that's why I chose it." Nice office, and apparently you could sit there. Great secretaries, too. But don't ask them to put out letters.
This guy's outplacement firm is probably paying annual rent of $50 per square foot on the approximately 120 square feet they let him occupy...$6,000 per year (although let's hope he finds work in less than a year). In his mind, they're obviously more of a "class act" than all of the other outplacement firms in Midtown Manhattan who propose to stuff him into an open-ended work/phone unit that occupies only one-fourth as much space. His outfit has more impressive secretaries, too. However, that firm's advice is such that he'll be making absolutely minimal use of them.
It's conceivable that a more utilitarian-appearing establishment might have had some word-processing workers in the back room who'd have implemented a more comprehensive campaign on his behalf than the glamorous geishas currently answering his phone and serving his coffee.
Before you choose or reject any outplacement firm, be sure to find out what kind of a campaign they recommend for you. Are they really listening to your concerns and objectives? Do they seem to be tailoring a program to meet your needs? Or are they merely applying a standard formula?
And when you find out what their prescription will be, figure out what it will cost them to provide it. Maybe the cheapest methods for them are clearly the only ones that fit your specific needs. But make them explain why other methods, carried on simultaneously, shouldn't also be part of your program.
Networking is your single most valuable job-hunting technique.
However, above and beyond everything it offers you, networking also has some major advantages...and no disadvantages...for an outplacement firm.
Networking is largely a local activity. You won't be traveling around the country just for brief visits with strangers who don't have a job for you, but might provide "advice" and the names of additional people to contact. Therefore, you won't be using the outplacement firm's long-distance phone lines and its word-processing services to set up your appointments. Indeed, since only local calls will be involved, you'll probably stay home and make them from your den, in which case you won't even be using desk space and local phone lines at the outplacement service. To the extent that you occupy yourself with nothing but networking, you're virtually no burden whatever.
Unfortunately, the tendency of quite a few outplacement companies to recommend nothing but ultra-high-pressure pleas for "just-a-few-minutes-of-your-time-so-I-can-get-the-benefit-of-your-knowledge-and-suggestions" has generated a backlash.
Senior executives tell me they're getting monumentally fed up with these increasingly frequent and strident requests. The shrewder ones no longer resignedly reach for their calendars when a name with "clout" is said to have "suggested I call you." They say they'll have their secretary look over their schedule and call back with a date. Meanwhile, they check the person whose name was used; find out how urgently or casually he or she desires cooperation; negotiate an "I-won't-do-this-to-you-if-you'll-stop-doing-it-to-me" truce; and have their secretary call with deepest regrets.
How sophisticated is their networking advice?
Here's a tip. As you try to evaluate and select an outplacement firm or a counselor within a firm, explain that you're already underway with your networking and would welcome any suggestions. Maybe pose a specific problem or obstacle you've come up against. Or just ask some basic questions like these:
Make no mistake. Networking is the single most productive and widely-recommended means of looking for another job.
Therefore, every outplacer has a wealth of firm-wide and personal experience in networking. Are his or her thoughts and suggestions insightful? Practical? Creative? Better or worse than other outplacers are giving you?
The answers to your off-hand questions are a free sample of the advice the firm will provide later on. Do you like and respect this counselor and his or her advice enough to want more?
Consider the quality of their direct mail.
Rather than appear to neglect direct mail, some outplacement firms now routinely send an impressive number of letters to standard lists.
For example, a Midwestern firm that processes about 50 executives per year routinely sends out 1,000 letters for each high-level outplacee. They hit:
And, of course, the mailing is a standard "production-line" combo of cover letter and two-page resume. It does not resemble a personal communication from an executive using his or her own stationery. And the executive is not encouraged to target his own mailing list.
Clearly, this outfit is doing more for its outplacees than the firm with the impressive secretaries that discourages sending any letters at all.
But not much. And certainly not enough to add significantly to the firm's operating costs, since they mail to standardized lists. A thousand letters whoosh out the door, without ever having to keyboard any names chosen by the outplacee.
Sadly, avalanches of these mass-produced mailings have virtually anesthetized the high-profile CEOs they're supposed to influence. They've become the "junk mail" of the executive suite, just as high pressure networking appointments have become the most-disliked calendar-cloggers.
Don't judge a firm on how many letters they'll send. Instead, find out who they're willing to send them to. Can it be a list of people that you select? And are you encouraged to think creatively and expansively in framing your list? If so, your outplacement firm is obviously interested in your re-employment, not just their P&L.
You're lucky. Now you can go through the directories, and use the phones. You can pick the most appropriate recipients...hopefully about two echelons above the job you want, in the corporations (and subsidiaries) you're most interested in and most likely to be hired by.
Fortunately, most of the people on your list won't be the obvious ones who receive a daily deluge from the outplacement firms. And of course you'll send a personal-sounding letter on personal-looking stationery, plus a "sales representative" resume, so your mailing won't scream, "Junk mail's here!"
There's one canned list your outplacement firm should send your resume to.
When mailing to corporations, you'll want to pick your own personal list, choosing your most appropriate recipients at the companies that are most intriguing to you. The more personalized your list is, the more likely you are to reach off-the-beaten-path executives who haven't yet been bombarded into indifference.
Retainer recruiting firms, however, are another matter. They expect to receive resumes and, of course, are interested in any that happen to fit their current searches.
There are more than 1,000 retainer firms in the U.S. And no two of them will ever be working to fill the same job at the same time. So make sure your outplacement firm hits the broadest appropriate list. Omitting likely firms omits your exposure to the jobs they're handling.
Incidentally, your high-quality personal stationery and non-matching resume aren't as important in contacting recruiters as in dealing with corporations. If you only have a limited quantity of personal stationery, use it on your letters to companies. Divert your standard outplacement mailing to the retainer recruiters.
Perhaps the circumstances of your termination...or fortunate personal circumstances...assure you of solid office-support systems, regardless of what the outplacement company offers. Then you'll be much more interested in "extras" than in the "fundamentals."
If psychological counseling and therapy are promised, insist on meeting the person who'll deal with you...and on knowing his or her credentials. What you don't need at a traumatic time of career upheaval, with its associated pain and self-doubt, is to have your "head" dealt with by an opportunistic amateur.
Televised interview-coaching can sometimes be helpful in "seeing ourselves as others see us." And role-playing rehearsal with a skilled counselor, who asks tough questions and makes sure you have confident reactions, can also be very valuable. What you get out of any technique depends more on the skill, good will, and time-commitment of the person administering it, than on what the brochure says.
Outplacement companies are in the business of being friendly, sympathetic, and concerned. Hence, their counselees usually like them.
However, if the firm has mainly been dispensing coffee, sympathy, and dubious advice, it may not have been really helpful...even though its counselees may have a favorable impression. Find out about specific recommendations and concrete help.
When outplacement firms are volunteered by your personnel department, ask for a list of the people they've sent to each firm, and call several from each. And when you visit a firm where you don't have access to an independent list of outplacees, try to shake hands with people who are using the facilities on the day of your visit. Remember their names and telephone later to ask your questions, when the privacy of a phone call will encourage them to speak more frankly than they would in front of the counselor who's showing you around.
Investigate as if you were spending $15,000 of your own money. Sure, it's the employer's cash. But it's being spent on you.
1. All the money is committed on the first day.
The price the outplacer will be paid for services in assisting you has been determined-and the bill's probably in the mail-before you start.
Whether you get a great job fast...or a poor job slowly...or no job ever... the outplacer's fee is the same. Hence, there are only two strategies for making money on you: (1) Spend lavishly in time and money at the outset, so that you get a job fast and your drain on profits ends quickly; or (2) Emphasize inexpensive methods, so that no matter how long your search continues, you never drain profits very much.
Different firms lean more toward one strategy or the other. All firms, being practical, have to do some of both. You, of course, prefer to find and/or encourage an emphasis on "strategy #1."
Although a second economic fact also influences what the outplacer can afford to do for you, it's a fact that you unfortunately do not know.
2. You don't know how much has been paid.
Today's "lean-and-mean" corporate thinking has affected outplacement, just as it has executive recruiting. Drastically reduced prices are being negotiated, as companies get price-competitive bids from outplacers by promising X number of "cases" per year...either nationwide or locally.
As a result, your employer may be paying a lot less for your program than was paid for the full-price programs the outplacement firms' enthusiastic references are raving to you about. If so, you can't, in fairness, expect the same treatment they got. Or, your company may have different price deals with different outplacement firms...all of whom they send you to meet, hoping you'll choose the cheapest.
The point is that there are subtle, but practical, money issues involved in outplacement just as in recruiting, and you have to be alert, fair, and realistic in what you expect and get from your outplacer.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about. At the International Outplacement Conference I attended at Disney World in October '92,1 met an exceptionally fine outplacer with her own sizable firm. She told me this true story:
When a corporation headquartered in her large New England city removed six senior executives, it invited her and the local managers of the biggest national firms to each bid a total fee for all six. Our heroine lost. "I couldn't do what we do for twice what one of those firms bid; yet they claimed they'd provide their top-of-line service.
"However, a very amusing thing happened. One of the six executives on his first day at the outplacement office spotted a memo from the manager naming him and the other five, and telling the staff to give them minimum treatment...lower-ranking counselors, less secretarial support, less mailing of letters, etc., because the firing employer had negotiated a very severe price-cut for the 'six-pack.'"
The fellow who discovered the memo hot-footed it back to his former employer's Personnel people who had cut the deal and been told there would be no reduction in services. With the evidence in black-and white, various apologies and adjustments were in order. The outplaces apologized to the personnel people, for the "misunderstanding," and to salvage the relationship had to extend their most deluxe support at the same ridiculously low price. And the company, fearing legal action for discrimination, had to offer the six fired employees their choice of all the outplacement firms in the city.
The bottom line is that-far from getting "cheapie" treatment-five of the six stayed with the original firm and got VIP services...as did the sixth, who switched over to our heroine's firm ("she'd wanted us all along").
You're unlikely ever to have the leverage these people had, with two fine firms vying with each other to spoil you. But you can get excellent service, if you're alert, fair, firm, and practical in dealing with the out-placers you do have.
Frankly, I'm skeptical.
Remember, corporations get three benefits from outplacement (removal, avoiding litigation, and demonstration of concern for your re-employment), and they have vastly deeper pockets than you do. Their dollars are far less dear to them than yours are to you, and they get 100% performance of all three benefits they pay for.
You, on the other hand, are in a totally different situation. Removal and avoiding litigation aren't what you're seeking. And neither is a demonstration of concern for your re-employment. You must find actual reemployment. And that is never promised by anyone who proposes, for a fee, to help with your job search.
Whether it's an outplacer who works only for employers, never individuals...or a "career counselor" who works mainly for individuals, advertising to them in the "Help Wanted" sections of newspapers...or a firm that solicits both corporate and individual "clients"...all contracts are the same. Stripped of hype and lawyer-language, they boil down to this:
Despite the thousands of dollars you agree to pay, you're still left with a do-it-yourself project. You'll get education and encouragement. Plus some letter and resume suggestions (although who knows how good they will be?). And if the "fine print" specifies it, possibly some high-priced clerical help. But you're still left with total personal responsibility for the end result.
Could that ever be a good deal? A few years ago I would have said, "No, never!" More recently, however, I have heard of empathic and corporately-knowledgeable people who do provide valuable career assistance, ranging from just being a "sounding board" on ticklish political problems, to helping with resumes and cover letters. But these people are seldom the ones you see advertising in the newspapers; they get their clients through enthusiastic personal recommendations from others they've served. And they are expensive! One woman I know, a Ph.D. industrial psychologist with lots of common sense and general business know-how, gets $3,000 for just a single all-morning start-up consultation.
On the other hand are some highly promotional outfits that advertise in the newspapers. Self-labeled "Career Counselors," "Career Development Specialists," and even flagrantly mislabeled "Outplacement Counselors" or "Executive Search Specialists," outfits like these have been around for the past 30 years, promising to help unemployed executives find jobs, and to help dissatisfied executives find better jobs...a very appealing concept to sell, but a difficult one to deliver.
Therefore, these outfits have perennially been in hot water with their Better Business Bureaus, District Attorneys, State Attorneys General and...when these came along later...Consumer Affairs Departments and investigative TV shows including 60 Minutes on CBS. Their advertising and high-pressure sales pitches often implied that they represented employers looking for executives...a channel which would be opened after job-seekers signed fine-print contracts and paid hefty fees. Or there was an implication that these firms would actually achieve employment for those who signed and paid.
Indeed, even the remarkably large sums these firms charge tend to be implicit promises of great things to come. "How could I have known they intended to do so little, when they were charging so much?" say the executives who sign contracts, and later complain to the authorities and to the media.
In the early '60s these firms were charging executives in excess of $1,000. Today their fees are almost always above $5,000. And at least one firm charges senior executives upwards of $15,000 plus a second fee that's often even higher than the first, because it's based on X weeks of salary if and when a job is found. Here's a tip, in case you're ever tempted by such a two-payment deal: The person pitching you probably makes very good money on the "Part 1" fee. Nonetheless, you'll hear: "We're in this together. I hardly break-even on the front-end; for me to make a profit, you have to get a great job and pay your 'Part 2' fee." Believe that, and I've got a real estate deal for you to consider.
What usually gets these firms off the hook is the very limited commitment in their carefully-worded contracts (paraphrased on prior page) as to what they are actually going to do. BEWARE! If you let yourself get clipped by one of these outfits, don't say I didn't warn you!
All of which brings me to the main point I'd like to leave with you on outplacement...
The finest outplacement assistance your employer's money can buy...even the VIP program with absolutely unlimited support services...will never put you in your next job.
Finding your job is your job.
Outplacers can help. Rites can help. The $3,000-a-moming woman can help. But when we're all through, it's up to you.
