Do Your Benefits Reflect Your Employees’ Needs?
By: Richard Butz
Why Compassion Matters During Employee Transitions
As a leader, you are sometimes faced with the difficult task of transitioning employees out of your organization due to downsizing, reorganizations, or position eliminations. Traditionally, organizations offer severance pay, an apology for “having to do this,” and best wishes – often leaving it at that. Providing outplacement and career coaching to those leaving is invaluable, supporting them as they transition to their next opportunity.
An employee’s experience with your organization’s culture does not end when the meeting is over. Organizational culture begins with the first impression during the hiring process, evolves through onboarding, and continues as employees take on challenging roles supported by supervisors who act as coaches and mentors while treating everyone with respect, regardless of gender, race, religion, or nationality.
Strengthening Culture Through Career Coaching
Much of this goodwill can be lost if organizations fail to provide one additional benefit: access to a certified Personal Career Coach. Career coaching helps individuals manage the stress of job loss while supporting them through their job search – no matter how long the process takes.
Including a Personal Career Coach as part of the severance benefits package demonstrates that the organization cares about its people beyond their employment. It also shows current employees that leadership values people and is willing to invest in their success, even during difficult transitions.
A Better Approach to Severance Benefits
Providing compassionate transition support not only preserves organizational culture but also makes the difficult task of delivering transition news more meaningful for leaders. Organizations committed to a strong culture should consider including a certified Personal Career Coach as a standard part of their severance benefits.
To learn more about outplacement and career coaching services, visit www.cleindy.com/outplacement or contact Jamie Maroney at (317) 403-5106 or jmaroney@cciindy.com.