Ben Hainsworth

A hallmark feature of high performing businesses is the commercial value that the Human Resources department contributes to the organisation. In such organisations, HR has a seat at the boardroom table and even junior HR personnel are highly attuned to the commercial drivers of the business.

For example they can quote staff attrition rates and the return on investment (ROI) ratios for the most recent leadership development program. In short, they know how their role contributes to saving or making money for their organisation. In most organisations however, HR is perceived as a cost centre and serves little more than an administration function and these HR personnel struggle to communicate how they make a difference to an organisation. Which type are you? Continue reading →

With the current downturn in the mining industry, management are making tough decisions regarding asset optimisation, cost management, risk management and profitability. Naturally, head count is being scrutinised more closely than ever. What isn’t hitting the headlines is what genuine ‘employers of choice’ are doing to support their exiting workforce and their remaining staff.

A leading Global Engineering Consultancy recently made a corporate decision to discontinue a once profitable consulting arm of their Australian operation. With increased competition, reduction in mining demand and eroding profit margin a very difficult restructure resulted in the redundancy of 40 national engineering roles. As an employee-owned organisation that lives its company values which include Teamwork, Caring, Integrity, and Excellence, this decision was not made easily. Throughout the decision-making process Management was naturally mindful to uphold these values, and BeilbyOPRA Consulting was engaged to provide Outplacement and Career Transition services to individuals for a period of up to 3 months.

The objectives of the project were to ensure that individual staff were adequately supported through this period of transition and ultimately, to gain alternate employment as quickly as possible.

BeilbyOPRA’s Solution:

BeilbyOPRA Consulting’s solution was led by a team of Organisational Psychologists and supported by Consultants being on site in seven locations throughout Australia on the day that the restructure was communicated to employees. Consultants provided immediate support to displaced individuals through an initial face-to-face meeting, where the Career Transition program was introduced. From here, individuals chose whether or not to participate in the program, the key topics of which included:

Taking Stock – Understanding and effectively managing the emotional reactions to job change.
Assessment – Identifying skills and achievements through psychometric assessment and feedback sessions.
Preparation – Learning about time management skills; developing effective marketing tools; resume writing and cover letter preparation; telephone techniques.
Avenues to Job Hunting – Tapping into the hidden job market; responding to advertisements; connecting with recruitment consultants.
Interviews – Formats; preparation; how to achieve a successful interview.
Financial Advice – BeilbyOPRA partnered with a national financial services firm to offer participants complimentary financial advice.

The Outcome:

Of the 40 individuals whose positions were made redundant:

78% engaged in the first day of the program.
Of this group, 48% participated in the full program, as the remainder only utilised one or two of the services before securing employment.
83% of those who participated in the full program gained employment within 3 months

Some of the learning outcomes from this project for organisations include:

Conduct thorough due diligence before committing to the restructure.
Create a steering committee to oversee the redundancy process.
Ensure accurate, relevant and timely communication is provided to all those involved.
Have a trial run of the entire process.
Have a dedicated internal project manager to facilitate the outplacement project.
Ensure that the staff who remain employed with your organisation, ‘the survivors’, are informed and supported.

In summary, the value of outplacement support was best captured by the National HR Manager who stated:

“It is about supporting staff and upholding our values through good and difficult times. From a legal, cultural and branding perspective outplacement support is critical. As the market changes we will hope to re-employ some of the affected staff and some will become clients in the future’.