Virtual Outplacement Service Proves to Benefit to Unemployed Workers

Spring 2013
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Virtual Outplacement:
Giving Displaced Workers an
Advantage in Job Search

Reductions in force over the past few years include people of all backgrounds. No
industry, education level, or job title hasn’t been impacted. From a business
perspective, letting people go is often a necessary business decision. For impacted
employees walking into today's job market - it can be overwhelming. The landscape
is vastly different compared to what they may have experienced in the past and
finding the right guidance is key in determining job search success.

Just as the internet and advancements in technology have enabled improvements in
human resources and recruiting, it has also become a catalyst for innovation in
outplacement services. Product trends in virtual outplacement have been a little
more behind the scenes than other areas of HR Technology, but for the organizations
that have focused on implementing a virtual solution, the impact on participants
About the Author speaks for itself.

Sarah White is an Industry
Analyst and CEO of Sarah Nationally, the overall unemployment rate is around 8 percent as of January 2013
White & Associates, LLC, a with the unemployed taking 41.9 weeks (10.5 months), on average, to find a new
Human Capital Market
Strategy & Advisory Firm. role. More than a third of these unemployed are considered the “long term
unemployed” - out of work for more than 28 weeks (7 months).1 The real reach of
Since 2006, she has been
displaced workers on unemployment has been so widespread that nearly half of
writing, speaking and
consulting with corporate HR Americans know someone who was out of work so long they decided to “give up” on
teams looking to better their job search. 2
understand how technology &
emerging media can improve
their hiring & retention
1 http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
practices.
2http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/jobs_employment/
april_2012/48_know_someone_who_has_given_up_looking_for_work

© 2013 Sarah White & Associates Page 1 of 5 www.SarahWhiteLLC.com
Licensed for Distribution by CareerMinds

Giving Displaced Workers an Advantage

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Virtual outplacement provider Careerminds found that displaced workers using their
services, on average, were reemployed after just 12 weeks - 71 percent faster than the
national average.3

Virtual outplacement participants were back
to work 71% faster than national average
Forward thinking companies are taking note of the impact of outplacement and are
Practitioner Note: offering virtual outplacement services for those employees leaving. This end-of-
service benefit will not only put their former employees at an advantage in the job
market, but also significantly lessen the time they spend on unemployment in turn,
Virtual Outplacement reducing legal risk for the organizaiton.
participants often have
The main differentiator we identified as why virtual outplacement was making such
access to a dedicated
counselor - they just a big difference for displaced workers is self-guided e-learning that was offered in

connect via phone or conjuntion with a dedicated counselor.

video chat vs. face to
Self-Guided e-Learning
face.
Gone are the days where a one size fits all solution to job search is appropriate.
Workers are entering the job market with varied levels of understanding of how to
even conduct search for a job effectively. Unlike traditional programs where
learning materials and coaching are primarily exchanged in person, web-based
programs are available 24/7 via the Internet. In addition to the self-guided learning
within virtual outplacement is a personal, dedicated career counselor available via
phone and video chat.

Through custom e-learning platforms, virtual outplacement technologies are able to
create a dynamic and interactive learning environment. Program participants can
look up answers to specific questions, and network with peers, coaches, and working
professionals alike. With information hosted online, rather than printed or presented
in-person, content can be delivered in many formats--from images to video to
interactive media.

T

3http://www.careerminds.com/press/outplacement-ﬁrm-reduces-average-
unemployment-time-for-job.html



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The self guided learning allows access to webinars, multimedia lessons, videos,
articles, guides, etc as frequently as needed - allowing more education to take place
where someone feels they need it and less time on areas with which they are familiar.
The “professional gamification” design of e-learning platforms used in virtual
outplacement encourages participants to complete certain tasks before moving on to
others, with a visual graphic of how close to completion they are. This consumer
driven model is familiar to most people involved in online networking and is a
learning guide for those that aren’t.
Practitioner Note:
The over all result of the virtual model
Unlike traditional or is a very high (and reportable)
face to face level of engagement among participants.
outplacement, virtual
solutions are fully This new focus is even more important once you understand that recruiters are no
measurable in real time longer relying on traditional recruting methods like job fairs and newspaper ads - or
- from engagement even online job postings to fill open positions. In fact, many specialty or experienced
rates to level of success. roles are “sourced,” where a company will have a handful of candidates identified
through their own efforts, prior to the role even getting posted anywhere. The
sources (often social and professional networks) being used by recruiters to find and
vet candidates change and adjust rapidly as they hone in on what is and isn’t actually
working for certain job types.

Recent research claims that as many as 80 percent of organizations use some sort of
social media or networking during the hiring process. Educating job seekers on
effective use of social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and professional
networking sites like LinkedIn is critical in getting back to work.

This virtual environment allows displaced workers to become more comfortable with
a computer system they may not have used previously - but also with online
networking, social collabortion tools and video communications - all of which is vital
in today’s job market. Take video interviewing for example, in just three years it has
gone from nearly non-existent to something 38 percent of companies are using at



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some stage of the hiring process in 2012. 4 Job seekers who have not looked for a
new role in a few years may not even know this type of a technology exists, let alone
it could be something they will be facing in more than a third of companies they may
interview with.

Conclusion
Virtual outplacement services are getting displaced workers back on the job quicker
due to the new method of learning that participants get to experience. A self guided
learning platform blended with individualized career coaching allows people to
spend time on what they need and creates a more personalized experience for the job
seeker - all from the comfort of their own home. This coincides with larger trends
we are seeing from all aspects of consumer and business technology.

For companies looking at career transistion providers, the virtual outplacement
model allows for similar analytics and reporting functionality they have come to
expect from their other HR technologies. This allows for measureable engagement
levels and ROI of the service, a real strength when compared to traditional providers.

With the new world of work and ever changing focus on remote and social
environments, the future of outplacement is clear and focused on a much more virtual
model than we have experienced before.

4Video Interview Usage Survey 2012, Sarah White & Associates http://
www.hrtechblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/0113-Video-Interviewing-No-
Longer-Early-Adopters-Whitepaper.pdf


About Us
©

414.671.9680 Sarah White & Associates, LLC is a Market Education & Strategy
@ImSoSarah Firm - a next generation analyst and advisory firm - working with
Sarah@SarahWhiteLLC.com some of human capital’s most innovative start-ups as well as best in
www.SarahWhiteLLC.com class global solutions and the technology that support them.

We are led by Sarah White a former practitioner and former Principal
Analyst, Talent Acquisition at Bersin & Associates. We know what it
is like to sit in the world of corporate HR. We understand the politics
and organizational change issues that come into play when selecting
new solutions or evolving processes to include technology. We strive
to make content easy to understand, accessible and adoptable by
companies from 100 to 100,000+ employees.

Corporate Human Resource teams rely on us for:

• Unbiased research and reports about Talent Acquisition & Talent
Management related issues that are less theory and more
practicality

• Custom market education for their team

• Needs analysis survey identifying areas for development related
to social and hr technology

We also work with vendors to educate the market, better understand the
HR industry as well as develop innovative product and market
strategies.

Find more content on our blog:
www.HRTechBlog.com
@HRTechBlog


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