Where Will the Outplacement Process be in 10 Years?

Over the last decade, the outplacement process has changed radically largely because technology has ushered in a new way for people to work and find new jobs. Gone are the days of brick-and-mortar outplacement firms, printed resumes, and finding a career from “hitting the pavement.”

These are all great changes. Not only has technology allowed us to find more jobs, it’s also allowed us to find the right job. The sad part is that many outplacement firms are still living like it’s 1999, refusing to adapt their outplacement process to the ever-changing job market.

Fortunately for Careerminds, we aren’t in the position, meaning that we can think about the big, overarching questions that will define the industry moving forward instead of playing a never-ending game of catch up.

And one of the biggest questions our staff is constantly asking is: Where will the outplacement process be in 10 years?

To answer that we went straight to source, asking our expert staff members where they see the outplacement process going over the next decade.

Here’s what they said:

Our first response was from Kirsten, an inside sales coordinator working on the East Coast:

“Layoffs will continue to occur on a large scale is the US. I believe more organizations will turn to outplacement services for advice and guidance on downsizing. The outplacement process will become something that is expected and almost guaranteed within large corporations.

“As a provider of outplacement services, we see the benefit of outplacement all of the time. However, with more and more companies experiencing large-scale downsizing lawsuits, they will see that outplacement services are a necessity. In 10 years, my hope is the outplacement process will be more connected, meaning companies who are downsizing and companies who are growing will work more closely together to ensure that they are able to employ those who are among the top in the industry. Along with the technological advances over the next 10 years, I believe all corporate downsizing and hiring will be done 100% online, creating a complete virtual experience that will have Millennials jumping in and taking job hunting and recruiting to the next level.”

We thought Kirsten’s answer was pretty interesting. What stood out most to us were her thoughts about the interconnection between downsizing and growing companies. This makes a lot of sense because companies want to work together to ensure top talent has employment. It’s good for employer branding and the economy in general.

This brings us to our next response from Rachele, an inside sales coordinator working on the West Coast who also touched on branding.

“In 10 years I think the outplacement process will be utilized more consistently by companies to improve their brand in the marketplace. The advancement of technology in the cloud will be imperative. Career coaches and social media will be the best way to network and connect with hiring managers in a very tech savvy population. The utilization of a brick and mortar concept will become obsolete with the paradigm shift of Millennials coming in and Baby Boomers transitioning out of the work place.”

It makes sense for technology to be an important part of the outplacement process. The top outplacement firms have already been focusing on this for years so now the drive will be to make sure that every step of the process is technology-focused.

Sheila Cox, our inside sales coordinator for the central part of the United States, had some really good points about the need for flexibility in the outplacement process:

“Outplacement is here to stay due to its sustainable nature. However, the outplacement process will evolve as technology advances and lifestyle expectations change.

I just spoke with someone who worked with executives commuting from Connecticut to New York City. Once laid off, they did not want to commute 1-2 hours each way to network and be coached in face-to-face outplacement sessions. They preferred something more technologically advanced and flexible: virtual outplacement.

The outplacement process will continue to evolve into a more virtual platform to, as always, benefit the continuing job market’s fluctuation, but also to keep up with the advancements in technology and the need for flexible job transitioning options to better the experience of the participant.”

We loved that last part!

The outplacement process will continue to evolve through all sorts of different facets for the purpose of improving the user experience of the participants in the programs.

Participant first thinking is an important part of our agile innovation process at Careerminds. Technology is great! But technology without a purpose is nonsensical. Technology should be useful to the participant and enhance their overall experience. Whether this be through providing better job search engine scraping or through the ability to allow users to practice interviewing in artificial intelligence environments, the process will continue utilize the most cutting-edge technologies as we march into the future.

A quote from Melissa Forrest, our higher education inside sales coordinator, also supports the importance of technology:

“In ten years, I think outplacement offerings will be almost the opposite of what you see now. Currently, virtual platforms like Careerminds are much less common than traditional face-to-face programs. But with people and companies relying more heavily on technology every year I think virtual outplacement will become the norm.”

Another important aspect of improving the outplacement process focuses on the client value as well. Technology can be used to improve the overall experience of the client who is laying off employees. This can be through better data reporting, API connections into a HR enterprise system or even through the reduction of costs due to savings from the outplacement provider (from improved technology being floated into the pricing schema).

Our CEO, Raymond Lee, recently did an interview where he was asked what he saw for the future of the outplacement process. He answered:

“I see artificial intelligence (AI) continuing to be a hot topic for HR around job search and applicant tracking systems. Resumes will be extinct and virtual portfolios will be the norm. Outplacement providers will have to respond to this.”

That sounds futuristic, right?

Raymond’s vision is an important one to analyze. His vision was responsible for the inception of Careerminds, and we were responsible for the complete disruption of the industry through technology. (With that type of clout it is hard not to pay attention!)

If providers aren’t already thinking of ways to improve their outplacement process through the use of artificial intelligence, they have missed the boat. Providers also need to take into consideration how their coaching delivery will change with trends in digital resumes and online portfolios. According to Raymond’s vision, ten years from now we will all be submitting URLs of our websites instead of resumes.

After analyzing all of the responses we received in answer to this question, we have come up with a pretty solid concept of what the outplacement process will look like:

• Technology will touch every aspect of the process
• The participant experience will improve with technology
• The client experiences will also improve with technology
• Employer brand will become important
• Artificial intelligence and online resume trends will become prevalent, which will change coaching methodologies

Chat in with us below to let us know where you think the outplacement process will be in ten years!

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Aley Brown

Aley is a versatile global business leader with proven experience managing high-performing teams and engaging a data-driven approach to strategies that exceed company objectives.