Most Employers Willing to Assist Laid-off Employees
SEATTLE, WA (August 3, 2009) – If you get laid off, expect that your company won't just slam the door on your way out. According to a recent study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), nearly 70% of companies provided outplacement assistance to employees who were affected by a reduction in force (RIF).
With over three-quarters of respondents saying their company has conducted layoffs in the last two years, outplacement assistance is more crucial than ever as unemployment nation-wide approaches 10%. Of the companies that do provide such services, 76% outsource to an external firm, 7.1% handle them completely in-house and 16.9% use a combination of the two. However, far fewer high-performing organizations – those that have excelled in growth and market share – rely solely on external outplacement firms, with 30% saying they use a combined approach.
A vast majority (77.7%) of respondents said that they have no intentions to change the level of outplacement services provided to employees in the future. Only 12.4% said they'd offer less, while 9.9% said they'd offer more.
The outplacement aid a company provides depends largely on the position the former employee held in the organization. Executives are more likely to be offered outplacement services for up to a year (33.1%), whereas it is more common for managers and individual contributors to be given only up to three months (46.9% and 58.5%, respectively). For non-exempt employees, 53.1% of companies said they provide outplacement services for up to three months, but 35.4% said they don't provide any services.
Over 40% of respondents said that, on average, nearly half of executives, managers and individual contributors actually take advantage of their outplacement benefits, though the lower in title, the less likely an employee is to use the services. Non-exempt employees are the least likely to use such benefits.
The Outplacement Pulse Survey was conducted by i4cp in June 2009. A total of 355 respondents participated in the survey. The full results of the survey are available exclusively for all i4cp corporate members.
About i4cp, inc.
i4cp is the world's largest vendor-free network of corporations focused on improving workforce productivity. Our vendor-free community facilitates innovation by giving our members – among the largest and most respected organizations in the world – access to:
- Peers to spark new ideas and prevent "reinventing the wheel,"
- Research to enable members to understand current practices and next practices,
- Tools to put ideas and research into action,
- Technology to enable members to easily access tailored information and execute workforce strategies.
As vice president of marketing at i4cp, Erik is currently responsible for all marketing efforts for the company and works alongside several departments to execute organizational initiatives. He also oversees web development projects. Located in Seattle, WA, he brings over 15 years of Internet marketing experience, most of which are in the research industry.
Prior to i4cp, Erik worked as Internet Marketing Director at market research panel company GMI, where he was responsible for global online marketing and panel growth in several countries. He also managed the graphic design team and worked extensively with other departments on process improvements and plan development. GMI experienced exceptional revenue growth - several hundred percent - during his tenure. Prior to GMI, Erik founded FilmJabber.com, a movie review and information website that continues to grow in popularity and traffic.
Erik received a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Western Washington University.