Three Vital Stages Of Successful Outplacement Strategies Adapted By Chinese Business Organizations

The rapid economic development of China has provided HR managers with ample experience about selecting, utilizing, developing and engaging talent in the most effective manner. At the same time, many organizations feel the need to change the structure of their workforce or even downsize it to cut costs. However, when faced with such situations, many business organizations in China feel unsure about how to proceed with employee layoff in the measured way. That is why most such companies seek the services of companies offering outplacement coaching in China. Discussed below are the three vital stages of the successful outplacement strategies suggested by such companies and adapted by Chinese business to ensure a smooth send off of the outgoing employees.

Pre-Notification Planning And Implementation

The most important thing for employers in China is to understand that it is not possible to unilaterally lay off employees in the country. Rather, they need to enter into a mutual separation agreement (MSA) with the employees being terminated. That is why the businesses planning to terminate their employees need to go about the process with extreme care and caution. This is because handling the process in an unplanned and improper manner can lead the employees to refuse signing the MSA and this can result in prolonged negotiations. This can in turn have far reaching consequences for the business and cost it dearly both in terms of financial losses as well as loss of goodwill. The pre-notification planning and implementation phase deals with ensures the proper handling of the employees to be terminated through extensive communication and emotional understanding.

Notification Day Behaviour And Attitude

The actual notification day can be extremely stressful and emotionally challenging for both the employers and the employees. That is why it is important for business organizations to convey the business decision to the employees in an empathetic and accurate manner. The management should also be mindful of not making it mandatory for the employees to be terminated to sign the MSA immediately. Most importantly, the business management should emphasize on providing the necessary support to the employees. This might include provision of a severance package, and career transition services offered through coordination with a reliable career partner in China. The management needs to assure the employees that they will not be left alone and in fact would be provided all the assistance and support to move forward to a better and rewarding career.

Post-Notification Including Outplacement And Rebuilding

The final phase of a successful outplacement strategy is the post-notification period. During this phase the management needs to fulfil its promises of helping the outgoing employees to find new career opportunities. At the same time, the management needs to work towards rebuilding the confidence and morale of the employees left behind. In case of foreign business organizations, this phase also involves projecting a positive image of the organization to the Chinese officials. In addition such organizations also need to work towards minimizing the social conflicts with the local community that are bound to arise due to the negative consequences of loss of jobs. The management needs to avoid performing any activities that will harm their goodwill even further.