Since the 1980’s, outplacement has appeared in France and promotes professional mobility. In the digital age, several platforms offer their digital outplacement services to companies.
As a Human Resources Director, you will have to convince the company and the unions to generate more collective outplacement missions. The choice of an outplacement platform must therefore be carefully considered.
The objective of this article is to guide you in this choice and to clarify the criteria to take into account!
Find out about outplacement platforms
Information is power. A platform that offers good services will make sure that all useful information is available to the public and to its potential clients. By visiting the platform, you will be able to know what it is about and thus decide.
A good outplacement platform must put people at the heart of its activities. It must guarantee excellent career management for its clients. You can therefore read the testimonials and reviews left by those who have already dealt with the platform. This information is usually available directly on their website or social networks.
An example of a professional software comparison site is G2. On this site, each company builds an e-reputation. You’re just a click away from getting your own idea of the platform.
The outplacement platform equipment
In the age of digital technology, an outplacement platform must be equipped to match your ambitions. It all starts with the website, which must offer a pleasant user experience.
Does the website offer enough information about the platform’s services? Does it answer users’ questions quickly? Is it regularly updated? Does the platform come with a mobile application?
What tools should you integrate into your platform?
In order to make appropriate proposals to candidates, an outplacement firm must integrate several tools, namely reporting and steering tools and the skills assessment.
Reporting tools
Reporting is usually done in the case of collective outplacement for the same company.
For a long time, Excel software has been a widely used tool for data processing. Although it is practical and relatively easy to use, its functionalities are very limited.
With the evolution of technology, new computer programs are offered to human resources managers.
It is essential to aim for a tool with advanced but affordable functionalities that allow for ultra-fast processing of the data collected.
Neobrain includes its own reporting tool within each of its solutions, here is an example of a dashboard available to HR teams:
Management tools
Just like a machine, a company needs certain tools to guide it towards optimal performance.
In business, they allow decisions to be made on solid foundations.
The outplacement platform must offer specific steering tools that are considered indispensable today:
A quality action plan, a dashboard, an evaluation of successes and project management.
Skills assesments
Skills assments allow to analyze the professional career of an employee, to study his or her aspirations in order to help him or her to set up an adequate professional project or to endorse a training project. This is a very sensitive and important operation in the lives of employees. You must ensure that the outplacement platform you choose offers this service.
Cost of service:
Of course, whether you are looking for a group or individual service, you must be careful with your portfolio. Outplacement platforms are legion and basically offer similar services. However, prices are still not regulated, which gives service providers a certain amount of freedom… and which can mislead potential clients (you).
Do not choose the first platform you come across. Take the time to compare prices and make a quality-price ratio. This way, your choice will be well thought out and you won’t be throwing your money away.
Compare outplacement platforms
It is essential to compare the different solutions available to you. You will need to consider (primarily but not only) the number of individual sessions with employees, the level of support, the agents available to support your employees…
The program must naturally include training. You can ask to see the modules developed to determine whether they meet your main expectation: to provide the best possible support for professional reintegration.
The experience of an outplacement platform
It is wise to choose a platform that has a certain seniority. Several years of experience give a lot of experience and especially expertise.
Moreover, if a solution has been able to survive over time, it is probably because its services are appreciated. It is therefore necessary to choose between the dynamism expected from a new company and the solid experience acquired by an older firm.
Choosing an outplacement platform: to summarize
Outplacement is now a well-established practice in the working world. Thanks to digital technology, outplacement firms are now presented as virtual platforms. Whether you are an executive, an employee, or a human resources manager, if you want to engage in an outplacement process, you must take into account specific criteria that will allow you to offer your employees a career that matches their aspirations.
Curiosity and caution must be the key words in your search. You must take into account the platform’s equipment, its tools (reporting, piloting, assessment of skills), the content of the platform, the cost of the service and the experience of the service provider who offers the solution.
