Fifteen individuals who received ou...

Fifteen individuals who received outplacement counseling (OPC) were interviewed to determine which services were helpful or hindering and whether there were services they would like to have received however did not. The critical incident technique (J Flanagan, 1954) was used to analyze the data around 16 emergent categories. follows support previous research on client satisfaction with OPC and stretch out the knowledge by providing insight into 6 recently made known categories of services individual clients would find helpful.

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The increased use of outplacement counseling (OPC) in the last decade has been driven largely by the agency of corporate downsizing and restructuring, resulting in layoffs of population at all organizational levels. OPC is a specialized form of career counseling that is presented by employers to terminated employee Outplacement services are designed to minimize corporate disruptions at facilitating a smooth transition proces reducing lawsuits and grievances, increasing the morale of remaining employee and maintaining the couple productivity and the organization's public image. OPC is also intended to aid the displaced worker in rebuilding a faculty of perception of self-worth, reestablishing a relevant career path, and securing meaningful pursuit (Burdett, 1988; Herr, Cramer, & Niles, 2004; Mirabile, 1985; Pickman, 1994)

OPC services for displaced individuals vary widely, moreover typically include career planning, begin again writing, interview training, assessment, identification of transferable skills, values exploration, marketing training, net-working, and image progressive growth (Kirk, 1994; Zunker, 2002). In addition to these task-related consulting services, a certain number of OPC firms also offer counseling services (Davenport, 1984; Herr et al., 2004)

In light of the rapid pullulation and anticipated ongoing need for OPC services (Anonymous, 2001; Axmith, 1997; Bridges, 1994; leeward Hecht Harrison, 1998; Murray Axmith & Associates, 2000) it is surprising that little empirical evidence is available about OPC's effectiveness (Wooten 1996) According to Wooten Timmerman, and Folger (1999) "virtually no published research is available relative to assessment processe and outplacement outcomes" (p 85) and nothing else Wooten attempted to predict client satisfaction in executive outplacement and examine the implications for service delivery. Wooten examined client satisfaction with 11 OPC service constituents offered by an outplacement firm and rest that outplacement content components (job search training, preparation) and proces ingredients (consultant relationship, clarity of expectation, assistance in maintaining focus) were better predictors of client satisfaction than were contextual constituents (library, software, administrative support).

The rife research study was designed to advance the knowledge of the magnitude to which OPC programs fit the needs of their individual clients (terminated workers) from asking these clients which OPC services they ground helpful, which services were not helpful, and whether there were services they would like to have received moreover did not. Because OPC services are provided to individuals at a time of high vulnerability and emotional concussion due to their unexpected do job-work loss, it is important to know whether the services are helping or hindering individual clients in their career/employment planning.

Method

Given the aim of this investigation a qualitative method was judgeed most appropriate in that we sought to "explore a social or human problem" (Creswell, 1998 p 15) that was not well understood. Qualitative arrangements are considered when researchers are attempting to build "a mingled holistic picture" (Creswell, 1998, p 15) of a phenomenon and when detailed participant interviews leadershiped in a natural setting appear to be appropriate for eliciting this information. Within this words immediately preceding [i]or[/i] following the critical incident technique was pickeded as being most appropriate because of its capacity to explore specific adventures and its utility as a foundational/exploratory tool in the early stages of research (Flanagan, 1954; Woolsey 1986)

Participants

Participants were 8 women and 7 men who ranged in age from 29 to 63 years (M = 4733 years). individual participant (7%) was African Canadian; the other 14 (93%) were Caucasian. Eight participants (53%) were middle managers at the time of their piece of work loss; 3 (20%) were senior managers; 2 (13%) held administrative jobs; and 2 (13%) were first-level managers. Nine participants (60%) were terminated for a variety of reasons that can be clumped under the broad heading of "poor organizational fit" (eg their way or type of skills was no longer required from the organization), and 6 participants (40%) were terminated owed to downsizing or plant closure Regarding education flat 5 participants (33%) had graduated from high seminary and had some university or college/technical train training but no diploma, 6 (40%) had body or technical school diplomas, 3 (20%) had undergraduate standings and 1 (7%) had a master's class Nine participants (60%) were married or living common-law, 5 (33%) were divorced or separated, and 1 (7%) was single. At the time that they were interviewed, 8 (53%) participants were working full-time, 5 (33%) were unemploy and 2 (13%) were working part-time. After their piece of work loss, the average length of unemployment was 5 months