2024 has been a very active year within the outplacement industry. Companies have continued to implement restructuring and layoffs in a post-COVID era due to changes in the economy, technology advances and an evolution in their human capital needs. And the overall outplacement industry has adapted as well. Some firms have been opportunistic, including in the tools provided to transitioning employees to help them find their next roles. Some in a way that truly helps and enables transitioning staff, while some firms have introduced tools just meant to take costs out of their services and to provide bare-bones services.
What’s new in the outplacement industry?
- Provider Consolidation: we’ve seen a continuing trend of large HR consulting firms acquiring independent Outplacement Services firms
- While this benefits the acquiring HR consulting firm through product and service expansion and client acquisition, we believe it negatively affects customers and clients due to a diluted specialization and service deterioration
- Emergence of low-end online market entrants: there have been several online-only entrants in the industry, some that market directly to individuals and some that offer services both through company sponsorship and to individuals directly
- Many of these appear to offer very templated services, such as providing templated resume examples, instructional documents with minimal guidance, or very short or impersonal coaching opportunities
- Our perspective is that they are negatively impacting the outplacement industry overall, as when clients run through these programs and have a poor experience and results, they indicate they are less likely to participate in outplacement moving forward (they assume all services are of lower value)
What’s new at Challenger, Gray & Christmas?
- Major investments in AI powered tools to empower and enable those in transition: Challenger has launched multiple updates to Challenger Essentials, our online platform for clients in transition. This reduces redundant tasks for and increases preparedness for job seekers, enabling creation of more customized items and communication to help them get noticed by and at the top of the list for hiring managers
- A renewed interest and appreciation amongst clients for in-person kickoffs with their coaches: For clients offered the option of in-person kickoff meetings with their coaches, while immediately post-pandemic most participation moved to virtual, there has been a drastic renewal of clients choosing to meet in person, and Challenger’s post-engagement surveys show that clients feel extremely positive about in-person time with their coach
- A commitment to maintain our client-to-coach ratios: Challenger feels strongly that personalized service and coaching leads to shorter time-to-land and better results. Especially with the provider consolidation and emergence of low-end providers noted in the industry, many in the industry have increased their client-to-coach ratios. Challenger, however, is committed to maintaining levels where coaches are assigned to individuals in transition, and at levels where they get to know clients and can provide personalized service
Challenger, Gray & Christmas puts people first, and is focused on results. As a company, we believe the combination of a job coach guiding a client through creating and implementing a job search strategy paired with the best tools offered is what leads to success.
Through 2025 and beyond, we will continue to evolve in order to enable our clients to achieve and exceed their goals, and to find the next phase in their career that they are excited about. Because it’s the right thing to do.
