When a company decides to separate from a staff member, it manages this process by preserving its interests, i.e. by acting quickly, without risking its image, without interrupting “business as usual.”
It determines the nature and length of notice period, according to transfer of responsibilities, and develops an approach for informing the business and financial communities.
The company can ask for completion of a mission in process, propose a partial collaboration, etc. But regardless of the framework of the separation agreement, it is more and more common to propose the services of an external, specific outplacement service, to support the professional repositioning of its staff member.
This rupture – whether expected or not – is, in the majority of cases, a source of progress, even rebirth. But the circumstances are never experienced in the same way by the one who decides the departure and the one who is confronted with it.
4 Scenarios of a Separation:
A particular set of behaviors corresponds with each one of these separation scenarios. They are identified and taken into account by the outplacement consultant.
- The "candidate" thus knows himself to be understood in the appropriate context.
- Each "candidate" is unique and accompanied as such.
1. DECLINING MARKET / BUSINESS ACTIVITY:
- Outdated technology?
- Shortage of raw materials?
- Unlikely return on investment?
- New norms or legislation?
- Conflict and unrest impacting production or consumption?
"Game Over". The activity is in survival mode, with no feasible recapitalization, and no future prospect.
The inevitable separation is experienced like a release and with a sense of relief.
2. BUSINESS ACTIVITY WEAKENED BY LACK OF CAPITAL, NARROWNESS OF THE MARKET, OR ABSENCE OF A PARTNER:
- No critical mass versus the dominant players?
- Single product only; no "blockbuster"?
- Technological leap is inaccessible?
- Risk of hostile take-over bids?
Pricing policy and external growth are in the hands of other actors in the market. Each day is a struggle: no appealing in-house projects.
A feeling of injustice and frustration accompanies the separation, which is admitted as possible, but not prepared for.
3. THE COMPANY IS IN GOOD SHAPE, THE EXECUTIVE IS EFFECTIVE AND RECOGNIZED:
- Volatility of stock market prices? Political intervention?
- Strategic turn? Change in shareholder majority?
- Merger or acquisition?
- President is dismissed? Management team is reshuffled?
- Cost reductions? Re-focus on "core business"?
A feeling of disbelief, then of betrayal, accompanies a brutal and unexpected separation.
4. “I WANT TO LEAVE”
- Need for a new perspective, new challenges
- Not enough compensation considering personal investment
- Move out to move up
- Joining new venture or start-up company
The key challenge is to make the decision to leave.
Why not negotiate a smart exit?