What is outplacement? A guide for Irish employers

In simple terms, outplacement is support an employer funds to help a departing employee move into their next role. It's most often provided as one-to-one career coaching, sometimes alongside workshops or online resources.

When someone leaves your organisation through a redundancy, a restructure or a negotiated exit, the conversation usually centres on the package, notice period, and statutory redundancy.

But often, it can be an emotional time for the employee — they have fears, concerns, and uncertainty about what their future may hold. Many employers want to recognise this and reward their loyalty by providing them with support as they move on from the organisation.

I've coached people through career transitions since 2014. Here's what I think HR leaders and managing directors in Ireland should know about it.

Why employers offer outplacement

Nobody is legally required to offer it. Outplacement sits alongside your legal obligations, not instead of them. Statutory redundancy, notice and any consultation process are separate requirements, so take advice from your employment solicitor or check the Workplace Relations Commission's guidance. Outplacement is what you choose to add on top.

Organisations offer it because the way someone leaves is noticed, inside and outside the business.

• The people who stay are watching. How a colleague is treated on the way out shapes how secure, and how loyal, everyone else feels.
• Your reputation travels. Senior people talk. Former employees become clients, suppliers, hires and Glassdoor reviewers.
• It helps the conversation go better. Offering real support alongside the package gives the person something constructive to focus on.
• It's the decent thing to do. Most managers I speak with want to do right by someone who has given the business years.

What a good outplacement programme includes

A good programme is practical, personal and long enough to make a difference. Look for:

1. A reset. Losing a role can knock anyone's confidence, especially after a long tenure. Imposter syndrome and self-doubt are common and need addressing early.
2. A clear direction. Which roles, sectors and organisations to target, and why.
3. Materials that work at their level. A CV and LinkedIn profile that reflect what they've actually achieved.
4. A search plan. Most good roles are filled through networks and conversations, not job boards. People need a structured, manageable way to work them.
5. Interview and negotiation preparation. Including how to talk about why they left.
6. Support into the new role. The first 90 days in a new job matter as much as landing it.

One-to-one coaching usually matters more than the number of resources on offer. A senior leader leaving a business doesn't need a webinar. They need someone in their corner.

Who outplacement is for

It can help anyone leaving involuntarily, but it tends to make the biggest difference for:

• Long-serving employees who haven't needed a CV in years
• Senior managers, directors and executives, where the next role is harder to find and the stakes are higher
• People in roles that no longer exist in their current form in the market
• Anyone whose confidence has taken a real hit

When to arrange it

Ideally, before the conversation happens. If outplacement is confirmed in advance, the manager can mention it on the day, and the person hears "here's how we'll support you" alongside the news.

It also helps to prepare the manager. A clear, humane conversation makes everything that follows easier, for the person leaving and for the team.

How to choose a provider

A few questions worth asking:

• Who will actually do the coaching? With larger providers, the person you meet can be different from the person who coaches your leader.
• Is it one-to-one? And how many sessions, over what period?
• What does HR get told? You should receive confirmation of engagement and completion, never the content of sessions.
• Is the price clear? You should know the cost per person before you commit.
• Do they understand the level? Coaching a director is different from coaching a graduate.

How I approach it

I work with organisations across Ireland, and with every leader myself, from the first session to the last. The programme is eight one-to-one sessions over 90 days, with check-ins by email in between, for a fixed fee per person invoiced to the organisation. I can also brief the manager before the conversation.

The aim is simple: they leave with a plan, not just the package.

Planning a senior exit? Get in touch. I reply personally, usually the same working day.