WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.,
Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- New
research from Lee Hecht Harrison
provides insights on severance and separation practices to help
employers and employees navigating today's economic environment.
Lee Hecht Harrison is the global talent development leader in
connecting people to jobs and helping individuals improve
performance.
The study, which gathered responses from 650 human resources
professionals, found that companies surveyed were nearly twice as
likely to have reviewed their severance policy in the past year
(66%). While findings show that practices have remained
generally unchanged between 2011 and 2008, it is interesting to
note that in 2008, 24% of respondents reported using a graduated
scale to calculate severance as compared to a meager 19% who
reported using a graduated scale in the 2011, highlighting the fact
that tenure isn't necessarily the driving factor when determining
severance as organizations consider other factors when establishing
their policies.
"Survey results show that employment agreements have become more
influential in determining severance in the last three years and
agreements are now being seen as a high priority item on the
strategic agenda of most successful organizations," noted
Peter Alcide, President and Chief
Operating Officer of Lee Hecht
Harrison. "Given the uncertainty of today's economic
environment it's more important than ever when negotiating a
compensation package to address the issue of severance benefits
before signing an agreement," suggested Alcide.
Alcide noted that the majority of respondents indicate their
organizations offer outplacement to all levels of employees as a
standard component of their severance packages. "What we
found in our research is that when designing a successful
outplacement program 90% of respondents felt in-person seminars,
meetings and coaching were the most important elements in the
program. What was striking is that only 2% of participants thought
technology was the most important resource in an outplacement
program; a significant and telling sign that even in the digital
age, human interaction still reigns supreme."
Alcide warned that in today's competitive market, it is
important that organizations understand the value of consistent
severance and separation practices "This year's study
provides a clear sense of key benchmarks organizations can use to
update or create severance programs to remain competitive in
today's environment and ensure they are building and protecting a
reputation as an employer of choice, while also providing
outplacement support that offers the right blend of technology and
face-to-face contact that gets people back to work faster."
Other insights and interesting trends that emerged from the
study were as follows:
- Similar to 2008, nearly two-thirds of organizations surveyed
indicate that they have a written severance policy. Half of
respondents also report that their organization has an informal
policy.
- In 2011, 85% of companies don't have a process by which
employees can appeal or negotiate their severance package, an
increase over 2008.
- Only 9% of organizations surveyed stop severance payments as
soon as an individual finds new employment.
- Consistent with 2008, approximately half of respondents in 2011
(48%) report that their organization rarely provides severance pay
to employees terminated for performance reasons, and roughly
one-third of organizations do not provide severance pay at all when
termination results from performance reasons.
- Outplacement is still considered a major component of severance
policies with the majority of respondents (67%) indicating that
their organization offers outplacement, either full or partial, to
all levels of employee, with those at higher levels being more
likely overall to receive it.
- 56% of respondents said that the top reason for providing
outplacement is to try to maintain positive relationships with
their workforce.
ORC International conducted this study on behalf of Lee Hecht Harrison in March 2011. A total of 653 HR executives,
representing a broad cross section of industries and company sizes,
participated in the survey. To learn more about Lee Hecht Harrison or to download a copy of the
2011 Severance & Separation Practices Benchmark Study,
please visit www.LHH.com
About Lee Hecht Harrison
(LHH)
With over 270 offices worldwide, Lee
Hecht Harrison is the global talent development leader in
connecting people to jobs and helping individuals improve
performance. LHH assists organizations in supporting restructuring
efforts, developing leaders at all levels, engaging and retaining
critical talent, and maintaining productivity through change.
Lee Hecht Harrison is a part of
Adecco Group, the world leader in workforce solutions with over
6,000 offices in over 70 countries and territories around the
world. For more information, please visit LHH.com.
About the Adecco Group
The Adecco Group, based in Zurich,
Switzerland, is the world's leading provider of HR
solutions. With approximately 33,000 FTE employees and over 5,500
branches, in over 60 countries and territories around the world,
Adecco Group offers a wide variety of services, connecting over
750,000 associates with well over 100,000 clients every day. The
services offered fall into the broad categories of temporary
staffing, permanent placement, outsourcing, consulting and
outplacement. The Adecco Group is a Fortune Global 500 company.
Adecco S.A. is registered in Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on
the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN).
SOURCE Lee Hecht Harrison