Firms are discovering the value of helping exiting employees find an alternative

Here's one way of firing people. Recently, employees at a company found out they had been sacked when they turned up for work in the morning. At the doors of the office, a guard asked them to surrender their identity cards and go home. Their dues would be mailed to their residences, they were told.There's another way to fire people. By helping downsized employees find alternative employment.

The number of companies that actually follow the second method is fairly small. However, the best companies do provide outplacement services like career counselling.

In 1998, the AV Birla Group shut down its Seawater Magnesia Plant at Thiruvananthapuram. "There were 300 permanent employees who would get affected; it was our responsibility to try and place as many as possible," says Santrupt Misra, director (corporate human resources), AV Birla Group. Of the 300, 150 were placed within the group's different business units. "We had to provide them with new skills like using a computer," he says. A year and a half later, most people were placed. Some went for higher studies; others started something on their own. The entire process was done in-house.

A former HR manager, who oversaw the merger between two multinationals says: "We set up a transition management cell for all the people losing jobs. We had counsellers, headhunters offering leads. We even had financial counsellers talking about small business opportunities."

Wipro tells a person six months in advance that he would be better off seeking a job elsewhere. Pratik Kumar, corporate vice-president (HR) says: "Usually, we hold a meeting involving the person, his supervisor and HR. Many supervisors find it difficult to handle these meetings. But we ask them to do this. If he really can't handle it, then the HR does it."
The outplacement exercise itself is handled quite discreetly. "We help employees get in touch with consultants who specialise in such issues. They don't know why these people are leaving; so it is confidential," says Kumar. Many people move to slightly smaller organisations and find it works out well for them. "Some have even got higher salaries," he says.

For firms, too, the benefits can be great - their brand image as a great workplace gets burnished. Companies sometimes lose key people within 30 to 90 days after layoffs are announced - people who stay back need to see the firm treating affected workers right. Research shows companies with good layoff practices actually see their stock prices appreciating.

Trouble is, few Indian companies budget for the expenses of outplacement. And as downsizing and poor business conditions go hand in hand, it's even tougher to outplace people.

But there are positive signals. Globally, outplacement is big business for HR consultancies - and some of those biggest names are now getting into India. Right Consultants, the world's largest outplacement agency, has joined hands with Anil Sachdev's Grow Talent. ABC Consultants has tied up with Drake Bean and Morris.

In fact, recently, when the ABC chief executive Tarun Bali made presentations on the scope and benefits of outplacement services to 200 companies, many were interested. Corporate India may just become a better place to get laid off from.