We recently assisted a client in the chemical sector, who is currently undergoing a section 189 process, with a group outplacement intervention. The retrenchment process has affected 170 employees at operations in various mining regions, including Carletonville, Rustenburg, Middelburg and Northern Cape, as well as facilities in Strydom Park, Bryanston and Benoni.
Voluntary severance packages have been offered and, those who have not accepted have been asked to reapply for their positions, as well as other potential opportunities within the organisation.
Essentially following the phases of career transition recorded in our book – A Bend in The Road, which covers – Separation, Preparation, Communication and Negotiation, we have assisted by running onsite workshops with employees, conducting group, individual and round robin exercises aimed at guiding them through the process.
Personality assessments were included to help participants during the self-assessment phase, identifying key attributes and strengths and, 4-week individual programmes were also offered after the workshops, to those who requested additional help.
Feedback from participants has been extremely positive, saying that the workshops helped them with CV preparation and interview skills when reapplying for their positions, as well as learning techniques to be used in identifying new opportunities through proactive and reactive approaches to job search.
