By Rizal Raoul Reyes
WHEN he retired as head of the human resource department of SyCip Gorres Velayo and Co. only at the age of 53, Mario Gatus, now the president of Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), decided it was time to pursue other “relevant” things in his life.
After working on consultancy projects, Gatus and his two friends established LHH in 2000, a global talent-mobility company engaged in career-transition services (CTS).
In a recent interview with the BusinessMirror, Gatus said, CTS—also called outplacement—is a program designed to help companies by guiding their employees who were retrenched or laid off because of structural changes in the firm. The service includes manager notification training (MNT), onsite notification support and outplacement.
“The CTS, or outplacement industry, is what we need in the Philippines. Companies usually offer a monetary package when they’re dispatching off employees. Usually its 1.5 month of salary for every year of service,” Gatus said.
Gatus added that MNT helps companies prepare for the “Tell Day” by ensuring the message is delivered properly and the impacted employee’s self-respect is maintained. Strategies on how to communicate this to the remaining employees are also discussed.
The notification support will have an LHH consultant onsite during the Tell Day to help affected employees get through the initial emotional reactions, as well as guide them on the next steps and the “do’s” and “don’ts.” This may include advising an individual on how to share the news with his partner, family and friends.
“An individual should be conscious on what he can do for the market place and the company as well,” Gatus pointed out.
A career consultant is the point person for participants in the program. Many of these consultants have wide corporate background, with the common passion of helping those who are affected by the changes in their career.
Gatus said an outplacement service can either be delivered to a group or individually. Individual programs can range from one month to a maximum of one year. In the CTS, the participants are able to examine their career; clarify their career-related interests, skills and values; and evaluate career options.
“They can attend focus group sessions that build skills in resume writing, interviewing, negotiating, personal financial planning, investment management, entrepreneurship, debt and credit management and many other topics,” Gatus said.
The LHH career-transition program, or outplacement, is a good opportunity for an employee to assess his employability in the job market with the help of a professional career consultant, he added.
According to LHH statistics, participants in the program find new jobs 50 percent faster.
Furthermore, they are provided office and secretarial support through work stations at the LHH office with unlimited Internet access, telephone, secretarial services and library with publications related to recruitment and job search.
Other talent-mobility solutions being offered by LHH are the following:
- Employee engagement—improving engagement and developing talent;
- Leadership development—identifying and developing leaders at all levels; and
- Change management—maintaining productivity through changes.
Asked what makes LHH different from a head hunter, Gatus said head hunters are hired by companies to find individuals to fill up positions. LHH is hired by companies that are making the change and letting go of positions/individuals.
The business had its birth in the United States in 1967. It now has more than 300 offices in 63 countries and 90 offices in the US. “In the Philippines, we started in 2001 as DBM. In 2011, LHH and DBM joined together and today we are known as LHH Philippines. Locally, LHH and DBM have served more than 5,000 people in transition to over 100 companies,” Gatus said.