Jan Vandoorne

Outplacement and re‐employment measures during organizational restructuring in Belgium: Overview of the literature and results of qualitative research

Purpose – Aims to review the research literature and legislation on outplacement and re‐employment interventions in Belgium and present results of qualitative research and case studies of companies, regarding interventions during organizational restructuring.Design/methodology/approach – Comprises a literature review, qualitative (semi‐structured and in‐depth) interviews with workers and experts, and case studies of companies.Findings – The literature on interventions suggests the importance of “traject‐counselling” for affected workers as a most valuable intervention during organizational restructuring. In‐depth interviews with job‐insecure workers highlight the importance of fair treatment, and especially of interactional justice. Case studies and interviews delineate the components that make re‐employment initiatives successful: outplacement interventions include emotional support, training of skills and individual coaching or guidance. Belgian legislation regarding outplacement and re‐employment initi...

Job insecurity and successful re-employment: Examples from Belgium

Outplacement is a method of finding another job in the labour market. Active techniques are used to help find other employment: for instance, interview training, counselling and an analysis of personal strengths and weaknesses. Outplacement was introduced in Belgium during the recession at the beginning of the eighties. During this period, several methods of career guidance were used: career breaks, part-time employment, early retirement, etc. Outplacement constitutes a different way of organising a career, namely a specific approach which allows the employee to leave the company under more favourable circumstances (Denolf et al., 1999).