I’ve been traveling the world for years. When I was two, I took my first trip out of the country—to Kenya. My parents were no joke.
Me, in my aunt’s arms in Kenya, 1978.
My aunt and uncle lived all over the world until moving back to the States when I was in my twenties. Seeing a country through the eyes of a local is such a gift. My family traveled to visit my aunt and uncle each time the two of them moved—to Kenya, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico, and beyond. And because of all of the travel I did when I was young, I caught the travel bug. I have been saving my money for travel adventures since I graduated from college. I got married on the island of Santorini in Greece and after my husband and I had children, we didn’t stop adventuring! I’m passionate about traveling the world, and because of my early experiences, I still try my best to experience a new place like a local.
My daughter in Peru, 2018.
Mira Greenland
When I joined INTOO as EVP, I was thrilled to learn that not only are we a leader in providing transition services globally, but also that our global approach in supporting our clients and their employees is to provide the best service given cultural norms in each particular country.
For most companies, providing career transition services is a business decision. Of course it feels good to do the right thing, but there are practical business reasons for providing outplacement services, including reducing litigation costs and protecting employer brand. As a global business, how you treat employees at one location can affect your worldwide reputation. When making a financial decision to reduce headcount, the last thing a company wants is to then increase future hiring costs due to a damaged brand. Per-hire costs are $4,723 higher when a company has a poor reputation. Offering quality outplacement services to your employees—no matter their location—can prevent this and other negative outcomes.
But finding a job—and landing it quickly—looks different around the world. Australian employment law places high value on maintaining the dignity of a transitioning employee during the termination process; so much so, that employees have even been reinstated if the process is deemed overly harsh or unnecessarily expedient. As such, managers must follow strict procedures and document each step meticulously. Outplacement programs are successful in supporting a positive transition when applied, with managers and executives usually finding work in three to six months.
In China, it is not uncommon for companies to seek outside legal counsel before undertaking any dismissals. Outplacement programs in China tend to be less extensive than those in some European countries, with the longest—for executives only—lasting an average of six months.
In Italy, the average length of unemployment is a year or more, as compared to here in the United States where we average 28 weeks. As such, it is rare to see programs offered in Italy for less than 12 months.
And in much of the world, particularly in the European Union, desirable roles are often challenging to find on job boards unlike here in the U.S. Instead, desirable corporate job openings are managed by staffing agencies or other services such as local outplacement providers. In France, for example, outplacement providers introduce each candidate to at least three companies. In Eastern European countries, as well as in Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Spain, the expectation and process are quite similar.
INTOO’s approach to supporting our clients globally is collaborative. We understand that sometimes budget, especially during a large transition event, dictates the services our clients are able to provide their people. But we also know that the return on investment when providing outplacement is greater when programs reflect the cultural norms and expectations of employees in a specific region. As such, we work in lockstep with our clients to understand the population of transitioning employees, future plans for growth or reduction in force in the region(s) being discussed, and any budget constraints, so that we can provide a custom solution for our clients’ unique needs.
INTOO supports our clients in 102 countries and in over 35 languages with over 2,100 expert career transition coaches worldwide. If you are a global organization and want to centralize your global buying power for career transition services, or are looking for a partner to support you with any upcoming transitions, you can request more information here. INTOO’s outplacement program helps employees transition to new jobs through unlimited one-on-one, on-demand coaching from premier career counselors, resume reviews, and other career services. Learn more about how our outplacement program can benefit your company when you’re transitioning employees.
