Outplacement Case Study: At Bristol
The Situation
At-Bristol is an imaginative and exciting hands-on science centre on the historic Bristol Harbourside, situated among stunning squares with beautiful water features, sculptures and landscaping. For more information visit http://www.at-bristol.org.uk
At-Bristol is a registered educational charity, and like the majority of science centres around the world, At-Bristol does not cover all of its costs through earned income. Since opening in 2000 the centre had an annual operating deficit of about £1.5 million to be filled by fundraising. It was extremely successful in securing short-term funding and grants, which enabled it to continue operating its three venues - Explore, Wildwalk and the IMAX Theatre - for nearly seven years.
Unfortunately, after 2005/6 most of the short-term funding opportunities either came to an end or were significantly reduced in size. In addition, central government had not committed to science centre funding in England in the way that the devolved governments do in Scotland and Wales.
Closing Wildwalk and the IMAX Theatre, and continuing to operate Explore and the Planetarium, was the most viable option for At-Bristol to become financially sustainable into the future.
The task
Satinder Smith, HR Director at At-Bristol, approached Connect to seek outplacement support for the employees of Wildwalk and the IMAX Theatre who would be affected by the closure. Understandably the budget was tight, but we agreed a format that gave every individual the chance to participate in one of our job search workshops, and to have one-to-one time with our consultant, as well as continuing support both from the consultant and through our website.
The actions
The Connect consultant spent time on site in Bristol with a fascinating group of people. It was the first time we had worked with horticulturalists, animal keepers and IMAX projectionists - a great group of positive, highly motivated people. At-Bristol is a special place, and it was clear that it was losing some rather special people.
The results
Feedback from individuals has been very positive. The majority have taken up the opportunity to log in to the candidate area of the Connect website and to work through the exercises, advice and links there. We are working with individuals as they move to new pastures - no doubt At-Bristol will be a very fond memory for them all.
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