Outplacement Case Study: Legal & General

Outplacement programme:

	Outplacement workshops across the UK
	Careful planning and adminstration ran a complex project smoothly
	Excellent feedback and client targets met

The Situation

In March 2009 Legal & General, the major insurance company, announced that it would cut 10% of the jobs in its 6,500-strong life and pensions division. L&G made the announcement after reporting a Ł1.5bn annual loss, and said it needed to cut costs as it fought the recession and difficult stock market conditions.

The company, which has offices in Surrey, Hove, Cardiff and across the UK, has a record of providing outplacement support to people who leave the business through redundancy. Connect has been providing services to L&G people since the beginning of 2007.

The Task

L&G set out a clear and ambitious timetable for the job reductions, aiming to complete the majority of changes before the end of 2009. It needed to work with an outplacement provider that could manage the numbers involved, respond quickly as the need for support was recognised in different locations, and that would provide simple administration and value for money.

The Actions

L&G and Connect had already established an excellent working relationship, and candidate feedback had been very positive from the outset. Building on this, Connect proposed ways to simplify the flow of requests and information between the two businesses. With a single point of contact at each end, and with Connect able to access L&G's on-line course booking system, the administration of support for large numbers of people became easier and more predictable.

Connect had also recently implemented a completely new, on-line administration system, providing quicker and easier candidate management, invoicing and management data, and this proved invaluable in planning and handling this project.

The Results

At the beginning of April 2010 L&G and Connect held a review of the last 12 months. It was a very positive meeting. L&G had met its targets - indeed, the company had just issued very strong business results - and the vast majority of job reductions had been successfully completed. Once again feedback from employees was overwhelmingly positive: the personal approach and flexibility of Connect consultants was greatly appreciated.

Those of us in L&G and Connect who worked on the project feel good about the results. Key elements that ensured success were:

We planned well together from the start;
We worked with a small team at each end, building trust in each other's data and IT;
We kept in touch on a personal level so that inevitable last minute changes did not become major problems.
We controlled cost by allowing systems to take much of the strain behind the scenes, while ensuring employees never felt like 'just a number';
We empowered those 'at risk' by allowing them to choose and book their own workshop dates, giving them a feeling of control at a worrying time;

Faced with a difficult situation, L&G had provided first class support to departing employees, maintaining its reputation as a good employer.

Connect had again shown that it is possible to manage and administer complex projects involving large numbers of people while retaining the personal touch.