At the onset of the economic downturn, many companies chose very quickly to take drastic actions due to the perspectives of a future crisis. One action was to lay people off in order to save money on payroll. I was a witness to this in the spring of 2009.

1. Securing your employer brand value in downturns
By Christian Dinesen
Published in Universum Quaterly, November 2009
The global crisis has put a strain on all industries, global household names and local leading brands.
All have had to look at their situation, tighten the belt and restructure to manage the situation. Some
have had more luck with this transition than others.
Panic causing turmoil
At the onset of the economic downturn, many companies chose very quickly to take drastic actions
due to the perspectives of a future crisis. One action was to lay people off in order to save money on
payroll. I was a witness to this in the spring of this year.
Situation: At a conference centre in Copenhagen, a group of people from a leading airline was
gathered to be briefed on their new situation. They had been laid off. Out there in the corridor they
were waiting for judgement day. What would happen? They had already mentally decided what
should happen. They were sacrificed. At least that’s how they felt. I listened from a nearby chair
drinking my coffee, and listened to their anger, frustrations and sadness, not only for losing their
job, but also for losing some their identity and all their beloved colleagues. One thing was for sure,
as I heard them speaking with low voices, they would for sure not miss the management or
compliment them on the action taken leading to their dismissal. Their exit was characterised by
bashing the company brand.
Consequence: The people now leaving this airline left with a bad experience. Not only them being
laid off, but the whole situation around it, the way it had been handled. People being angry, once
being dedicated employees, felt sacrificed. When I stood there, feeling in myself on their behalf the
impact on their dignity, I understood their frustration and anger. I thought to myself, ones these
people were proud ambassadors of their airline, now they are angry former ambassadors.
Result: This employer brand took some serious hits to its reputation. As someone said, “It takes
generations to build a great brand, and it takes two seconds to ruin it”. This goes for corporate
branding as well. Have you thought about that your corporate branding investment is not only to
attract the best talent, but also to keep it at its best when this talent moves on to the next career
opportunity?
!
What story do you want ex-talents to tell about you, not only to a new employer, but also former
customers and partners which they meet in their future?
New situation: Now this company have sent angry and frustrated ex-employees out in the job
market. What can we learn from this and what could they and the rest of us do different in the
future? Here are some suggestions:
!
!
!
Have an employee exit strategy – How do you make sure that people leave with dignity and
respect?
Conduct an exit interview with people leaving at all levels. As well as with their manager and a
HR-person.
Gather as much information about how they (the employee) have reacted to the exit process.
1

2. !
!
!
Create a best practice list for employee exits and interviews.
Create a budget for outplacement for all employees to be used by them to get a new start.
Develop a contact group in your company for ex-employees to support them in their career and
life transition. Remember the impact on the whole family when a member looses the job and
financial stability. If your company shows empathy and support, they might keep
momentum in securing a new job faster.
Goal for securing employer brand value in times of employee exits
Set up a measureable goal for your exit strategy supporting your brand value. Here are some
questions for reflection:
!
!
!
!
!
!
How can you make sure that your former employees stay ambassadors for your company?
What is the first thing a former employee should think of your company?
What is the most important thing a former employee should tell the next employer about your
company?
What is your next step to make sure this happens?
When will you implement this exit quality assurance in your employer branding strategy
What is your proof that you have succeeded in this?
Value of a exit quality assurance
What will it bring to your company and most important, to your brand, when making sure that
not only new hires are being well taken care of, but also those who leave?
!
Keep in mind that those leaving, speak to those people who could be your next potential talent
that you want working for you.
The talent pool is massively decreasing, due to demographics in the western part of our world.
Furthermore, more women than men now have higher education. This is bound to have a huge
impact on the future family structure and traditional business structures.
It has become even more sensible to balance how one handles onboarding and exits of talent.
!
What immediate actions can your company take to secure brand value for those leaving?
Conclusion and recommendations
A saying is “what comes around goes around”, and my conclusion is that never before have we had
this sort of crisis, though why is it that most companies never seems to learn from previous crisis?
Exits happen, this time in bigger bundles. I believe if you and your company invest much in the
talent life cycle from onboarding to exit, you will have a higher rate of positive ambassadors, who
might even bring return business to you or even come back as a business partner becoming valuable
for your supply chain. Ask yourself and be honest, “If you were asked to leave, how would want it
to be and what would be important in order for you to stay a loyal ambassador to your now former
company?
Personal bio box: Christian Dinesen, CEO, Danish Coaching Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
Mail: cd@danskcoachinginstitut.dk
2

3. Sidebar: Lessons learned or tips box:
Securing your employer brand:
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Set up a frame for employee exits
Do have exit interviews
Set up outplacement programs
Be emphatic and understanding
Set up support groups for former employees
Make sure to honour their results and
contributions in times when things went well
Secure that the family also are being supported
when the breadwinner looses the job
Introduce “Corporate Employee Responsibility”
Develop an ambassador programme and make
former employees stay loyal
Company bio box:
The Danish Coaching Institute was established in 2002.
With headquarters in Århus and an office in the capital of
Copenhagen, the institute employs 25 people and deliver
accredited business coaching programmes such as
a “Talent coach certification training for managers and
executives to develop talent in real time”. The Institute
focus on transforming science into adaptable business
skills and behaviours through action learning and
real experience for an immediate return on investment.
3