Helping to deliver a bespoke outplacement service
The news of the planned closure negatively impacted everyone based in the London office.
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“It was very much a family feel at DVB,” said Claire Smith, former Senior Vice President, Group Human Resources, DVB Bank SE. “Employees had such long lengths of service. I had been there for seven years, but the average was nine.”
That service longevity meant that many of Claire’s colleagues didn’t have LinkedIn profiles or up-to-date CVs, and it had been many years since they have been interviewed. That’s why, rather than offering a generic outplacement service, Claire invited Susan to run her Make Your Mark with Susan Room® programme as part of a bespoke workshop series, curated to give colleagues the skills they needed when leaving their roles.
Continued investment in colleagues
“At DVB it had always been about our colleagues, we always put a lot into them. A redundancy package is great financially, but the money only lasts so long. That’s why we continued to invest in our employees while they remained with us – finding ways to help them secure their next role. I wanted colleagues leaving there having thought through what was next for them. While it was a difficult time, I also wanted to help them feel as good as possible about themselves when going into the job market.”
Claire Smith, Former Senior Vice President, Group Human Resources, DVB Bank SE.
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Why the Make Your Mark with Susan Room® programme?
As part of DVB’s workshop line up, which spanned topics from CV writing to pensions advice, Susan ran an eight-hour version of her Make Your Mark coaching programme - giving leavers the confidence, presence, and communications skills they needed to make their unique mark – be it at an interview or in a new role.
“From a HR perspective we just thought it was really important that people had the chance to think about themselves. To explore what they wanted to do next, to look at their profile, their image and how they could project their personal brand in an interview setting. Susan’s sessions gave them a safe space to do that" said Claire.
“Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive. People came away feeling confident. They were reflecting on themselves, about what they needed to work on and how they needed to work on it."
Claire Smith, DVB Bank SE
