HEADLINES from Business Mentors, Inc.

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HEADLINE: NEGOTIATING A SEVERANCE PACKAGE

One morning I retrieved a voicemail from Stephanie. She had been referred to me by a peer from her former employer, the office where she had worked for the past twelve years. She expressed urgency about scheduling an appointment and beginning a career search. Stephanie’s former employer had just been acquired by a European organization and her position as Director of Marketing Communications had been eliminated immediately after the merger was complete. She was concerned, yet excited, about all the possibilities that lay in her path. Her main objective was to get re-employed as soon as possible since she was the principal bread-winner in the family. She had two children in middle school and, with college expenses looming, she knew that she needed to start producing income again as soon as possible.

HASTE MAKES WASTE

I asked Stephanie about her exit interview and the severance package given to her at the time of her departure. She explained that the acquiring European company had offered her a package which included three months of salary, one month of benefits and a three day career assistance package focused on job search strategies with an outplacement firm. Although she had 21 days to review the offer, she had quickly scanned the paperwork, signed, and returned it to her former employer in less than three days. When I asked her if she had consulted with an attorney or another career professional regarding this offer, she responded “NO!” since her former employer told her that “this was it”. Take it or leave it!

CAN I NEGOTIATE A SEVERANCE OFFER?

Sadly, I had to inform Stephanie that I had worked with several executives from her former employer who held positions at her level. I explained that the first severance offer made is not always the final offer and that she should have tried to negotiate a better package prior to signing the document put in front of her. In fact, I explained that one of her peers had been able to negotiate a package which doubled the time of salary payments, increased the benefit offer by five months, and even added savings plan/pension accrual and career transition assistance to the offer. Stephanie was amazed and shocked that, after twelve years of service, she had been basically offered a minimal severance offer. There had been no acknowledgement in the severance offer of her service time or her contribution as a loyal, productive mid-level management employee. Needless to say, Stephanie was extremely disheartened. It was too late. The ink was dry!

COUNSEL FROM THE COACH

The time to make a call to a career professional, when you discover that your position is threatened or may be eliminated by a change of control, acquisition, or corporate takeover, is prior to the event. Unfortunately, most executives try to maneuver through this exercise on their own and only contact a career professional after a severance offer has been signed. A career professional can assist you in providing valuable information regarding what the “market standard” is for your level. While there is no guarantee that you will receive everything that you ask for, the additional knowledge aids you greatly in negotiating the severance package.

Quality severance packages will contain:

Salary continuation

Benefit continuation

Savings plan or pension accrual

Career transition assistance with a career counselor

Even though Stephanie has moved into a new leadership role with a Fortune 500 corporation, she reminds me every time we meet of the money she left on the table by not calling prior to her departure from her former employer.

Don’t let this happen to you!

Invest in Yourself,

Al Stewart

President/Owner

Business Mentors, Inc. is a career management organization that was founded in 1995 by Al Stewart, a former corporate executive with background in the transportation and communications industries with such industry leaders as Eastern Airlines, AT&T, GTE and Sprint and an educational background in Adult Education. His firm, Business Mentors, Inc., offers a broad range of services focused on successful management of professional careers including: Career Exploration, Career Transition, Career Outplacement, Becoming an Entrepreneur, Executive Development and International Transition. With a powerful record of success using counseling, consulting and motivation of over 3500 executives in the past ten years, the firm founded the executive coaching movement and continues to enhance its reputation as one of the leading and most highly regarded career management firms in the country. For more information about our services or questions regarding how we can assist you, please consult our website: www.business-mentors.com Or, you can choose to email us at alstewart@business-mentors.com or call our offices (Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale or Paris, France) at our global number: 404.644.8618. Our associates are available in person at one of our three offices or via teleconference worldwide.

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