Outplacement is structured and financed by the employer to secure the rest of the career of an employee leaving the company.
In Luxembourg, its specificities lie in a multicultural, cross-border market that is historically not very oriented towards reconversion.
Well used, outplacement is a major HR lever for employer image, social climate management and organizational transformation.
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Outplacement is defined above all as structured and financed support by the employer to help an employee who leaves the company find a new professional project in the best conditions. From the outset, this definition highlights a major difference with more traditional job search assistance systems, which are often limited to occasional support on the CV or to some generic advice.
As Maxime Durant, General Manager of Lincoln Luxembourg,” the difference with traditional support is the depth and the methodology. Outplacement is based on a comprehensive diagnosis of the employee's career, skills and motivations ”.
The Luxembourg context is leading to a specialization in outplacement. With around 525,000 employees in 2025, including nearly 47% of cross-border workers, according to STATEC data, the local labor market is both restricted and highly internationalized. This size and multiculturality make the support more international and multi-market. ” In some cases, a candidate may even be open to repositioning himself in another country or on another continent. ”, which reinforces the need for strategic and non-standardized outplacement.
Outplacement, or career transition support, aims to identify one or more target professional projects, to structure concrete action plans and to mobilize a professional network at the service of the person being supported. ” Preparing for interviews, assessments and the entire recruitment process is also an integral part of the system. ”.
An aspect that is often underestimated is the psychological dimension of the transition. “You should especially not neglect the mourning part of the former employer”, insists Maxime Durant. According to him, “the role of an outplacement firm is to support the person to turn the page and to plan for the future with confidence and with the conviction of their skills to offer”.
A stage that is sometimes difficult depending on the case. A consultant at an international consulting firm, David*, 45, found himself unemployed after an internal restructuring. ” I did not choose to leave my job, which I enjoyed very much, and it took me a while to move on, but the coach I was assigned quickly helped me look to the future”, he admits.
Contrary to certain preconceived ideas, outplacement in Luxembourg is not reserved for senior managers, and can be mobilized by companies in various contexts: individual dismissal, negotiated separation, internal reorganization, site closure or business transfer.
Two large formats coexist. On the one hand, individual outplacement, often offered to executives, rare experts, managers or managers, in a secure and controlled initial logic. On the other hand, collective outplacement, deployed during restructuring or social plans, combining “reclassification unit” devices and individualized courses.
It is this last format that David* benefited from . ” All my service has benefited from this, through individualized support with a coach. I received tips for improving my resume and my LinkedIn profile, as well as for job interviews ”. As a digital marketing consultant, he particularly appreciated the support dedicated to LinkedIn, the main source for finding a new job for him:” The coach particularly helped me to optimize the presentation of my profile, with the right narrative and the right keywords, in order to better stand out in the search results of recruiters. ”.
“Luxembourg does not lag behind in the quality of the support offered”
Is Luxembourg lagging behind France or the Anglo-Saxon countries in terms of outplacement? The answer calls for nuances. ” Luxembourg is not lagging behind in the quality of the support offered ”, believes Stanislas Dutreil, Executive Director at Lincoln Luxembourg, and specialist in the subject after more than 10 years at LHH. ” When used, outplacement is often high-end and highly personalized. On the other hand, it remains less systematic than in France, where reclassification schemes have historically been integrated into employment protection plans. ”
In Anglo-Saxon countries, outplacement is more perceived as a standard of employer responsibility and a tool for managing the employer brand, especially during a period of job cuts. ” The difference is therefore less a question of HR maturity than a question of volume, cultural reflex and social framework. ”, analyzes Stanislas Dutreil.
The last two years, marked by an increase in layoffs and an increase in the number of job seekers registered at ADEM, have however encouraged greater recourse to outplacement. However, the system is still rare and must become an essential solution for extending the career of seniors, in an aging labor market. Relative rarity also explains the low number of specialized players in the Grand Duchy.
The low number of specialized actors is not in itself a problem, provided that specialization is real. ” The risk is not the lack of service providers, but approaches that are too generic, copied and pasted from other markets ”, warns Stanislas Dutreil. In a country as particular as Luxembourg, effective outplacement requires a detailed knowledge of employment areas, access to local decision-makers, an understanding of regulated sectors such as finance or insurance, and an ability to work in French, English and German according to profiles.
Historically, the Luxembourg market operated on very vertical trajectories: same job, other employer, often with a competitor. ” When a market works like this, outplacement is seen as a plus and not as a lever ”, observes Maxime Durant. However, this logic has evolved with the obsolescence of certain skills and the rise of jobs related to data, ESG, risk management, cybersecurity, compliance or even IT.
In the banking sector, the collective agreement has long limited the use of external outplacement, by focusing on strong internal employability and on mobility between establishments. But the 2024-2026 agreement marks a turning point: it places more emphasis on employability and provides for a budget dedicated to training as part of an outplacement. For Stanislas Dutreil,” It is a clear signal that certain transitions now require structured support and targeted skills development ”.
For employees, outplacement can become a real opportunity for repositioning. ” It is often the first time that a talent takes the time to make a real diagnosis of his employability. ”, highlights the expert. A feeling shared by David*:” I had never taken the time to ask myself about the rest of my career before this episode., he admits. This support, entirely provided by my former employer, allowed me to express my desire to evolve into positions with an international dimension. My coach thus helped me improve my CV and my LinkedIn profile in English. ”.
The system allows you to work on your value proposition, to structure your network and to consider a change of trajectory rather than a simple copy and paste of a workstation. In a market where recruitment processes are increasingly demanding, outplacement acts as an accelerator towards the job that best suits the profile.
The levers mobilized are multiple: clarification of the project and non-negotiable criteria, targeting professions and companies, valorization of the career path through the CV and LinkedIn, activation of the hidden market, preparation for interviews and securing the course via upskilling or a plan B. Each support remains personalized, however, because” In principle and by definition, no two outplacements are the same ”, recalls Stanislas Dutreil.
For businesses, the benefits go far beyond the sole outgoing employee. Outplacement is part of a logic of employer image, maintenance of the social climate and reduction of risks. Indeed, the remaining employees observe how departures are managed, and quality offboarding contributes to building trust and acceptance of change. A reminder that Maxime Durant insists on:” Excellent offboarding is often less expensive than the indirect costs of poorly managed separations, whether it's disengagement, turnover or legal risks.”
*First name has been changed
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