Outplacement Services by Renovo (from Liberata) were used by 89% of staff after an internal review led to the consolidation of services into a single centre.
Overview
In 2015 Parkdean Resorts was formed as a result of merging Parkdean Holidays and Park Resorts and became the largest operator of holiday parks in the UK. With 67 parks found in stunning coastal and countryside locations up and down the country, Parkdean Resorts offers excellent value holidays and short breaks in England, Scotland and Wales. From caravans and camping/glamping options to lodges with hot tubs, Parkdean Resorts offers “staycation” breaks that include activities for all the family. After a review in 2018 it was decided to consolidate the supporting infrastructure to a single location in the North East of England.
The Challenge
In 2018, as part of a review designed to streamline the infrastructure supporting their holiday parks, it was decided that all the central support functions would be consolidated to one location in the North East meaning the closure of the Hemel Hempstead office which impacted over 100 staff members that came from a very diverse range of levels and functions within the business, including Finance, Marketing, Administration and Technology. As a result, staff needs varied significantly and so the framework of support needed to be flexible enough to accommodate a broad range of different demands. It was decided that people would need to be able to access a real depth of personalised coaching support over a sustained period. With departures being phased over a six month period, it was also vital that outplacement services would be easy to administer and manage whilst enabling people to access support at the right time for them.
The Solution
Renovo was selected to work in partnership with the HR leadership team to create a robust outplacement framework to support those people impacted.
Working closely with Parkdean Resorts, Renovo created a single framework of support that was comprehensive and flexible enough to accommodate the wide variety of different needs from across the business. Each team member was provided with unlimited access to a Personal Career Coach for three months and had the opportunity to build highly personalised support around their needs with support being delivered through telephone, Skype and email. The support offered was responsive and targeted and could be adapted easily as job searches progressed – this was particularly important for those who had been out of the external job market for some time. The coaching relationship was further supported with access to “Workfriend”- the online career transition and job search portal, providing an opportunity for employees to make progress with their job searches in between coaching consultations which helped build confidence further and achieve very positive results.
“The amount and depth of positive feedback from employees on the support itself surprised even ourselves and 6 months on from the closure of the site, I still have people coming back to me to thank Parkdean Resorts for the investment they made and talking openly about the impact Renovo had on their transition”
Phil Richardson – Head of HR, Employee Relations, Parkdean Resorts
