Drake Outplacement Review: Is It Worth It?

Drake International has spent over 70 years in recruitment, staffing, HR, and talent management across multiple countries. In the U.S., its Talent Management Solutions division offers outplacement services for companies going through layoffs or other workforce changes.

The service is clearly available, but its U.S. website leaves many practical questions unanswered. There is no public pricing, package breakdown, detailed participant journey, or much feedback from clients who have used its U.S. outplacement service.

This Drake Outplacement review looks at what the company offers, how the service works, what we know about its pricing and team, and where it falls short compared with more transparent alternatives such as WeAreCareer.

About Drake Outplacement

Drake International started in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1951 under Bill Pollock and Jim Shore. The company began with outsourced business processing, moved into staffing a year later, then entered Toronto, Montreal, and the U.S. market.

Over time, Drake grew from staffing into a wider HR company. Its services now span recruitment, psychometric testing, workforce technology, training, employee surveys, analytics, and other people-management services for employers across many different markets.

Outplacement is one part of Drake’s HR business, which also covers recruitment, staffing, workforce technology, and training.

On its U.S. website, Drake presents outplacement as an employer service for layoffs and workforce changes. The service gives career transition resources to employees leaving the company and can help businesses protect morale, lower litigation risk, protect their employer brand, and manage the effects that can follow workforce cuts.

Drake’s regional sites give a better picture of the service. In New Zealand, outplacement can include one-on-one or group sessions on resumes, job searching, interview preparation, behavioral 

The regional pages show that Drake can cover many parts of career transition. But they do not confirm that U.S. clients receive the same services available in New Zealand or the Philippines.

Drake Outplacement Pros and Cons

Drake combines recruitment, HR, and outplacement, but its U.S. site does not show pricing, package scope, or employee access.

Pros

• Drake has been in the HR market since 1951. Its work covers staffing, recruitment, testing, training, and workforce services across multiple countries.
• Employers can build the service around their workforce needs. Drake does not sell one fixed outplacement package, which may suit companies managing different employee groups.
• Outplacement sits within a large HR service mix. Companies can use Drake for recruitment, training, workforce analytics, employee surveys, and other HR services under one provider.
• Regional Drake sites show what career transition can involve. Services can cover resume work, interview preparation, job-search planning, testing, and one-on-one career advice.
• Some Drake markets connect career transition with recruitment resources. Participants may use Drake’s recruitment network and training resources during their job search.

Cons

• The U.S. page leaves key service details unanswered. It does not show coaching hours, service length, package options, or which career services every employee receives.
• There are few reviews tied to Drake outplacement. Online feedback mainly comes from staffing, recruitment, or employment, so there is little commentary from people who used the career-transition service.
• Drake does not share U.S. outplacement performance figures. The page has no placement rate, average time to a new job, or participant satisfaction data.

How Much Does Drake Outplacement Cost?

Drake does not show pricing for its U.S. outplacement service. The page has no starting fee, per-employee rate, package pricing, or minimum spend.

Drake Outplacement's Process

Drake does not show the full U.S. outplacement process from start to finish. Its U.S. site says the service can vary by employer, and its regional sites show what employees may receive during career transition.

1. The employer contacts Drake

Employers begin by speaking with Drake about the layoff, how many employees are involved, where they are based, and what type of outplacement they want to fund. Drake then works with those employees as participants under the employer’s agreement.

2. Drake builds a customized program

Drake does not use one fixed outplacement package. Employers need to confirm the coaching setup, use of group sessions, service length, and employee resources before agreeing to the service.

3. Employees receive career-transition support

Drake New Zealand lists resume work, interview preparation, job-search planning, behavioral testing, and social-media profile work. The U.S. site does not confirm the same package, so employers need to verify what employees receive.

4. Participants may receive ongoing support

Drake Philippines shows a fuller outplacement setup with planning, rollout, career advice, job-search tactics, emotional care, recruitment services, and training.

Drake Outplacement's Team

Karen Meredith Blott is Drake International’s Global CEO and has spent over 30 years across HR, healthcare, and education. Her work has taken her across the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Singapore, and Malaysia.

For outplacement buyers, the bigger question is who works with employees after a layoff. Drake’s U.S. page does not name the career coaches, transition consultants, resume specialists, or other staff assigned to participants.

The page also does not show coach certifications, industry knowledge, or career-level expertise. Employers should ask Drake who will work with their employees, what qualifications they hold, and which industries or employee groups they have worked with before.

Best Drake Outplacement Alternative: WeAreCareer

WeAreCareer gives employers a clearer view of what employees receive, how the search is managed, and where the employer can track progress during outplacement.

Drake has been in HR since 1951, with decades in recruitment and staffing. WeAreCareer has a shorter company history, but shows employers more about its outplacement service before they speak with sales.

WeAreCareer explains more about:

• How employers get started
• What participants receive after enrollment
• The career resources and live support available
• How employers track participation and progress
• Who delivers the coaching and career assistance

Employers can use a dashboard to see employee activity during the program. Drake’s U.S. site does not explain what reporting employers receive once employees start outplacement.

Job-Search Support

WeAreCareer combines coaching with job-search work such as profile work, applications, and recruiter outreach. Drake’s U.S. site does not say if its team completes those tasks for employees or only advises them on how to do them.

About the Team

WeAreCareer names the people behind its outplacement service and shows backgrounds in career development, recruitment, HR consulting, Fortune 500 companies, startups, and private firms. It also shares client case studies and says more than 150 companies have used its services.

Drake shows its corporate leadership, but its U.S. site does not name the coaches or transition specialists assigned to employees.

Bottom Line: Is Drake Outplacement Worth It?

Drake Outplacement may work for employers that want recruitment, staffing, and workforce services from one HR company. Its other country sites show career transition work such as resume development, interview preparation, job-search planning, testing, and one-on-one coaching.

The U.S. service leaves major buying questions unanswered. Drake does not show pricing, service length, package details, employee-facing coaches, reporting, or outcome data, so employers have to confirm much of this during the sales process.

WeAreCareer shares more about what employees receive, who works with them, and how employers can follow the program before making a buying decision.

Note:
All of our articles on our blog are based on our own research, opinions, and publicly available information. Any information presented about other companies are not based on our personal consumer experiences