Maintaining positive relationships with former employees can benefit your organization in many ways. You can enhance your employer brand, foster referrals, attract boomerang hires, and access valuable feedback. Here are some ways to keep in touch and show appreciation to your alumni.
Exit interviews are a great opportunity to learn from your departing employees and understand their reasons for leaving. You can also use them to express gratitude, wish them well, and invite them to stay connected. Be respectful, honest, and open-minded during the exit interview, and avoid any negativity or criticism. Ask for constructive feedback and suggestions, and acknowledge their contributions and achievements.
Maintaining positive relationships with former employees is important for various reasons, such as potential rehiring, referrals, and maintaining a positive company reputation. Keep the lines of communication open by connecting with former employees on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. This makes it easy to send occasional updates and stay informed about their career progress. Share updates about your company's achievements and news. Former employees may still have an interest in the organization's progress, especially if they had a positive experience while working there.
Some of the points as per my opinion to maintain good relation with the former employees - Communication Mention Professional Opportunities Better Collaboration Respect Conflict Resolution Support Apprecialtion
Utilize exit interviews to gain valuable feedback about the work environment and company culture. This can help identify areas for improvement and show the departing employees that their opinions are valued. It's also an opportunity to part on good terms and leave the door open for future re-engagement.
An alumni network is a platform where you can communicate with your former employees and share updates, news, events, and opportunities. You can use social media, newsletters, webinars, podcasts, or online forums to create and maintain your alumni network. The key is to provide relevant and valuable content that engages and informs your alumni, and encourages them to interact with you and each other.
Establish an alumni network, possibly through social media groups or a dedicated section on the company website. This network can serve as a platform for former employees to stay updated on company news, share their professional achievements, and maintain connections with their ex-colleagues. It fosters a sense of ongoing community and belonging.
Alumni benefits are incentives that you can offer to your former employees to show your appreciation and loyalty. These can include discounts, vouchers, free courses, access to resources, or invitations to exclusive events. You can also provide career support, such as references, recommendations, coaching, or mentoring. Alumni benefits can help you retain a positive image, increase goodwill, and motivate your alumni to refer or rejoin your organization.
Provide exclusive benefits to alumni, such as access to professional development resources, invitations to company events, or discounts on products or services. These perks can keep former employees positively engaged and inclined to speak well of the company.
Referrals and rehires are two ways to leverage your alumni network and recruit talented candidates. You can ask your former employees to recommend or endorse your organization to their network, or to apply for open positions themselves. You can also create a referral program or a boomerang hiring strategy to incentivize and reward your alumni for bringing or becoming new hires. Referrals and rehires can save you time and money, and improve the quality and fit of your talent pool.
Encourage alumni to refer qualified candidates for open positions, leveraging their understanding of the company culture and network. Also, consider them for future employment opportunities; rehiring former employees can be beneficial as they are already familiar with the company processes and culture.
Feedback and testimonials are valuable sources of information and insight that can help you improve your employee relations and employer brand. You can request feedback and testimonials from your former employees through surveys, reviews, ratings, or interviews. You can also use them to showcase your culture, values, and achievements on your website, social media, or marketing materials. Feedback and testimonials can help you enhance your reputation, credibility, and trust among your current and potential employees.
Regularly reach out to alumni for feedback on their experiences and suggestions for improvement. Positive testimonials can be used in marketing materials or recruitment campaigns, showcasing a supportive and enduring relationship with employees, even post-departure.
Reviews and testimonials on Glassdoor and other sites is crucial from a recruitment standpoint. Requesting feedback from those you know left on good terms can do wonders for your employment brand and setting expectation of culture for new applicants to day 1 hire.
Milestones and achievements are occasions to celebrate and recognize your former employees and their accomplishments. You can send them personalized messages, cards, gifts, or awards to congratulate them on their birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, or awards. You can also feature them on your alumni network, website, or social media to highlight their success stories and career paths. Celebrating milestones and achievements can help you maintain a friendly and supportive relationship with your alumni, and inspire them to stay in touch.
Recognize and celebrate significant personal or professional milestones of alumni, such as work anniversaries, promotions, or personal events like marriages or births. This can be done through social media shout-outs, personalized emails, or mentions in company newsletters, showing that the company values and remembers its former employees.
Regular communication is key. Sending out newsletters, updates on company progress, or information about upcoming events helps keep former employees in the loop. Inviting them to company events, webinars, or workshops as guests can also maintain a positive relationship. It's important to show that the company values the time they spent as part of the team and continues to appreciate their contributions even after they've moved on.
I once had a manager that loved to throw a going away/happy hour for employees that left after 2 years of tenure. I had another manager that thought "celebrating departure" was an insult and we should just have them leave. They are two very different points of view for the same organization. In my experience, celebrating someone's contribution through tenure and allowing the business to understand there's a change in who does what was beneficial. The shock of someone no longer being in their role was more disruptive than the "celebration" of the departure.