Why There is a Need For Having a Company Alumni (Ex-employees) Ecosystem?

Harvard says, "cultivating ex-employees is essential to ensure that they prove a help to their former employers." Besides the fact that they can be the buyers of the company's products and services, company alumni can act as

1. Rehires and referrals
2. Ambassadors
3. Marketers
4. Lobbyists
5. Investors
6. Intellectual capital suppliers, and much more.?

Therefore, keeping a connection with an employee even after s/he has left can give you a zillion benefits as an organization later on. In this piece, we will reveal the needs of having a company alumni ecosystem and the benefits associated with them.

The top three reasons for building a corporate alumni ecosystem:

There are multiple reasons why companies invest in building an enterprise alumni ecosystem. The professional services giant Deloitte calls its employees "colleagues for life." Other leading organizations coin terms like “boomerang employees,” “alumni,” or “comeback colleagues.” Out of many, the following are the top three reasons that any brand would not deny being enough motivation to cultivate its corporate alumni ecosystem. Have a look:

1. Brand Advocacy

Even after the exit, your ex-employees are your brand advocates for life. While they are at your workplace, try and let them taste good. It doesn't matter if they have given up their role in your company and joined a startup, they might come back to you as potential customers, clients, or advocates. Maybe they might get inspired to use your product, services, or technology even after they have stopped working for you.?

2. Business Development?

Rapport building is crucial to surviving in the corporate world. Often, your relationships, rapport, and reputation precede you anywhere you go. Acing in any career means crossing paths with previous managers and professionals. If you have a stellar reputation while working with a company, your chances of building business associations are greater. Similarly, organizations with a huge corporate alumni ecosystem can have a pool of business development opportunities at their fingertips.?

3. Talent Acquisition

In today's cutting-edge workforce, finding the perfect match for a role is another nightmare. But not if s/he already has a track record with the company. Recruitment becomes easy when the candidate has worked with the organization in the past. This way, the alumni employee can come home, and the organization gets back its talented employee. It is only possible to successfully run their boomerang hiring strategy when corporations have a built-in alumni ecosystem.?

How does investing in a corporate alumni platform will ensure the success of corporate alumni programs?

Deloitte is 200,000 alumni strong in its USA network and stands tall with 100,000 alumni in several other countries. Deloitte launched its corporate alumni program in 2000, and in the year 2017, its 2,800 boomerang employees returned to the organization. Similarly, at Sodexo, 9,000 top-level employees are a part of its alumni network. Not only does Sodexo maintain a forever tie with its former colleagues but every year fetches 20% of its external hires from the same pool!?

All organizations from small to mammoths should understand the significance of launching corporate alumni programs in-house. Moreover, investing in a corporate alumni platform can help the organizations to win at their alumni relations game. Through a portal, an organization can keep its former employees updated. Whether it be openings, company events, or referral schemes, they can spread the word immediately.?

Secondly, organizations can track their alumni employees by leveraging the social media integration feature of the corporate alumni platform. Every time an alumni employee updates his/her job details, the company would get a notification about it. Hence, an organization will be familiar with the whereabouts of all its alumni employees.?

But why will the ex-employee join the enterprise's alumni network after all??

Everyone needs motivation and so do your alumni to stay connected with their former employers. The Cornell Conenza benchmarking report published in 2019 discloses all motivators alumni need to join and remain a part of the enterprise's alumni network.?

Alumni participation strongly depends on what the corporate alumni program has to offer to them. According to the report, the alumni must feel that they are deriving value from the benefits of the corporate alumni program to drive in their participation.?

The research showed that only by giving one additional benefit like implementing a corporate alumni platform;

• The company's alumni recommended using company products by 32%,
• The company's alumni recommended as a place to work by 29%, and?
• The engagement in corporate alumni programs went up by 51%

The study also revealed the impact of alumni usage of just one benefit over other vital interactions with the organization. Alumni reported an increment of:

• up to 47% in rehiring applications
• up to 42% in developing new business-to-business relationships
• up to 40% in being a mentor
• up to 26% for providing industry information or insight
• up to 22% in doing contractual or freelance work

In the end?

Like colleges and schools, corporations have ample scope of tapping their alumni ecosystem. Not only them but also their ex-employees can benefit from such a brilliant online community. With brands growing thoughtful, more startups flourishing, and businesses becoming comprehensive, there will be a necessity of creating a corporate alumni ecosystem to seek help from them when needed.?

Looking for someone to guide you with creating your corporate alumni community portal? We are just a call away!