It is inevitable that employees are going to leave your organization, which isn’t necessary negative as some turnover can be healthy. So how do you treat employees who transition out of your organization? Do you keep in touch with them? Or do you part ways indefinitely? If you strive to develop and sustain a top employer brand, we strongly encourage you to consider your past employees or ‘alumni’ as powerful influencers of your brand.
Please find below 5 ways to engage your alumni in your employer branding strategy.
- The Transition Process
What is the transition experience like at your organization? Do employees quickly go from ‘family’ to ‘stranger’, or even ‘enemy’ the minute they submit their resignation letter? We strongly encourage you, if you haven’t already, to assess how employees are treated when they leave the company. If the exit process is unpleasant for employees then you have potentially lost a future ambassador of your company. Furthermore, if the employee still has friends at the company, and they most likely do, this can further contribute to low employee engagement. Treat your employees well when they leave your organization and they will most likely speak well of you and your company to friends and family.
- Exit Interviews
As part of the transition process, most companies conduct an exit interview. What type of questions do you ask departing employees? Build in questions about your employer brand so that you gain insight on how your company is perceived. Although the insight garnered from exit interviews has been questioned, we believe they can provide valuable information but only if there is a high level of trust within the organization.
- Referral Program
Most organizations pay employees a referral fee for new hires, but how many ask and recognize their alumni for referrals? If your transition process is a positive experience for departing employees then they are more likely going to refer great candidates to your organization. One of our clients recognizes alumni for referrals by sending them a thank you note and a loaded VISA card. A thank you note and small token of appreciation for referrals will go a long way with your alumni and they will once again perceive your employer brand favourably.
- Keeping in touch
Perhaps you lost some great employees because they wanted to try a different industry or they moved. Great talent is hard to find so make sure that you keep in touch with those individuals. One of our clients sends out a semi annual online newsletter to their alumni letting them know what is happening in the company, asking for referrals etc.
- Ask for their feedback.
Your alumni should be considered a critical external stakeholder of your employer brand so ensure to regularly check in with them to assess their perception of your brand. Has the perception changed? Alumni can provide another perspective as they are most likely working for another company. If employers are just starting their employer branding journey, we strongly encourage them to consider their alumni when soliciting feedback on their Employee Value Proposition.
It doesn’t take much to develop a positive and sustainable relationship with the employees that have transitioned out of your company. Treating your departing employees well including keeping in touch with them can have a significant impact on your employer brand!