3Cs of building a flourishing Alumni Network
Employees today are significantly more mobile than generations in the past, long gone is the era of lifelong employment, and rare are the cases of employees staying past the 5 years in the same company. Reid Hoffman, who co-authored the New York Times Bestseller The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age, argues that an alumni network helps to foster trust, investment, and benefit for employee and employer. Amongst the successful examples of classic models of alumni networks are BCG, Citi, McKinsey & Company, and Bain & Company.
And yet, the way how you build your Alumni network and how you communicate and bring value to it is changing. That can be used to the advantage of many successful startups and scaleups who are looking to differentiate themselves and grasp the benefits of the alumni network itself.
Stop for a second and think - what is the difference between the ways of working between 2010-2015 and 2016-2021? Massive, right? The world had shifted to more open, informal, and geographically de-centralized circles of talent and with that, your network of Alumni will need to account for the globality of its scope. The people you recruit had changed as well and so did their demands from the organizations.
In the haze of all logical reasons, organizations tend to forget what the network, in general, is about - relevance and having fun.
Is your startup about digital art? Great - why not do a digital art show and let artists present in the closed event for the alumni.
Are you changing the world of music and work with performers? Why not have a small closed concert and mingle with the performer?
Are you building a next-in-class investment vehicle? Why not gift your alumni a free share or an option or let them try the new version of the product before anyone else will see it?
The point of the network is to stay connected, which demands a certain level of commitment, creativity, and facilitated communication (the 3 Cs if you may). So here are the 3 simple steps any team can master over time to build the network people want to be a part of:
Step 1: Commitment - dedicate a person (or a team) to drive the efforts
You will need a strong communicator dedicated to building and nurturing relationships with your alumni, 100% of their time.
Together with the leadership team define what are the objectives and goals of the network, prioritize those, and determine, what communication channels will allow you to reach those.
No doubt your alumni network needs to know who is driving the effort and who supports the network, and feel welcome to engage.
Step 2: Facilitated Communication
Open the continuous and informal line of communication - cover the basics of either/ or a combination of Linkedin Groups, Slack channels, Whatsapp channels, newsletters, or (better yet!) start a podcast. Focus on sharing the relevant content on a continuous basis such as wins/success stories, engage the audience through polls and pulse checks.
The goal is to open an easy and informal line of communication and create a plane where alumni can exchange thoughts.
Step 3: Creativity - go beyond the minimum
Digital connections, though flexible, can only get you so far. As we move out of the pandemic, try to mix remote networking with physical.
Organize regional, national, and international networking events with speakers from the alumni network and from your current team to facilitate knowledge exchange, strengthen the bonds of existing partnerships and develop new ones.
Host fun events people want to attend either alone or with their family and kids, - offer something unique they won’t see anywhere else - mix the informal exhibitions, theme parks, performances, fundraising events, and more business-related talks with panel speakers, demos, discussion groups, Q&A sessions, and speed networking evenings.
