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CORPORATE ALUMNI
Rajneesh Kumar
The increasing realization that human assets are the primary
source of competitive advantage, the world ‘alumni’ is acquiring
newer shades of meaning. It not only refers to the former students
of an institution but also to former employees of an organization.
The talent wars among companies have drawn people towards another
hunting ground for employees, one that was formerly ignored;
that’s the ex-employees of an organization.
Hiring and ex-employee, it is believed, costs half as much as it
costs hiring a new employee. Research suggests that the average
Fortune 500 Company could save $12 million a year by actively
recruiting alumni.
Benefits of hiring ex-employees:
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Familiarity with the corporate culture.
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Reduction in training and development costs.
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Both the alumni and organization are familiar with each other and
hence there are scarcely any chances of a misfit.
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Alumni, once rehired tend to stay longer.
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They have been found to be more efficient at work.
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Return of employees to their former organization enhances the
image of the organization among other employees and reduce
turnover.
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During periods of high demand, alumni can be a source of temporary
manpower.
Earlier many companies used to consider former employees as
pariah. This concept is changing fast and corporations are
realizing that maintaining good relationship with former employees
is in the interest of the organization itself. McKinsey & Co makes
considerable efforts to maintain contacts with its former
employees. Indian companies are not far behind. Ms. Malati Hota of
Mastek, during a talk at Xavier Institute of Management,
Bhubaneswar explained that Mastek has an active alumni network
that the company sees as a strength.
Possibility of a rehire is not the only benefit that accrues to an
organization from a good alumni network. There are other benefits
too.
Other benefits of maintaining good relationship with
ex-employees:
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They can be referral sources for fresh recruits.
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Source of intellectual capital. Companies can get new ideas and
business plans by inviting their former employees.
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An employee who is happy with his former organization helps
maintain goodwill of the company and serves as an ambassador of
the company.
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A former employee may become a profitable customer or a dependable
supplier.
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Maintaining good relationship with employees can improve the
overall organizational bonding among the employees.
Future HR managers will probably have another major task at hand,
that of maintaining a good alumni network and deriving all
advantages out of it.
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Author: Rajneesh Kumar,
PGP1 Roll- 36,
Email: media@ximb.ac.in,
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.
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