Companies shouldn't always forget about staff the minute they walk out the door. Photo: Louie Douvis
When was the last time you heard from your former employer, or the one before that? Never?
I don’t mean former colleagues emailing you or staying in touch through social networking sites, but the firm itself making an effort to maintain contact. This could include sending an annual update to ex-staff or inviting them to an “alumni” gathering every few years.
What’s your experience? Have your former employers done anything to stay in touch with you? Do you care? Do you resent the fact that after working years for a firm, it could couldn’t care less about you once you leave? Are Australian businesses mostly terrible at building alumni networks?
Of course, some staff can’t stand their former employer and vice versa. There’s no interest from either side to stay in touch. Fair enough. But many more staff leave employers on reasonable terms to seek opportunities elsewhere, or because they are made redundant due to market conditions.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how companies treat former employees. A friend was recently made redundant and asked to leave the firm on day he was sacked. He didn’t see it coming and most likely will never want to hear from the firm again, even though he worked there for many years and I suspect deeply cares about the business and his colleagues.
It’s surprising that so many companies do so little to maintain contact with former staff. Some firms, especially those in professional services, excel at co-ordinating occasional staff alumni events. They know former staff who leave on the right terms are still an asset when working elsewhere.
Past staff can be source of work, an important network for the firm, a possible recruitment source should they decide to return, or a referral source for potential employees.
Most of all, the way companies treat people after they leave sends a big message to those who remain. Staying on good terms with former staff is good for culture. It’s also good for the company’s brand when ex-staff have only positive things to say.
Yes, it is not always possible. Some staff leave to work for rivals. Others leave on bad terms and need plenty of time away from the firm before contact is made with them. Others are poisonous and best kept away from the firm once they leave. Others treat their employer poorly, so it’s understandable the company wants nothing to do with them.
But I can’t help think too many firms make almost no effort to maintain contact with former employees will still care about the place and would like to stay in touch, if only asked. Their alumni networks are non-existent or given little attention.
This approach makes no sense in an economy that could again face critical skills shortages in the next few years. Smart small enterprises should ensure they keep some contact with those who leave on good terms.
This could be as simple as a sending former staff an annual update on how the firm is travelling or inviting them to an alumni cocktail party every two or three years. Maybe even a phone call from their old boss to check how they are getting on six months after they leave?
I remember being asked to resign from my first job at a global consulting firm. The job was an awful fit, but being sacked when I was 21 years old was still a blow. The consulting firm set me up with an outplacement agency (which got me my first job in journalism), kept in contact and invited me to alumni events. I even received a 20-year anniversary book on the firm a few years ago.
I still think fondly of that firm and speak well about it. Compare that to an investment bank that asked me to leave on the spot when I resigned to work for a non-rival.
Leaving on the day you resign is not unusual in the financial services industry, and, frankly, getting a month’s “gardening leave” without having to come to work felt great at the time. But looking back, it soured my experience at a firm I put my heart and soul into for five years.
So many firms underestimate the goodwill former employees have towards them. It doesn’t take much to maintain some simple contact every year or two. Former employees always have a choice: nobody is forcing them to stay in touch if they hate the place and want to be left alone.
Personally, I find it disturbing - but not surprising - that so many firms couldn’t care less about staff once they leave. It’s a short-sighted, dumb approach from dumb companies.
Having a network of former staff who still care about the place, its people and brand is a huge potential asset. Don’t let it go to waste.
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