Creating Loyal Alumni | What To Do When an Employee Resigns

If you’re in the HR world or paying attention to the news, it’s probably not surprising to hear that we have seen a huge amount of turnover in the workforce. In fact, in July 2021, 4 million people quit their jobs, and the age group with the highest amount of turnover and resignations are the 30-45 year olds.  

According to Microsoft, as many as 41% of the global workforce is contemplating resignation, including 54% of the Generation Z demographic. 

No matter the reason folks are leaving the workforce, the fact is, many companies are experiencing a significant amount of resignations and turnovers. As individual businesses and companies, we can’t necessarily stop this wave of resignations, but we can make the most out of it by building loyalty with those who leave.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “alumni”?

I would imagine most of you think about graduating from a particular high school or college. Maybe images of football games, tailgating, homecomings, class reunions, or old friends from a fraternity or sorority came to mind. 

At DISHER, we use the term alumni differently. We refer to the team members who have left DISHER for another job or stage of life as “Alumni”. 

When people move on from DISHER, we don’t forget about them or refer to them as quitters; we see an opportunity to continue to make a positive impact. 

Proper offboarding and the benefits of creating loyal alumni are incredibly important. We have seen the benefits firsthand from receiving new business opportunities to alumni returning to work for us. In fact, we have had five different alumni come back to work for us in the last couple years.

The question to ask yourself is, how does your company treat the folks that choose to leave your organization? Is it out of sight, out of mind? Do you give former employees much thought? 

How much time do you spend on offboarding?

As a Leader of DISHER’s Talent Solutions Team, I invest considerable time in talent attraction, retention, and culture building. My team works internally and externally with clients to develop great offers, competitive compensation plans, and thorough onboarding processes. However, we have noticed that most of our clients give little thought to offboarding. Did you know, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, that the average worker currently holds over 10 different jobs before the age of 40? This number continues to grow. The data makes it clear that every organization has the potential for a large number of alumni. Knowing this fact makes it imperative that we build trusting relationships with our current employees and future alumni. We must learn how to offboard well.

5 Keys to Offboarding Alumni

+ Be Respectful. Treat those who leave your organization the way you would like to be treated; practice the Golden Rule. Exhibit an attitude of respect, care, and concern. Thank your alumni for making your company a better place. Care enough about the individual to let them go! Put yourself in their shoes. Empathize.

+ Don’t Take It Personally. It is not about you. It is about the employee who is making a big change in their life and career path. Stay focused on them and be positive.

+ Support Professional Development. Many employees might be leaving for their next step in professional growth. This may mean graduate school, a new position, a new career path, or even sailing across the ocean for a season. Others might be resigning to support a spouse’s promotion in another area of the country. Care enough to let them grow!

+ Take the Exit Interview Seriously. This is the perfect opportunity to learn deeper insights and gather candid thoughts. Look for those nuggets of truth that can help your organization get even stronger. The exit interview also gives the person leaving another chance to feel valued and heard. This time together provides one final engagement to strengthen the relationship and build deeper trust.

+ Keep in Touch. Care about your employees even after they leave. This can be done by building an alumni newsletter, Facebook, or LinkedIn page. Send out alumni twitter updates. You can also invite them back for special events like a company open house.

Why go through all this work to care for your alumni? Recruiters and HR professionals already feel overwhelmed. Plus, now there is the added pressure to fill the position of the employee who just vacated. Other than it just being the right thing to do, caring about your alumni also builds LOYALTY. If you are loyal to your alumni— they will be loyal to you. Attracting and retaining loyalty brings four key benefits to organizations.

4 Benefits of Loyal Alumni

+ Attract Candidate Referrals. When your organization needs to fill a position, a loyal alumnus gives you a resource to call upon. They provide a boots-on-the-ground network to draw upon. Alumni understand your business, culture, and strengths. They can share this firsthand, unbiased knowledge with potential candidates.

+ Gain Free and Powerful Marketing. Loyal alumni will speak positively about your organization. They are live testimonials with the ability to connect with people outside your sphere of influence. They become brand ambassadors who create a positive, organic buzz.

+ Grow your Customer Base. Loyal alumni sometimes become your customers. One of our DISHER alumni recently joined an organization in Ann Arbor and convinced their new employer to hire DISHER for a significant project.

+ Welcome Them Back. Sometimes an alumnus returns to your organization. They can hit-the-ground-running because they already understand the culture, the business, and the role. They become immediate contributors.

Remember, it is important to create a culture that attracts and retains LOYALTY whether they are current employees or alumni. Truly care about your team members and their best interest. Care enough to let them go and care enough to let them grow. Doing this will reap dividends for all parties involved. The impact of our words and actions as an employer, and the impact of our alumni’s words and actions, will create either positive or negative ripples that can go on and on. At DISHER, we call them Ripples of Influence^™. What kind of ripples are you making with your alumni?

Written By: Keri McCarthy, Business Lead – Talent Solutions

Keri is an expert in staffing management with over 21 years of experience in talent attraction, retention, branding, implementation, problem solving, and reorganization. Keri has worked in a variety of industries assisting companies in acquiring top talent as well as developing a solid culture and infrastructure. She is also the instigator of DISHER nerf wars!