Leaving departing employees with a good impression of the company could make them a faithful customer and benefit the company as a whole in the future.
Key Details
- Severance of employees is something every company employs—but creating lasting relationships with former employees is something more companies should practice.
- Creating relationships with former employees turns them into faithful alumni and in turn could benefit the company.
- It can be easy to completely dismiss former employees, but leaving them with a positive look on the company can be a big benefit.
Why it’s important
Making departing employees feel as though they still have a relationship with the company could be beneficial down the road.
No one wants to feel as if they are no longer wanted somewhere, so by creating a lasting relationship it could open doors in the future. Here are a few steps to get started.
It all starts by building the relationship. It is a good step to initiate a positive alumni culture within the organization.
Whenever someone is hired, if he or she knows immediately that the company is still in touch with former employees it could make them feel more comfortable.
Companies can set the groundwork during the onboarding process—say, by telling new hires that they are joining “an elite group of current and former employees” and highlighting the accomplishments of both present and past employees.
That sends the message that alumni are part of an extended family, says Wall Street Journal writer Matthew L. Call.
Another way is through the managers.
Managers are typically the one who works one on one with other employees and is usually the first to know when someone has made the decision to leave the company.
Keeping in touch with former employees is another step in the right direction.
Hosting company events where current and former employees can keep in touch is a good way to keep company morale high.
For example, alumni with good feelings about a former employer might be willing to mentor employees currently doing the job they used to do. They also can be a source of business referrals for the company—especially in fields like accounting where alumni often leave large firms to work for clients, says the Wall Street Journal.
Risks
By creating comfortable and lasting relationships with former employees is a bonus in most places it can also be a large risk.
Employees left for a reason whether it be better schedule, better pay, or just by chance there is typically a reason for their departure.
If the former employees stay in touch and often come to company hosted events there is always the potential that they could be poaching current employees and recruiting them into their new role.
While that isn’t always the case it is still important to monitor events and online alumni groups in order to stay on top of everything just in case.
