Why Financial Services Companies Need an Alumni Program More Than Ever

It's no secret that the financial services industry spends significant money on employee recruitment, retention and training. 

That’s why building alumni networks is imperative for financial sector organizations. A strong alumni network helps streamline talent acquisition, foster brand advocacy, and maintain a competitive advantage – all while minimizing costs.

The key to a thriving alumni program is using the right software. With EnterpriseAlumni, finance companies can leverage all the features they need to engage alumni, from career support to industry insights and live chat.

Here we’ll explore why financial services companies need alumni networks and how to get started with building your own. 

Table of Contents

• What is the Purpose of an Alumni Program?
• 8 Reasons Why Financial Services Need an Alumni Program
• How to Build a Strong Finance Sector Alumni Program
• Empower Your Alumni Network with a Specialized Management Platform
• Strengthen Your Financial Services Alumni Network

What is the Purpose of an Alumni Program?

Put simply, a company's alumni network consists of its past (and sometimes also current) employees. It allows organizations to stay connected with previous employees and keep them engaged in the company's culture and growth. 

Alumni programs are among the most under-realized and under-used assets. They play a key role in talent acquisition, business development and brand advocacy. 

When employees decide to leave your organization, they may not typically expect you to prioritize their career success afterward. A well-designed program that shares valuable content and market insights and offers a place for community shows former employees that they are still a part of your company and that you care about their future growth. 

As a result, high-quality professionals will be open to rejoining your organization. They are more likely to refer qualified candidates to your business and help you establish a positive reputation in your industry. 

8 Reasons Why Financial Services Need an Alumni Program

Financial services companies need thriving alumni networks. Developing them can enhance:

• Talent acquisition 
• Knowledge transfer
• Brand advocacy
• Cost-effective recruitment
• Network expansion
• Employee engagement
• Mentorship opportunities
• Adaptability to industry changes

Let’s look at these benefits in more detail. 

1. Enhanced Talent Acquisition

An alumni network is a valuable talent pool. Businesses can identify and connect with professionals without the costs and resources associated with traditional recruitment. These programs allow financial firms to rehire former employees after they have expanded their skills and industry understanding.

When people are looking for job roles, they often apply for openings on social media or job listing sites. On the business's end, finding the most suitable candidates for the company is time-consuming and complicated. More often than not, organizations have to conduct many interviews over multiple rounds with little guarantee of finding the right professional. 

An alumni program overcomes these challenges, offering access to professionals familiar with the culture and processes.  These employees can also refer qualified candidates to your company, making talent acquisition more efficient and effective. 

This was one of the key rationales behind BlackRock’s alumni network - check out our webinar with them and the Josh Bersin Company to learn more about this as a benefit.

2. Knowledge Transfer and Industry Expertise

Leveraging the expertise of former employees with past careers in this industry will help organizations capitalize on institutional expertise.

An alumni network gives financial firms access to experienced professionals who can provide value to their processes and decision-making. These candidates have worked with diverse clients and the latest technology solutions. Through these skills, they can help businesses differentiate themselves from competitors. Companies can also save time and improve resource management related to onboarding and training. 

Bank of America's alumni network is an ideal example of how financial firms benefit from sharing industry knowledge. We helped Bank of America develop a robust alumni program that made networking events easy and helped professionals exchange expertise and empower each other and the organization.

3. Brand Advocacy and Reputation Management

When they feel engaged with your company, your alumni can become brand advocates. This positively influences an organization's reputation within the industry, presenting a competitive advantage and becoming more attractive to high-quality talent. 

In the financial sector, where trust and reputation are paramount, this advocacy becomes a critical tool in how businesses present themselves to clients, competitors, investors, customers and more. 

In addition, brand advocacy streamlines recruitment. Former employees are more likely to refer other qualified professionals to your organization, so that you can spend less time recruiting. Instead, you can focus on establishing a referral channel for qualified candidates.

4. Cost-Effective Recruitment

Recruitment can be a financial burden on organizations – Companies spend an average of $4,683 per new hire and $28,329 on executive talent.

We’ve already mentioned the improvements that businesses can expect to the quality of candidates. On top of this, they’d be re-employing professionals familiar with their culture and operations, reducing onboarding time and costs. This approach also helps companies optimize hiring efficiency in an industry where swift and accurate decision-making is imperative. 

Beyond rehiring previous employees, having a pool of alumni can accelerate the opportunity for finding qualified prospects through referrals. Some past employees may not be able to rejoin your company. However, an engaging alumni network motivates them to refer qualified candidates to your business. 

5. Network Expansion

Alumni who have moved on to diverse roles can expand your organization's network by provisioning connections in other territories or industries, for example. These opportunities allow your business to develop strategic partnerships and establish collaborations that foster growth and innovation within the financial industry.

Expanding your company's alumni network keeps you ahead of industry developments and gives you the upper hand over your competitors. Partnerships can introduce you to improved technology, processes and strategies to make your business stand out. 

Collaborating with industry experts and authoritative figures also gives your business credibility and notoriety. The primary advantage is that financial services companies with pristine reputations have higher chances of securing high-value accounts. 

Watch our webinar on Blackrock's first 90 days of launching an alumni association and how this impacted their recruitment and networking strategies. 

6. Employee Engagement and Retention

Alumni programs for financial services companies demonstrate a solid commitment to ongoing relationships with former employees. 

Once employees leave your business, it's easy for them to experience a sense of ‘You’re dead to me’. But an alumni program proves you are still invested in past workers, offering support, community and knowledge exchange to help them succeed. It’s a strategic way to keep your current workforce engaged and show them that you value their contributions even after they depart.

As a result, current employees are more likely to stay with your organization, and former employees are more likely to recommend your business - it’s a positive feedback loop.

7. Mentorship Opportunities

Whether your new staff are graduates directly from university education or professionals with more practical experience, you need to invest time and resources into training them. 

This presents another opportunity for your alumni network, whereby experienced former employees can guide and mentor your current staff. A community of knowledge and learning facilitates professional development and skill enhancement within your business and industry.

Mentorship can help you minimize onboarding and ensure high-quality training, as your staff will learn from employees who already know your processes and procedures. It can also be valuable for past employees, allowing them to step into leadership roles and gain different skills and experience. 

8. Adaptability to Industry Changes

Financial services firms must maintain agility to keep up with the ever-evolving industry. As your alumni move around in the market and gain more understanding of what other companies are doing and the tools they are leveraging, these are all valuable insights for your business. 

Knowledge and diverse perspectives enable you to remain responsive to industry trends and forecast challenges before they negatively impact your business. Professionals in your alumni network have a form of loyalty toward your brand because of the interest and effort you've taken toward them. So, there's an increased chance they will share these insights with you and help you stay relevant. 

How to Build a Strong Financial Services Alumni Program

Building a thriving alumni community requires a strategic approach and, most importantly, the right software. 

Here are some aspects that financial services organizations must consider when developing their alumni network. 

1. Define Your Goals and Value Proposition

Before building your alumni community, determine your goals. Maybe you want to minimize talent acquisition costs or rehire your top-performing employees?

Financial services companies must establish how they plan to offer their network value. They can do this through career support, networking, or learning opportunities. Defining these aspects is imperative to understanding how to measure your community's success and how this impacts your company's growth.

2. Make your Planning Alumni-Centric

It’s also essential to know what your alumni want to get out of your network: it’s the key to community building and to lifelong engagement. 

Your alumni will likely have their own career and personal development front of mind. Perhaps you need to prioritize access to the services or products they have been benefiting from during their tenure at your organization, mentorship opportunities, corporate social responsibility initiatives or tailored news content, for example.

3. Develop a Strong Community

The strength of your alumni network depends significantly on how well you engage with professionals and foster a community. 

To achieve this, create a welcoming and inclusive environment and encourage professionals to interact with each other and participate in discussions. Companies must maintain an honest, trustworthy and respectful atmosphere to build an alumni community. 

4. Provide Relevant Content and Insights

Relevant and valuable insights will engage professionals in your network. The content you share must be appropriate to alumni and align with their interests to ensure engagement. 

Businesses can leverage various content ideas, including career tips, market insights, newsletters, podcasts and webinars. 

5. Host Events and Networking Opportunities

Keep your alumni interested in your community through upcoming events. These allow professionals to network with each other and exchange knowledge and insights—another reason for them to stay in your network. 

Some companies group their alumni events into three categories: informal networking, career development and re-recruitment oriented events.

6. Promote and Grow Your Alumni Program

You can only grow a network of alumni if employees, both current and former, know it exists. 

Promoting and growing your alumni program is the last step to a thriving alumni community. Companies can use social media, internal communications, exit meetings and word-of-mouth marketing to convince former employees to join their network.

Empower Your Alumni Network with a Specialized Management Platform

An alumni management platform is the key to financial services companies guaranteeing the safety of their former employees' data. These platforms deliver an enhanced user experience to keep alumni engaged and maintain participation. 

The right management platform supports professionals in communicating efficiently with each other and your company. They can access all the valuable features they need, including job boards, newsletters, groups and segmentation. 

Financial services companies can choose a specialized management platform like EnterpriseAlumni to grow a thriving alumni network.

Strengthen Your Financial Services Alumni Network

Financial services companies need a strong alumni network to 

• Enhance talent acquisition
• Transfer knowledge and industry expertise
• Establish brand advocacy
• Enable cost-effective recruitment and network expansion
• Improve employee engagement and retention
• Optimize employee onboarding, as former employees can provide mentorship opportunities. 

To empower a successful alumni program, financial services need EnterpriseAlumni for robust specialized management software. 

Stay informed with our blog for your corporate alumni association's most valuable tools and resources.