Designing an Alumni Launch for Day One Success

Launching a corporate alumni program is an exciting opportunity - but true success can require meticulous planning, cross-functional alignment, and the right strategic priorities from day one. For those looking to build a program and activate their community, learning from those who’ve trodden that path is essential.

Thank you to our guest speaker, Ciaran Whelan, formerly CEO of Investec Wealth & Investment (UK) and Managing Director of Investec plc, and the driving force behind their alumni program, who uncovers how this initiative became a cornerstone of their 50th-anniversary celebrations.

Five Things We Learned About Designing an Alumni Launch for Day One Success

Alumni want to feel valued …

“It’s not just about bringing them in for drinking sessions or speeches. It's making them remember that they are still a valued part of our organisation, even though they're not employed by us anymore …”

Ciaran Whelan

You don’t have to be a hundred percent on day one …

“Probably the most important thing that I've learned throughout my career is: you don't have to be a hundred per cent on day one. It’s better to get it off the ground and build momentum ...”
Ciaran Whelan

Don’t keep your alumni guessing …

“Obviously the key objective is to get our alumni program as widely known. You must also put yourselves in the shoes of the alumni who have signed up and are saying: “What's next?” …”

Ciaran Whelan

Alumni can bring in business …

“We've had people come to us and say: “I'm now in this type of business and these are the products we sell. Can you get me an intro into your organisation?” That's fantastic from both sides …”

Ciaran Whelan

Knowledge is power …

“Not many organisations have alumni programs like we have. They ask: “Can you teach us?” It’s a great sign of success when people say: “Oh, can you tell me how you've done it?””

Ciaran Whelan

Q&A

Emma Sinclair: What motivated you to champion an alumni program for Investec?

Ciaran Whelan: Investec were 50 years old last year, but we still didn’t have an alumni platform. People are the most important thing in our business. We have many people who have been through the organisation and left on a very good basis. We were completely ignoring the opportunity that we could leverage by creating an alumni program, and treating our people as our family.

How did you tell people inside Investec that you were launching?

We put a lot of effort into explaining to the different divisions what we were doing, giving them demos, asking for suggestions and deciding what what benefits people would get by joining the alumni program.

We currently have around 10,000 employees. Another 15,000 have come through us. We sent out 10,000 invites to the alumni programme in day one in October last year. We now have over 1,600 people signed up. It’s not just about bringing them in for drinking sessions or speeches. It's making them remember that they are still a valued part of our organisation, even though they're no longer employed by us.

What did you have to decide on?

Things like: who are we going to invite to our alumni programme, and who are we not going to invite, which is equally important. Alumni is not a HR function. It is not purely to get boomerang employees, although obviously that’s beneficial. Probably the most important thing that I've learned throughout my career is: you don't have to be a hundred per cent on day one. It’s better to get it off the ground and build internal momentum and be in a position to to get input from the alumni who join up. It's amazing what they can teach us.

How does the alumni platform factor into your program?

We're only a couple of months in. Obviously the key objective at the moment is to get our alumni program as widely known and to get as many people signed up. Also for us to learn also and to make our signing up processes as efficient as possible, and hopefully double our numbers this year. You must also put yourselves in the shoes of the alumni who have signed up and are saying: “What's next?” We've already issued one newsletter, which was well received and well read. We’ll be holding events, for example inviting alumni to our wellbeing programs that we already run for staff. We sponsor the Investec Champions Cup in Europe at Europe and South Africa, and we’ll be making tickets available for the final to our alumni. Hopefully we’ll keep the momentum to build up the program.

What things have your learned from alumni that will help Investec?

We have learned that people value this type of engagement. We use that feedback to allay the naysayers who existed on the sidelines. Now they say: “This actually makes a lot of sense.” We've had people come to us and say: “I'm now in this type of business and these are the products we sell. Can you get me an intro into your organisation?” That's fantastic from both sides for us because we get exposure to potential services and it's good for their businesses if we put them in touch with other alumni who may have a need for such type of services or products.

Investec is often seen as a leader in Africa. Are any of your competitors also setting up alumni programs?

Not many organisations have alumni programs like we have. They ask: “Can you teach us?” “What have you done?” “Why have you done it?” and “How did you do it?” It’s a great sign of success when people say: “Can you tell me how you've done it?” So we are very pleased with the reaction of other organisations and even our competitors who have reached out and said: “Can you help us?”