And this initiative is not just a goodwill gesture but actually has the potential to bring in business value. For instance, when an employee leaves, he/she becomes the organisation’s brand ambassador, for the external world. Staying connected would mean, that selected employees could also be considered for re-hiring. And even if you don’t end up re-hiring them, their knowledge and experience can always be shared with the organisation. And for all you know, your ex employee could just end up on the other side of the table and represent one of your clients. Former employees can be utilised for knowledge sharing, rehiring, for mentoring new joinees etc.

Stay connected 

 Organisations like Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M ) Ltd are in the process of setting up an alumni network to maintain an active relationship with their former employees. The main objective of the M&M exemployee network is to stay connected with all ex-Mahindra employees, to seek employee references.

Stay connected  

 Informs Rajeev Dubey, President-HR and Corporate Services, M&M Ltd, "Many a times, these employees would act as brand ambassadors to build our image as a potential employer. Sometimes retirees with special skills, may also be considered for special projects. Selectively, high potential resignees may also be requested to consider joining the group back, subject to positions at that point of time." 

This network would be built through a dedicated website; online interactive forums; annual reunions; invite them to contribute in the Mahindra newsletter etc. The move will also help the group reduce the costs incurred in hiring candidates, since candidates can now be sourced through the company's own ex-employees and their contacts. Such a cost advantage will further boost the company's low-cost HR operation. Point of fact, in the 2005 annual report, M&M talks of a drop in personnel cost as a percentage of sales from 8.40 per cent to 6.97 per cent.

Business wise  

 Former employee networks are not just to boost goodwill but actually make business sense. Says Soumen Basu, Executive Chairman, Manpower India feels, “The gap between available talent and the required talent increases the pressure on organisations to look for alternate, efficient and cost effective means of talent acquisition.” Raghuram Reddam, Director-HR , Motorola India, feels, "Talent and employability are interlinked features. 

With loyalty taking a backseat, and networking along with employment brand becoming important, alumni groups can be of great value. Alumni networks provides us real time data on areas we need to work on."

Sometimes, employees who retire are also untilised to train new entrants. Informs Prof. Vijayasarathy, Director, IFIM B-School , that the institute re-hires retirees with significant track record to function as visiting or adjunct faculty in specialised functional disciplines of management.

Sharing knowledge  

 Knowledge sharing is an area where Cognizant leverages ex-employee connection. Informs Bhaskar Das, VP-HR , Cognizant, "We tap the collective wisdom of this group as they are in a unique position to compare and contrast Cognizant's strengths and weaknesses vis-a-vis their current organisations. This is indeed a good mechanism to get quality feedback from former employees on the various aspects of our business," adds Das. Interestingly, Das adds, "Some of our alumnus have joined our customer organisations, which has helped us strengthen our customer relationships." 

Aditi Technologies has a similar story. Informs Sreenivas Chakravarthi, VP-People Department, Aditi Technologies, “We also have former employees who joined companies that have become our customers and hence interact with us both as alumnus and clients."

Now read the fine print 

 Such associations can only be formed if the employee has left on a good note. Sudhanshu Varma, CEO, Asian CERC Information Technology Ltd feels, "Ex-employees may also have biased views, which may actually not get the desired results and thus this cannot be the only route for recruitment."

All said and done, establishing a strong bond with ex-employees has several benefits and can be considered a strategic move to survive in the competitive environment.

Note: This article is from Economic Times