Alumni Networks
More reading on social networks brought me to the term Corporate Social Networking (CSN) and SelectMinds, Inc., a CSN solutions provider, apparently coining this term. The results of their first annual client benchmarking study done last year, which examined the financial contributions of CSN solutions to a cross section of its client base of 60 leading, global organizations revealed that a better connected workforce through CSN technology can yield significant financial contributions to organizations. Key benefits noted included productivity contributions, retention contributions, new business opportunities and leverage to re-hire former employees!
The latter is an interesting fact. Let us just collect some of the benefits of keeping former employees connected with the company. These relationships are a source of business and employee referrals including the possibility to re-hire them. Social Networking tools are ideal to build an alumni community and integrate it with regular employees. In that way their knowledge can be more easily accessed which could play a major role with retirees.
But the fact of having more direct access to this population with the intention to re-hire them seems to be the most attractive by far as rehires are quickly up to speed when they come back. They bring a huge motivation with them as they experienced that the grass is not greener elsewhere. They came back because they learned to value the company culture more. And in consequence they are more successful than the average employee, get promoted more quickly and make their ways through the organization. Not to mention the obvious: hiring cost for this population is much lower!
Another aspect where Social Networking can bring value is “Relational Onboarding”. The Human Capital Institute found that the quicker new hires establish relationships the more productive, the more satisfied and loyal to the organization they are!
The business network Xing had a conference on alumni networks already in 2006. More information can be found in the SelectMinds White Paper “Increasing the density of connections to power business performance” which can be requested on their webpage.
Posted at
07:22AM Jan 21, 2008
by Volker Seubert in Human Resources |
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Comments[1]
Volker,
Wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that others are reading your blog and they are not from Sun - so you are being seen & heard elsewhere....and appreciated.
I work within the HR industry - within product mktg for a HR technology and services provider. Your thoughts on Social Networking ring true for me. The more I look at HR - we (and I do use the collective we) are all too embedded in the old way of doing things. That HR is about the annual comp cycle, the leave application, the paystubs....and rarely look at it from a truly strategic bent.
Grant it - there is much lip service paid to the strategy. People talking about HR adding value, HR metrics, and the war for talent. But the fact of the matter is that the HR community rarely looks around them at the innovation being brought to the table elsewhere and how they can incorporate it into their own world.
Social networks, YouTube videos (for corporate traning, mentoring, and sharing knowledge before people walk out the door), innovative end user devices, and many others are all being used around us...but yet HR continues to be timid within their four walls.
Keep up bringing the good ideas to the table.
A believer in HR's Innovative Capabilities
Posted by HR Technology Provider on February 26, 2008 at 04:24 PM CET #