Introduction
One of the most popular and well-known business-networking platforms, LinkedIn, has been around since 2003, and is one of the oldest major social networks to date! It boasts 722 million users, and is known for its wide-reaching recruitment and networking features. The platform has seen a major increase in usage in the last few years, especially with the rise of remote working. However, the platform is also met with great disadvantages that prevent users from making the most out of the platform.
Issues such as spam connections, a number of features guarded by a paywall, and privacy risks are prevalent. Any person in business knows that one’s time should be used as effectively as possible, that their connections are sincere, and that any data they put onto the platform is protected.
Whilst LinkedIn is the most popular professional social networking platform, it is not the only one that business communities can use for connection. Networking is a valuable skill, and must be used effectively to achieve the best results. The effects of this can be felt with alumni platforms, which are quickly becoming an essential staple for every organization.
At Alumni Reach, our platforms offer a seamless and personalized experience for every online community, organization, and business. Find out more about how we achieve this, and why you are missing out.
Understanding Alumni Reach
An organization’s alumni have tremendous value at every stage of employment. In modern -day networking, every connection holds boundless potential. Alumni hold great value and perspective to any business, and by nurturing them and engaging with them in dedicated spaces, your business can reach new heights. They offer great opportunities for you and your business to expand your growth and success.
Alumni Reach offers completely customizable, private cloud-based online community, alumni engagement platforms that aim for organizations and networks to bring their communities together. Whilst Alumni Reach Platforms specialises in organizations – we also cater to those who wish to provide a dedicated space to their professional community. These communities include, but are not limited to:
- Professional Communities
- Communities of Non-profit Organizations
- Academic Alumni
- Corporate Alumni
We offer a variety of enhanced tools that are able to assess member profiles, provide effective communication targeting, incentivize user engagement, and promote exchanging knowledge, expertise, and opportunities within your professional network. These features include:
- Customizable and robust administration system: Any administrator has access to the central dashboard for complete network control and monitoring member activity and engagement. Both the dashboard and administration system can also be customized according to your business’ needs.
- Easy and effective networking tools: users of Alumni Reach may leverage engagement features such as location map-view of all members, make events, assign teams, and create forums, as well as use in-app messaging.
- User Engagement Incentives: we use gamification engines in our platforms to incentives alumni to accomplish missions or tasks, which boosts the engagement of the whole network as a result. We can also create an extensive mission library which is catered to your community’s needs, possessing a variety of winning mechanisms and rewards.
- Effective Communication & Profile Scores: when searching through the network for specific members/candidates, our scoring algorithm will assess the in-platform activity of each member. Thus, the score of an active member will be higher of an active alumnus, rather than that of an inactive alumnus.
- Extensive Alumni Profile Assessment: Our platform provides multiple ways to search, view & assess alumni profiles, making key information always visible at a glance. This includes a variety of filters to search for and review member profiles, advanced search capabilities (such as customizing the value of the search field), and customizable tags.
The Unique Value Addition of Alumni Reach
All the information you need, all in one place
Platforms like LinkedIn are over-saturated with network updates, events, posts, etc., that most times, important information tends to get lost or is unseen by the people that need to see it the most. Alumni platforms are great places to ensure that all that updates can be found in one place. We can also take it a step further and customize your platform integrating with your oranisation’s social media accounts, HR and recruiting systems.
Using Gamification To Keep People Connected
Gamification is the practice of integrating game-like applications into digital platforms so that users may compete to solve real-world issues. Games can be one-on-one, in teams, or be used to incentive teams to reach deadlines.
Gamification is still a relatively new concept within the business world. However, especially within the last 3 years, most businesses now have to increasingly rely on expanding online communities to support their fundamental operations, which bring new challenges. This is where gamification can provide an alternative method to keep workers engaged. Here are a few ways in which gamification is used to help businesses:
· Virtual leaderboards – Virtual leaderboards display how quickly and proficiently each person completes activities, and are made using specialized software. They reward participants with badges, gold crowns, and virtual currency as they complete activities during the course of the day. Managers can use these to reward top workers and consider gaming accomplishments while giving regular performance reports to maximize incentives.
The software can also assign tasks with varying point values for employees with a wide range of specialized abilities.
· Quiz Games – Topics, skills and knowledge bases that managers want the workforce to absorb can be covered in quiz games, which are also introduced through software products. For example, if the marketing manager needs their team to catch up on the latest online marketing trends, the manager can give the team the necessary resources and administer an online gamified quiz. A gamified quiz normally includes using motivating prizes for the victorious user. This may also extend to more company-wide initiatives, such as learning new policy.
· Innovation Schemes – this type of gamification consists of a competition where users submit new ideas and earn points for the them, as well as their possible success. This type of competition unleashes creative energy and can produce operational improvements.
· Sales & Recruitment Games – In most workforces, there are sales and recruitment teams; both add significant value to a company’s overall performance. Gamification of these teams’ efforts include assigning points based on monthly/quarterly/yearly performance. Such incentives could reveal a company’s true top performers and a company’s true productive potential.
Why Choose Alumni Reach?
Alumni Reach offers a personalised networking experience (that previously took years to create) in a few easy steps. Our platform provides an efficient means to produce a number of long-lasting effects that can be felt by both the organization and its employees. They can be simplified into 3 main benefits:
1. It makes job-seeking & recruitment easier.
The Alumni Reach platform does not only unite a company’s past and current employee base; it also creates a valuable network to tap into when recruiting.
Recruitment costs decrease as employee-searches are more efficient with alumni platforms, streamlining the process. An alumni network makes it easier for your HR department to keep in touch with previous employees and their careers, and provide opportunities for them to return as “boomerang hires”. Former employees can also make use of their own individual networks to refer people for open positions within your company.
Corporations that invest in a formal alumni network see the investment payback tenfold by way of happier and more engaged employees and more streamlined recruiting practices.
2. Maintain A Positive Relationship With Employees
Utilising alumni networks or platforms are a great way to make sure your employees feel valued and appreciated for their participation and efforts, even after they’ve left.
A study by The University of Warwick shows that people work harder when they are more satisfied – happiness made people around 12% more productive.
A corporate alumni network will make it easier to keep in touch, send updates on latest company changes, networking events or recruitment efforts, and maintain an overall positive relationship. This, in turn, makes previous employees more likely to consider coming back or refer others to the company.
3. Build on Loyalty & Connection With Your Company
Alumni Networks are another way for brands to build on their awareness, increasing brand loyalty and reach, as well as expose themselves to different experiences and outlooks, strengthening your brand in the process. Employees who are proud of the work they do with your company, both old and new, are a big asset to the success of your brand and expanding your clientele.
Alumni Reach and LinkedIn – Working in Tandem for Powerful Networking
For maximum effectiveness and success, alumni platforms and social networking platforms can work together, as part of a cohesive strategy. Whilst LinkedIn works more towards attracting and maintaining a broader audience, platforms such as those of Alumni Reach can be used to foster certain close-knit communities. Recruitment, events, brand awareness, and brand loyalty campaigns can also benefit from using both platforms in a methodical way.
LinkedIn does not specialize in close-community engagement practices, but benefits from being able to attract and maintain a broader professional audience. With alumni networks, however, you are able to maintain and grow more robust connections you have made, and benefit from unique platform features to keep them engaged with your community.
The platforms are also able to work together through specific features, such as integration, content sharing, referrals, event promotions, and newsletter campaigns. With the integration of a gamification engine, our alumni platform can ensure your business network is regularly engaged and in-the-know.
Networking & Connections Opportunities With Alumni Reach
Formal alumni networks give people an easy and powerful forum to breed familiarity from the simple fact that everyone attended or worked at the same place, resulting in fewer awkward interactions and more meaningful connections.
Alumni programs are all about connecting people while seeing the benefits for your company. An example of this is pairing alumni with current employees in the form of a mentorship program. Mentorship programs encourage engagement as well as the exchange of insight and knowledge between employees and alumni.
An alumni platform is also a great place to run surveys and gather information about products and services, emerging industry trends, and policies. Opportunities of participation and feedback helps develop your rapport with them, and increases likelihood of collaboration in the future.
Alumni Reach Success (Case Study) – Velti
Velti is a leading provider of innovative mobile marketing, customer retention, and content solutions, with more than a 20-year history of trusted collaboration major global operators, brands, and media groups. With over 130 employees spanned across three continents, they partnered with Alumni Reach in 2022 to host their alumni network on a robust and all-in-one platform.
We asked Eva Deli, Velti’s Alumni Community Manager, as well as one of the platform’s administrators, some questions about the success story of the Velti Alumni Network.
Why did you and your company decide to invest in an alumni network platform?
Eva: We have a community of supporters and friends willing to help if only they could be engaged. With this alumni network, we maintain relationships and create durable bonds with former employees. In that case, we value their contributions throughout their tenure.
How did you introduce the platform to your former employees?
Eva: We posted it on our website under the ‘Velti News’ section, on our social media, and of course, we sent them a personal email before we sent them the registration link. We got great feedback, and they were so excited about this initiative!
How do you keep your alumni engaged?
Eva: Well, we want to give them real benefits, and we always ask them for their opinion. We keep them updated with company news via our monthly alumni newsletters, enhance the conversation with them through conversation topics, post useful, informative links, conduct competitions, and give them prizes. We post job openings for career opportunities, and we also ask them to post their personal projects and their success stories for their personal branding.
What have the benefits been for your company?
Eva: Oh, there are many benefits! First of all, leaving a good impression on ex-employees enhances Velti’s reputation and brand. We have immediate access to a pool of very talented people. All our openings are first posted on the Alumni Reach platform, so that we give our former employees the chance to come back, or to referrer someone from their personal network. This saves us time and money, reducing significantly the filling time for a new position.
Find Out More
With the growing success of alumni networks, it is important to possess the right tools for the best outcomes. With tailor-made alumni network programs and platforms, you can create communities that allow you to maintain consistent communication with your alumni and increase your business’ growth, reach, and achievement. Contact us to learn how you can achieve community success with our platforms.