Ambassadors and Advocacy

A friend asked me yesterday ‘How do we ensure ex-employees or outgoing employees are Ambassadors for the Company? Can we create a league of ‘Company Advocates and Ambassadors’ from this group?’

I am aware of companies that create alumni programs – Mc Kinsey & P&G are 2 companies I know of. What message may these companies be giving by creating such programs? One message may be “If you have been associated with us for sometime, we value that association and we hope that we can stay in touch.”

But is creation of an alumni program enough? Advocacy or Non-Advocacy in exit situations is finally an individual behavior.

The basic question probably is ‘When does an ex-employee or outgoing employee become an ambassador for the company even though there may be no structured ‘Ambassadors for the Company’ program in place?’

A common question asked to out-going employees is “Would you reconsider joining the company at a future date ?”. I am not sure of the effectiveness of this question – given the chances that an outgoing employee rejoins is fairly low.

What can be more realistic questions?

I can think of two situations which an ex-employee would sooner or later encounter.

• Consider a friend, relative, family member has got an offer from your ex-company, or is considering employment in your ex-company. S/he calls you up for advice on whether to pursue the opportunity or not. What would your advocacy behaviour be? (Strongly advocate to join/ Neutral – ‘It’s your call’ types/ Steer clear from that company)
• Consider a friend, relative, family member is looking out for a job and calls you up for advice on 3/4 companies s/he must consider in employment search. What would those 3/4 companies be? Will your ‘advocated must consider for employment list’ also include your ex-company?

Answers to these two questions for each individual would give us a realistic sense of whether we are creating ‘Ambassadors for the Company’ or not.

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Sourav