Are career services the key to building alumni community?

12 December 2024

Andrew Crisp writes about some of the key findings from this year’s Alumni Matters report.

The alumni relationship is most effective when it works both ways – alumni receive support, services and events from their former business school, and in return they contribute to the future of their schools, whether with their time or, in some cases, money.  It sounds simple enough, but sometimes it can be a little too transactional, rather than leveraging the deep emotional bonds often created during study.

The latest Alumni Matters research suggests these emotional ties are strong – 84% agreed they are positive towards their business school and the same percentage that they are proud of their business school, but only 74% feel they are part of an alumni community.  Almost half (47%) believe their former business school is only interested in raising money from them.

So, what’s to be done?  How can business schools grow the alumni relationship?  Not surprisingly, on the services side alumni remain focused on their future career.  For many students, business school is about enhancing their career prospects and that doesn’t stop when they graduate.

Asked what services would improve their alumni experience, two of the top three are explicitly career-related - better career services for alumni and offering more opportunities for further learning.  The third, making it easier for alumni to connect with other alumni, is about networking, which may again be career-related, and is another key motivation that prospective students often mention for choosing to study a business degree.

The message seems clear, what motivates students to come to business school continues to be important after they graduate.  For business schools, finding a formula that delivers on the promise they make to attract students once they have graduated is likely to build stronger ties with all the benefits these can bring.

What about that two-way relationship?  In the last 12 months, alumni indicate that they are most likely to have supported their school by recommending it to prospective students and prospective recruiters, as well as sharing their professional experience/knowledge.  That positive feeling for their school comes across clearly, there’s no hesitation in recommending where they studied, including making the career connection for future students.

And that career connection is carried forward.  Asked what they would consider doing for their school but have not done to date, the top answers are providing internships/ projects/ paid work experience for current students and serving as a fundraising volunteer, although the later option also had the highest number who would not support their school in this way.

While money may not be the best approach to build on the emotional bonds between alumni and their school, simply being asked to help rather than donate can be a powerful way to build connection.  Feeling valued, that you have something to offer, is likely to motivate many alumni, but that help may not be just about the business school.

Asked what other opportunities they would value as an alumnus, the first choice of respondents to the Alumni Matters study was ‘to participate in an annual business school community event offering networking and learning opportunities’ (45%).  However, only slightly further back at 39% was ‘alongside other alumni I would like to have opportunities to give back to society at large (e.g. charity/NGO projects)’.  Bringing an imaginative approach to alumni relations, looking beyond the business school, but also remembering what originally motivated study among alumni, is likely to build a better relationship for both alumni and their school.

The new Alumni Matters report will be published in January and will be available to purchase on the CarringtonCrisp website.