The corporate alumni culture is historically anchored in the DNA of Forvis Mazars. Networking is an essential part of an employee’s professional life. Many employees forge strong and lasting links with their colleagues and their company. These ties continue after they leave the organisation, and naturally form a network on which it must capitalise!
A corporate alumni network is now a strategic issue for companies. Many phenomena stem from these new practices and are developing rapidly:
- Company attractiveness
- Boomerang recruitment
- Business opportunities
- Management of a pool of trainees / alternates / freelancers
Maintaining a lasting relationship with former employees is crucial for companies. With this in mind, Forvis Mazars has chosen AlumnForce to launch its corporate alumni platform and develop its network.
- Alumni culture at Forvis Mazars
- Ambitions and objectives of the corporate alumni platform
- Development perspectives
- The webinar replay (in French with subtitles)
Alumni culture at Forvis Mazars
Forvis Mazars, a major player in audit and advisory services, has long understood the importance of its network of former employees. “Networking is an essential part of an employee’s professional life,” says Aurore Angeli, Communications Manager at Forvis Mazars. Indeed, the links forged within the company often last long after the employees have left, forming a valuable alumni community.
On the strength of this understanding, the company had already put in place initiatives to maintain contact with its former employees. A bi-monthly newsletter, one-off events and a dedicated page on the careers website. With nearly 4,000 active members, the Forvis Mazars alumni network was more than just a list of contacts. It is a genuine platform for connection and mutual support. Sarah Taleb, Head of Partnerships and School Relations, emphasises: “We realised that a lot of things were already being done. With AlumnForce we can go even further. That’s why we wanted to have a platform to meet all the expectations and demands of our community.”
The company also carried out an excellent practice before launching the platform. It conducted a survey of its community to gather their expectations of the tool. The results speak for themselves:
- 89% find it important to keep in touch with the company and former colleagues
- 81% think it’s important to be able to take part in network events
- 80% think it’s important to have a platform to showcase the network and its various services
- 53% think it is important to receive news from Forvis Mazars
This makes it easier to project the platform’s ambitions and objectives. The community is already looking forward to using it as a meeting place. Secondly, there is a real demand for information and relationships. Communications by email and newsletter are therefore very popular, as is the organisation of physical events. Based on these simple principles, it’s much easier to plan an action plan that will meet the community’s expectations, while serving the company’s strategic interests.
Ambitions and objectives of the corporate alumni platform
Forvis Mazars has a number of objectives for the corporate alumni platform. Firstly, to maintain a strong link with former staff. This is all the more crucial in a sector where staff turnover can be as high as 20%. Secondly, it wants to capitalise on this community to achieve various strategic objectives in communication, marketing and human resources.
The alumni platform, developed with AlumnForce, is intended to be a central tool in this corporate project. “The aim is to have a dedicated tool, to bring the network more to life, to offer more content and events, and to facilitate links between alumni,” explains Aurore Angeli. This approach is part of a global vision on the part of management, which recognises the importance of this network for the company as a whole.
Sarah Taleb explains the expected benefits: “In recent years, there have been more and more ‘boomerang’ employees, particularly in our company. We therefore have a challenge in facilitating the return of our former talent. Indeed, a well-maintained alumni network makes it easier to reintegrate former employees, known as ‘boomerangs’.
Another aspect of the Forvis Mazars culture is entrepreneurship. Internally, this is a well-established culture that encourages staff to be proactive within the company. The platform also helps to underpin this identity and support entrepreneurial initiatives through the support of the community. “The people who join us very often have this entrepreneurial DNA. When they leave the company, the network is a real force for launching their project, thanks to the support of the community,” confirms Sarah.
Development perspectives
The launch of the alumni platform is accompanied by an ambitious communication programme. In addition to traditional communication campaigns, Mazars has launched a series of video interviews entitled “The alumni roadshow”, designed to showcase the career paths of former employees. This series aims not only to inspire current employees but also to strengthen the feeling of belonging to the Mazars community.
Aurore Angeli insists on the importance of rich content right from the launch: “It’s crucial to have content ready when the platform is launched to welcome members to a space that is well-stocked and pleasant to visit.” Eventually, the platform plans to develop regional groups, step up communication and events, and open up the network to freelancers and interns with appropriate access rights.
In short, Mazars’ strategy for its alumni network illustrates an approach that is integrated into the company’s strategy. By consolidating links with its former staff, the company has acquired a major asset for attracting new talent, encouraging collaboration and maintaining a strong and dynamic corporate culture. “The employees we train often go on to become decision-makers in their new company. They will therefore be influencers in their new jobs in the future,” concludes Aurore Angeli, underlining the lasting impact of a well-managed alumni network.
Webinar replay
This article is a summary of our discussion with Sarah Taleb and Aurore Angeli. You can watch the replay for the full interview, including the Q&A section, which is sure to answer any questions you may have.
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