Dateline: 11/23/97

The largest accounting and law firms discovered many years ago that it pays to stay in touch with staff and partners who leave the firm to pursue other opportunities.  Even when these individuals leave the firm under less than ideal circumstances, time has a way of mellowing any hard feelings that can exist on either side, and it is often possible to turn alumni into good friends of the firm who can result in new business.  Consider making your own alumni into practice development opportunities.

If you have always worked in smaller firms, you may not be aware that many large firms have elaborate alumni programs to help keep their names foremost in their old employee's mind.  Since alumni frequently leave to work for existing clients, or to go to non-client businesses where an ally can be useful, alumni programs pay off in new or retained business.  Alumni programs can take many forms. Here are some of the typical activities firms use to stay in touch:

Newsletter.  Typically published quarterly or semi-annually, alumni newsletters often feature recent client gains, recent firm activities or awards, results of local or firmwide initiatives, as well as listings of firm alumni and any accomplishments or job changes they have made recently.  These usually take a printed form and are mailed to the person's home, however, some firms now put alumni newsletters up on the web.  Typically, alumni information on the web is in a password-protected area only the alumni and firm members have access to.

Annual Outing. Most commonly a sports-related event with dinner, annual outings can be a nice way to get people out of the office to socialize in a way that renews old friendships.  They can be elaborate, such as renting the local country club for the day and hiring a pro or celebrity to come and play a hole of golf with each foursome and hand out awards afterwards.  They can be something simple, like a bring-the-family outing at a local beach or lake, with the firm providing the barbeque and beer.  Whatever the day planned, it typically includes a nice dinner, some kind of nice gifts for alumni to take home, and good attendance by the firm's current partners and senior associates.

Directory.  These have historically been printed directories updated and mailed to all people in the directory.  Updating them requires a large effort, often including telephone calls to each individual to verify the information.  Today, using e-mail and web reply forms, it is much easier to get the information needed to keep listings current.  Smaller firms with only a few names should consider lower cost,  creative ways to provide updated information about alums to other alums.  Use sticky labels, with each person's contact information on one label, and then mail a sheet to each alum to use in his or her rolodex or card file.  Any firm can put an alumni directory and/or e-mail directory online as part of its web site.  Be sure to get permission for electronic publication, however, as many people are sensitive about having their phone numbers and addresses available on the Internet.

Take an Alumnus to Lunch.  Year-round it's a good idea to get partners and staff to take certain targeted alumni out to lunch--or to a local sporting event--with regularity.  This ensures that the newer crop of professionals in the firm establishes contact with alumni and helps the alumni to know more people at the firm when they attend firm alumni events or want to call someone with a business-related question.

Recognition/Awards Program.  If your firm or local office has a lot of outstanding alumni who have gone on to do important things in the local community or in their profession or industry, you might want to create a special awards program to honor their success.  Specialty advertising companies or trophy companies have a variety of trophies and plaques available.  Consider something dramatic that you will keep in your lobby or display case, engraved with the names of outstanding alumni.  Usually a smaller version is available for you to give to the alumnus, as well.  If you don't want to go to the expense of a dinner presentation, consider having an assembly of all your staff in your training facilities or a large meeting room or auditorium in your building, and do it during working hours.  If your office culture is unusually cordial and friendly, you might even consider having skits or hiring a stand-up comedian to deliver a routine related to the individual. 

Some of these activities can be fairly inexpensive to accomplish, while some are obviously beyond the means of the smallest firms.  If you don't have the resources to start a formal program, you probably do have a computer with a database program.  Assign various individuals in the firm to just call alumni quarterly or semi-annually to check on what they are doing.  Even the smallest efforts to stay in touch with alumni can pay off in good will and potential business for the firm.

(Note: the links below are examples from university alumni programs that will give you good ideas for how to approach similar activities in your own firm.  Most firms do not make their alumni programs available publicly.  If you do know of any web sites with legal or accounting alumni information, please let me know.)

Next Week: The 10 Must-Know Web Sites for Smaller Firms 

Look here for more information

Alumni Information Form
A good example of an electronic form to gather and update information from alumni--by e-mail, via a web site or even to give you ideas for what to put into a printed form you mail out.

Alumni Program Online
For larger firms with a lot of alumni, consider adding an alumni section to your web site.  Regent University has a good model to go by.

Alumni E-mail Directory
University of California - Irvine uses a search engine to make all its alumni available by e-mail.  Another good idea for larger firms.

Announcement for Alumni Gathering
See how the University of Texas Law Alumni Association promotes its annual alumni reunion. 

Alumni Center
Another good example of using the web as a hub for information.  Adapt this Lyon University format to your own web site.

Outstanding Alumni Award
Looking for another way to acknowledge your best alum allies?  Try this idea from the University of Queensland (Australia).

Merchandise for Alumni
See the logo sale items in the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) alumni catalog.  You'll find some interesting ideas for your own alums.  Their whole online alumni section is well done.

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Copyright 1998 by Kaye Vivian (kvivian@cloud9.net).  All rights reserved.  Permission to reprint is granted provided this article is not altered and the copyright notice remains attached