3 Benefits of Creating An Alumni

If you're like most companies, when a member of your staff gives their two-week notice, you prepare the exit paperwork and say goodbye. However, a few companies have discovered the value in treating their exiting staff as alumni.

An alumnus (a former member of a group, company or organization) can be a great resource to your company. Here are three types of alumni that can benefit your company.

The boomerang

Not all staff members who leave are gone for good. Former employees may leave to receive more education, others may move on to a job where they can gain new and additional experience, and still others may leave because they think they may like a different company or position better. Whatever the reason, if they like your company while they are working for you, they may want to come back. In returning, they bring experience from working at your company before and a stronger knowledge base by gaining more education or working in other positions.

The way you handle the exit experience for your employees can make a big impact on the chances of hiring former employees back on again some day. Be sure to let your exiting employee know they are welcome back if they would ever like to return.

The referrer

A lot of times, employees leave not because they are unhappy, but because they want to continue to grow through education or new experiences. These employees who leave with a positive opinion of the company can be great at referring potential new hires. After all, they know why your company is great and they can encourage friends and family who would be a good fit for the position to apply.

Not only can former employees refer potential new hires, they can also encourage potential patients to use your services. Because they know firsthand how the company operates, former employees can tell potential customers all the benefits your company has to offer. To keep former employees up to date on your current achievements, ask exiting staff if they would like to receive a special alumni newsletter that shares milestones the company hits. 

The sounding board

If you're looking for people familiar with your company to give their honest feedback about your brand and customer experience, your former employees may be a good group to talk to. Since they are no longer receiving paychecks, they're more likely to provide objective feedback than employees.

Explain (to the fourth)

Part 4 of 7: Explain (to the fourth)

7 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction

Usually it's not enough to explain things one time—especially in senior care. To ensure adequate communication, we need to explain what we are going to do, what we are doing, what we did and what to expect once the care provider has left.

It may sound like overkill, but if done correctly, it can make a huge difference in a patient's experience. Without sufficient explanation, patients can feel insecure, scared, or uncomfortable. Here's a patient's experience with not being told enough:

“There was one thing that concerned me. They had to do an inspection to see if I had bedsores or anything. That really bothered me because there were about five of them in there. They were looking all over my body and didn't explain anything.”

In this person's situation, the employees did not explain what was going to happen and it created a negative customer experience.

Here's a similar situation that was handled differently and produced a much more positive outcome:

"I have a wound on my backside that just won't heal. The nurse came over today to check on it. I was feeling apprehensive before she came over because it's kind of embarrassing to have a wound there. However, the way she handled it was so nice! When she arrived, she walked me through how she was going to clean the wound. Then as she cleaned it, she told me what she was doing. I knew what to expect as she cleaned it because she had told me beforehand. It took away a lot of my fear. When she was done, she said that it looked like my wound was improving based off the notes from my doctor. Before she left, she explained what I should do until she comes back. I'm so glad she's my nurse!"

Instead of looking at explaining to the fourth as repeating yourself four times, see it as an opportunity to journey with the patient through an experience.

Please share in the comments below an experience of not explaining or explaining to the fourth.

For more ways to improve patient satisfaction, visit part 5: Exceed Expectations.