UK Only Article:
standard article
Issue:
What’s gone wrong with democracy
Fly Title:
Corporate alumni
Rubric:
More firms are seeking to stay in touch with former staff
Main image:
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COMPANIES do not like to be abandoned any more than lovers do. Workers who quit are sometimes escorted out by security guards, their smartphones confiscated and their e-mail accounts deactivated. But in the professional services, former employees are increasingly treated as assets, not turncoats. Borrowing the concept of “alumni relations” from universities, such firms are trying to stay in touch with departed workers, hoping to turn them into brand ambassadors, recruiters and salespeople.
The notion was pioneered by McKinsey, a management consultant. Its up-or-out promotion system generates a steady stream of staff leaving on relatively friendly terms, many of whom go to work for potential clients rather than rival consulting firms. McKinsey has an online database of 27,000 former consultants. ...
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