1. Alumni Relations: Engaging Your Most Valuable Ambassadors 6 Tactics That Will Drive Alumni Engagement Adela Papac Director of Communications Association of MBAs

2. My roles AMBA’s Director of Communications Westminster MBA Graduate
Global AMBAssador
Recipient of WBS MBA scholarship
Volunteered at WBS
Business School Marketing & Comms department

3. It all connects! 1. WBS MBA student 2. Recipient of WBS
MBA scholarship
3. AMBA
Student member
4. Volunteered
@WBS
5. WBS
6. Global AMBAssador
7. AMBA Director
of Communications
1. WBS MBA student

5. Key challenges in engaging your alumni
Large alumni constituency, but a small alumni team
Raising tuiton fees – students expect more from their University experience –> increased pressure on the alumni team to deliver more benefits
Contact details poorer for older cohorts / Issues with academics over their contacts
Small budgets …

6. 4 stage evolution of stakeholder relationships Apply this model – change ‘Company’ to ‘Alumni Relations team’ 1.
AWARENESS (Stakeholders know that the company exists) 2.
KNOWLEDGE (Stakeholders understand what company does) 3.
ADMIRATION (Stakeholders develop trust & commitment toward the company) 4.
ACTION (The company is taking action to collaborate further with stakeholders)
Admiration, defined as the degree to which an organization is esteemed by its stakeholders. (Bortree &Waters, 2008)
(Epstein, 2008) 6 6

7. 6 Tactics that will drive Alumni Engagement

8. 1. Start early
Engage with them while they are in University – after they graduate, they are no longer in your sphere of influence
Timing is critical!

9. 2. Engage – it starts with you!
If you want to engage them, you need to be engaged!
Be where they are (Facebook, school events, pubs?)
Show interest
Develop personal relationships
Offer suggestions
Identify your best people, but…
…don’t limit yourself only to them

10. 3. Create emotional buy-in
If students feel emotionally attached to their school, they are more likely to support the school’s initiatives  
Early and continuous communication is the most important step to encourage students to connect emotionally to the new entity

11. 4. Connect!
Connect with your alumni emotionally – the greatest skill that you can develop
When people buy into a message, product or service, they often don’t fully get all the technical details of what is being offered
They are reacting to the feeling of being comfortable, based on trust and respect that has been built.

12. 5. Involve them – it creates ownership and loyalty
Student helpers or volunteers
Student representatives
Global AMBAssadors
Engage with students on MBA Fairs & open days
AMBA re-accreditation
Work on university projects
Internships…

13. 6. Make it easy for them – what they prefer?
Mentoring new students and new graduates
Promotional activities for the school
Organising events
Helping with organising study trips
Supporting the school with providing their contacts and ‘opening doors’ when required

14. Why MBA alumni want to be engaged?
To maintain ‘status’ and good standing with their school
Networking – alma mater is seen as a ‘super connector’ of alumni network
Feel closer to the MBA world & academia
Feel responsibility to support their school
Career services (in case they loose their job)
More visibility for themselves

15. How MBA alumni like to be in touch?
Like to hear regularly from their business school!
Like to be engaged through s & social media
Like to receive annual updates from the school (news about the school, academics, events they can attend or people they know)
Like to attend events

16. What MBA alumni do not like:
They do not hear from the school often enough!
Not enough events – they would prefer fixed monthly events rather than ad hoc ones you cannot plan around

17. Don’t overdo it!