UK Universities are renown for making two mistakes relating to alumni: firstly they focus resource on recently graduated alumni (often annoying them by asking them for money at precisely the time that they don’t have any!) and secondly, when they do pick up with more mature alumni, they don’t adapt their approach to them, recognising that a different type of communication and engagement is needed.
Business School alumni are a classic example. Typically they will have moved around in careers and so the University loses touch with them. By the time they appear on the alumni teams radar again they are busy people, often well protected from the outside world by PA’s and management structures. They don’t want to be taken advantage of just because someone has twigged that they are now earning good money and they will be seriously annoyed by clumsy approaches.
However they are generally pleased to hear from their ‘Alma Mater’ – they will have fond memories to recall and many will regard their time at University as quite instrumental to their subsequent success, possibly staying in touch with their peers or old tutors.
They also know that they can, personally or via their organisations, make a good contribution to the University. With measures such as ’employability’ and ‘student experience’ being so important now, the ability of a University to increase its links with Corporates who have the resources to speak to students (and tutors) about the real world in their industry and offer mentoring, placements etc is critical.
Just requires ‘different horses’ for ‘different courses’