International Alumni Relations: The Neglected Tool in Your Strategic Recruiting Arsenal?
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Intead and Academic Assembly surveyed over 1,000 insitutions on their int’l alumni engagement practices – come see what they had to say and discover best practices for leveraging your global alumni.
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International Alumni Relations: The Neglected Tool in Your Strategic Recruiting Arsenal?
- 1. Global Alumni Management for U.S. Institutions The State of the Field in 2017 ______________________________ Kate Mattern, Intead Gretchen Dobson, Academic Assembly, Inc.
- 2. What are Global Alumni? • Any internationally-located alumni, including: • Student who came from abroad to study in the US • Domestic students who relocated after graduation
- 3. Why are Global Alumni Important? • Powerful brand ambassadors: • Fundraising • Recruitment • Student employment opportunities • A resource you already have.
- 4. Our Research • 103 respondents overall • Representing US post-secondary institutions • All involved in: • Development • Admissions • International affairs • Or alumni management
- 5. Our Research We asked about: • Current practices • Rating of consistency and effectiveness • Areas of frustration • How much the work is valued
- 7. Staffing
- 8. Number of cities • 33% (32): Working in 5+ or more international cities • 19% (19): Working in <5 international cities • 27% (26): Not managing global alumni at all
- 9. Frequency of contact • Once or twice a year: 23% (23) • A few times per month: 7% (7) • A few times per week: 10% (10) • Never: 11% (11) • Don’t know/prefer not to answer: 19% (19)
- 10. Online or in-person? .• Not managing at all: 27% (26) • Don’t know/prefer not to answer: 9% (9) • Online only: 22% (22) • In-person only: 4% (4) • A combination: 38% (37)
- 12. .
- 13. The Headaches
- 14. Data Management
- 15. CRM .• None: 35% (34) • Don’t know: 25% (24) • Other (including home-grown systems): 39% (37) • Razor’s Edge: 6% (6) • Graduway or Aluminati: 2% (2) • Prefer not to answer: 1% (1)
- 16. Data Management . “No historic effort has been made to ensure we enter data correctly (according to the address systems of their country), or to keep [student’s] information updated.”
- 17. Data Management . “We have a home grown database for our alumni. I don't love it, but it's unlikely to change.”
- 18. Data Management . “Our Alumni office has no data or tracking. It is not something that Admissions can take on without their buy in and support.”
- 19. . Asked about top 3 impediments to growth in this area… • 49% of respondents (48) included either: • We don’t track our international alumni or • CRM difficulties (no CRM system in place, poorly managed CRM, etc.)
- 20. Resources
- 21. Resources .• Remember: 59% have no dedicated staffing for this. • 38% of respondents (37) identified insufficient money as one of their top 3 impediments • 51% said the same of insufficient time. • Time is money!
- 22. Resources .Top 3: With an extra $24k, what would you do? • International events and staff travel: 32% (31) • More staff: 25% (24) • Enhancements to CRM: 8% (8)
- 23. Support
- 24. Support . Respondents personally valued international alumni management. “Very important to…” • Increased international recruitment: 59% (57) • Increased brand awareness: 56% (53) • Increased employment and networking opportunities for students: 48% (45)
- 25. Support . “Do you think that you get the internal leadership support that you need to effectively run an international alumni program?” 67% say NO
- 26. Support . “Need support from the top management level and for them to provide funding...” “We don’t have the support of our institutional leadership.” “The senior leadership team is all for building an international alumni network…. [but] it would take more physical, financial, and human resources dedicated to our office.”
- 27. So… what do we do?
- 28. #1: Pay Attention to Data. Output is only as good as input. “You don’t know what you don’t know”
- 29. Embrace and Leverage a New Definition: Transnational Alumni
- 30. New definition (Dobson, 2015) responds to the need for a more detailed understanding of alumni dynamics in an increasingly complex global mobility landscape. • Alumni that conduct their personal and professional lives within two or more countries. – Studied at an institution in their home country but reside abroad. – Reside in the country where their alma mater is based, but who have had extensive experience abroad. • Additionally, institutions may identify and track graduates of offshore, joint or double-degree programs as transnational alumni. A New Definition: Transnational Alumni
- 31. • International undergraduates on study abroad • International ESL students • International Post-Docs (researchers, Fulbright) • International faculty fellows • International honorary degree recipients Strategic Move: Identify and Engage “Other” International Alumni and Friends
- 32. • More international student exchange programs • Undergraduate, graduate and executive education sponsored by more 2+ universities • Int’l fellows/visiting faculty • Distance learning • MOOCs Prepare for Non-Traditional Affinities (and create records in student and advance databases!)
- 33. #2: Understand the Big Picture . Create an International Data Management Task Force Alumni Development Advancement Research Info Technology Careers/Employment Registrar/Enrollment Management Recruitment
- 34. Leaders must Support this Notion International Alumni Relations is a Shared Agenda . Plan Together Budget Together Manage Expectations Together Cross-Training for International Officers
- 35. CROSS TRAINING • Central and school-based alumni relations • Admissions/Recruitment • Meet Counselors and Agents • Parent/Family programs** • Development • Alumni & Development Hybrid role Demonstrate Value for Your Collective Efforts Abroad
- 36. #3: Quality over Quantity . Choose one or two regions based on an assessment of demographics, academic interests and opportunity to sustain international activity
- 37. The 4 Pillars of Engagement Copyright 2010 Gretchen Dobson Admissions Academics Alumni Development
- 38. #4: Invest in Alumni Volunteers . “Our Past is our Future” Goal: Sustainability Opportunity: Alumni
- 39. The 5 “I’s” of Outreach and Engagement℠ Identify Invite Inform
- 40. The 5 “I’s” of Outreach and Engagement℠ Invest Impact
- 41. #5: At all Times, Demonstrate Value Reputation Management Branding Recruitment Employability Public Diplomacy Financial Resources to Sustain Internationalization
- 42. In Closing… . The Cost of Doing Nothing is Greater than Doing Something
- 43. Download the White Paper http://info.intead.com/global- alumni-management
- 44. Thank You! ______________________________ Kate Mattern, Intead kmattern@intead.com Gretchen Dobson, Academic Assembly, Inc. gretchen.dobson@academicassembly.com
Editor's Notes
- Hello, I am Kate Mattern from Intead. Academic institutions hire Intead to build and execute effective global marketing strategies using a holistic blend of on-the-ground recruiting efforts and digital marketing. [Gretchen intro] Today, we’ll be presenting on Global Alumni Management for US Institutions– the state of the field in 2017.
- KATE: Increasingly global workforce means that American colleges and universities are, more and more, finding their former students distributed across countries and over continents. “International” or “global” alumni relations is the outreach to, and engagement of, these internationally-located alumni. This group includes not only students who came from abroad to complete studies at American universities, but domestic students who have relocated to other countries since graduating.
- Global alumni can boost your fundraising and recruitment and help your graduates find job opportunities. Theyre a valuable resource, and you already have them.
- KATE This all makes intuitive sense But at Intead and Academic Assembly, we often hear from university clients that it can feel frustratingly difficult to figure out just how to effectively manage relationships with this group of alumni Respondents were surveyed about their institutions’ current international alumni management practices, their rating of the program’s consistency and effectiveness, We wanted to survey the field: what are US institutions doing to reach out to global alumni? Where are they succeeding and how are they struggling? We created a web survey, and distributed it to our networks and via social The survey was open to anyone working in a US college, university, or other post-secondary institution, and involved in development, admissions, international affairs, or alumni management
- KATE Respondents were surveyed about their institutions’ current international alumni management practices, their rating of the program’s consistency and effectiveness, their areas of frustration, and how much value they and their institutional leadership ascribe to the work of global alumni development.
- KATE: Let’s first just take a look at what folks are currently doing
- KATE [note: this sample is 102] Staffing level is one of the findings that surprised us most. We asked respondents how much dedicated staff time their institution currently devotes to international alumni management. 59% (60 respondents) reported that their institution did not dedicate ANY staff time whatsoever to international alumni management. • Only 35% (36) reported having any dedicated staff time devoted to international alumni management Of those dedicating some staff time, 32% (11) reported having about 1 full-time equivalent (FTE). 60% (21) reported that their global alumni relations efforts were centralized in the institution’s alumni relations office. The rest said that efforts were distributed across multiple departments.
- KATE [note: this sample is 98] Asked about their current breadth of efforts, platforms for communication, and frequency of contact with international alumni, here’s what respondents had to say: 33% (32) reported that their institution is currently working with international alumni in 5 or more international cities. 19% (19) reported that their institution is currently working with international alumni in fewer than 5 international cities. 27% (26) reported that their institution does not manage international alumni at all.
- KATE [note: this sample is 98] Of those managing international alumni in some way, the most popularly reported frequency of contact with international alumni was just once or twice per year– reported by 23% of respondents. Roughly equal minorities– 10 and 11 respondents– reported extremes at either end of the spectrum, saying they were either in touch a few times a week, or never.
- KATE [note: this sample is 98] We were curious to know HOW this communication was happening. 38% of respondents who were in touch with international alumni in some way told us that they use a combination of online communication– email, social media, newsletters, and in-person in-country events. About a quarter reporting using online methods only, and 4 reported using in person events only
- KATE: So that’s what’s happening. How did our respondents feel like it’s going?
- KATE [note: this sample is 99] Not great! We asked respondents how true a number of positive descriptors are of their current international alumni management program. Would they say the program was well resourced? Well planned? Well organized? Consistent? Over HALF of respondents said these were “not at all true” The majority of the remaining responses were lukewarm “somewhat trues.” And here’s the kicker- Less than FIVE PERCENT of respondents reported that these were very true. To drive that home. 99 respondents completed this question on the survey, and these descriptors were not mutually exclusive— every respondent rated the accuracy of each descriptor separately. Only 6 total respondents considered ANY of these descriptors to be very true, and only 1 considered all four positive descriptor to be very true. Not at all true Well-resourced (64%, 64) • Consistent (53%, 53) • Well-planned (51%, 51) • Well-organized (50%, 50)
- KATE: So, respondents were overall pretty unhappy with the current state of their international alumni management program. Why, exactly? Let’s look at some of the most frequently reported problems.
- Problems with data management was a recurrent theme. Managing contact information in a way that is usable and up-to-date is always complicated, but it is even more complicated for this group of alumni. Some of these alumni weren’t international students at the time they attended the college, they’ve just moved abroad after graduation. That can create labeling problems. There’s also transnational alumni– those working and living in more than one country at one time– say, living in London and working in Paris. How is that alum coded? This is an issue Gretchen will talk about more later in the presentation. In short, things can get hairy if they’re not managed well. So it’s no surprise that data management was a frequently raised problem.
- KATE [note: this sample is 98] Let’s take a look at responses about Client Relationship Management software, or CRM systems. This software is critically important to tracking contact info for alumni. But 35% of our sample reported they weren’t using any software platform at all. 25% didn’t know. 39% reported “other”– and those responses included many people who were using home-grown systems.
- KATE Here’s some examples of what we heard. This respondent had a true CRM system in place– but that doesn’t do any good if the data is not accurately entered and consistently updated.
- Here’s someone using a cobbled together homegrown system– once universities start with a system, it can be difficult to force a change, even if it would be worth the effort.
- This person is one of many who had no system to rely on at all.
- KATE [note: this sample is 98] Given that, it’s probably no surprise that, when asked what their 3 biggest barriers to expanding their international alumni program were, nearly half of respondents reported that their biggest headaches included either a total lack of tracking or troubles with their CRM.
- That ties into our next headache: resources.
- KATE Remember from earlier-- a MAJORITY of respondents have absolutely no dedicated staff time devoted to international alumni management. Insufficient money and insufficient time were among the top impediments to growth reported– and in this context, time IS money. Budgetary decisions of course impact staffing, as well as funds to do things like travel to international cities, upgrade data management systems, or design effective mailings.
- KATE Asked what they would do if an extra $24k magically ended up in their budget, the three most popular allocations were international events and staff travel, increased staffing, and enhancements to CRM.
- Which boils down to this: institutional support
- KATE Respondents themselves were pretty convinced that international alumni management was important. Of course, it is likely that these numbers are skewed by the self-selecting group that chooses to complete this survey. But with that caveat, at least for these 100 or so respondents, the support is there. About half of respondents personally felt that international alumni management was very important to recruitment, brand awareness, and increased employment and networking opportunities for all students. For each of those, about another 20% said somewhat important– so, personal value was rated pretty highly.
- KATE But when asked whether they feel they have adequate support from leadership, 67% say no.
- That message was repeated loud and clear. Some respondents felt like they got no support at all. At other institutions, they might get some lip service, but leadership wasn’t putting their money where their mouth is.
- Hopefully that data was convincing– international alumni management in the US is not going as well as it could be. So what can institutions do better? To delve into recommendations, I will hand this over to my co-presenter Gretchen Dobson of Academic Assembly, Inc.
- GRETCHEN The success of engaging international alumni relies heavily on the use of sophisticated, user-friendly systems.
- Identify international alumni and other friends abroad. Who qualifies as an international graduate of your institution? Are international students who studied English in a bridge program tracked in a database? What about international postdoctoral students and faculty members who spent time on your campus before returning home? Few institutions can answer these seemingly simple questions. Before you can enhance engagement programs, ensure the information you have about your alumni abroad is comprehensive and up-to-date.
- GRETCHEN Look at the big picture. Institutions need to understand how the demographics of their institutions’ international students have changed over time. Understanding these demographics may provide better context for how current systems were developed - and why they may need to be updated. Important data may reside in places other than in central advancement records (such as with academic departments, graduate schools, summer language programs, or admissions/recruitment). If so, these systems need to be connected.
- 3. Make the case for overseas alumni officers. Cross-train alumni officers to support other institutional goals, including admissions and fundraising. Alumni relations staffers who travel to other countries can meet high school guidance counselors and prospective students while engaging graduates and assessing potential sources of wealth within their professional and social circles.
- Less can be more. Institutions just starting to build international alumni networks should choose just one or two regions to begin their efforts. Select a small number of targets which serve overall institutional objectives (not just not one, such as fundraising). While targeting a larger number of cities may seem like the fast-track to increased fundraising and enrollment, this is something to work up to gradually.
- Gretchen leads discussion.
- Less can be more. Institutions just starting to build international alumni networks should choose just one or two regions to begin their efforts. Select a small number of targets which serve overall institutional objectives (not just not one, such as fundraising). While targeting a larger number of cities may seem like the fast-track to increased fundraising and enrollment, this is something to work up to gradually.
- Why this work is valuable: For institutions From an institutional perspective, the value of having global alumni involved in student recruitment is clear. These alumni can speak convincingly about your school to prospective students in a way that is difficult to best. As an added value, involving international alumni also strengthens the alumni connection to the institution—strengthening professional network opportunities (good for students and for the school), deepening loyalty to the alma mater, and encouraging donations. For current and prospective students A strong, global network of alumni is a powerful networking resource. Your current students may find opportunities to meet with alumni useful in securing internships or jobs. These perks are not only useful, but encourage positive feelings that bolster recruitment and fundraising. Prospective students will benefit from hearing from alumni with first-hand experience of your school. Is your university a welcoming place? Where can they find their home comfort foods on campus? There is no better source of expert advice than your alumni. For alumni From an alumni perspective, what is the value in donating time, money, and tapping their professional and personal resources to support the institution? This is the value you must make clear. Your alumni ambassadors need to find their participation engaging, fun, and rewarding. Make them feel respected and appreciated. Give them opportunities to promote their own successes and make connections that may be useful to their own lives and careers.