Alumni SIG report

Alumni SIG report

Alumni: Re-engaging Alumni post COVID

By Philippa Zingales (Harris, 1998)
Director of Alumni Relations, Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Sydney

The first Alumni SIG of 2021 took a look at the year that 2020 was and the impact COVID has had upon Alumni engagement programs. 

Dionne Molina (Hunter Valley Grammar School) and  Sandy Goddard (Canberra Grammar) candidly shared their thoughts on the changes they have introduced in how they manage their Alumni to combat the impact of COVID.

Often heavily geared toward events, as robust alumni events calendars paused due to the necessary government restrictions, it created a moment to reevaluate the purpose of events and what Alumni communities want from an event – are they hitting the mark?  Hunter Valley Grammar shared how pivoting some popular mentoring activities to online events saw greater success and Canberra Grammar is exploring virtual drinks events, in place of international reunions, this year.    

If Covid has taught us anything, it’s that alumni relations teams should not underestimate the importance of strong and personalised digital engagement as part of their alumni relations strategy. Social media really came to the fore, being a vehicle for meaningful story-telling and connection. 

Some key takeaways were:

  • understanding that younger alumni are often already very connected to each other, so it’s important to find ways to engage them online through storytelling and emotional engagement
  • quality over quantity – during a time of challenge in the wider world, understanding that contacting your past school is low on the importance list, but ensuring that when we did engage with alumni communities it was meaningful and light-hearted/fun
  • virtual events – they don’t replicate the magic of a “back to school” experience however they do increase the opportunity to get alumni more involved in student activities was increased i.e. career talks, networking opportunities

Comparing a younger school, such as Hunter Valley School and an older school, such as Canberra Grammar, is always interesting as each presents its own unique challenges and opportunities for alumni activities.  

Many thanks to everyone who attended the live webinar and sharing their wins and experiences from last year with the group.  If you missed the session, the recording is available for our members to view online: https://lnkd.in/g-Aid-g