The Cradle of Coaches, or Celebrating your Ex-employees
SteveNote: It's 'HR and Sports' this Friday on the HR Happy Hour show, and in that spirit, I figured I'd try some posts with some kind of sports angle. Apologies in advance, Kris Dunn over at the HR Capitalist does these type of posts way better than anyone else, in fact you should probably stop reading this and click over there right now.
Still here? Ok here goes:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In American college athletics it is not uncommon for coaches to have some success at smaller programs at lesser-known schools, then move out and up to higher paying, more prestigious jobs at so-called 'major' universities, like Ohio State, Notre Dame, or Florida. It does seem that almost every year one of these highly lucrative positions is filled in this way.
One of these smaller programs is the Miami University of Ohio. Miami of Ohio is known as the 'Crad
le of Coaches', based on the numerous legendary coaches that worked there, and then went on to have remarkable success at larger, more well-known universities as well as in professional football. Just some of the coaches that have Miami roots are Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian, and Jim Tressel.
;)
Ara Parseghian - Time Magazine - Nov. 20, 1964The interesting thing is that Miami is not the only smaller program to have had this experience, but by embracing it, and celebrating the achievements of former coaches once they have left Miami, they have created a kind of sustainable competitive advantage for talent compared to their most likely competitors for coaching talent.
Any candidate for an opening at Miami would absolutely know of this rich history of successful coaches moving on from Miami to the highest echelon of the profession. And for a highly competitive field like collegiate coaching this is a huge selling point. Come and coach here at Miami, and we can help you on your path to becoming the next National Coach of the Year at whatever 'big' school you go to next. They take advantage of this legacy by fully embracing it, in fact they are planning to erect statues of many of the legends that built the 'Cradle of Coaches' history.
How many 'regular' organizations do you know that celebrate the achievements of ex-employees in such an explicit manner? Think of organizations that typically recruit new graduates or early career professionals. A compelling factor for the best talent among them might very well be, 'What can I do next with the experience I gain here?' For smaller companies,or ones in the non-profit or educational sector that can't usually compete evenly on salary and benefits, this may be one source of advantage that can be exploited.
Instead of limiting your pitch to the potential career paths within your organization, what about highlighting some of the success stories of people who left and then went on to achieve success in other places, or as entrepreneurs? Instead of just having current employee testimonials on your corporate job site, why not try and include interviews with some of your most famous alumni who would be willing to talk about how their experience with your organization set them up for long-term professional success?
Who is the most successful ex-employee from your organization right now?
Are you using that story to your best advantage?
Reader Comments (6)
This is another interesting topic. Working in higher education, we don't have the competitiveness of the business world. We expect people to grow and learn, earn additional degrees and move on. It's normal and while kind of weird, it's fabulous too. It gives employees the opportunity for REAL career development and map out their own paths without feeling constrained.
You've heard my Lou Holtz story, right? I worked for a SVP of HR who was totally in love with Lou Holtz. Like, seriously, he loved the guy and wanted to have his baby in an alpha-male-heterosexual way.
Anyway, this SVP wanted to motivate his team of HR pros — all ten women from the northwest side of Chicago who could give two craps about college football — with a video on Lou Holtz and his coaching style. At 9AM. In a dark room. Then we had to talk about the video in excruciating detail. What did we learn about leadership? About teamwork? About the spirit of the fighting Irish?
The fact that I did not quit on the spot is a testament to both my youth and to my student loan payments at the time.
Dee - I have noticed that higher ed definitely embraces the 'famous and successful alumni' angle much more than corporate America. It must be due to the mindset of celebrating the achievements of graduates after they leave the school and move on to advanced degrees, success in industry etc. Or it could be that colleges really want to kiss up to successful grads to try and solicit donations.
Laurie - I think I have seen your Lou Holtz story somewhere. But I have to say I love Lou. His last coaching stop was at my alma mater, South Carolina where he lead the team to two straight New Year's Day bowl victories. I am glad you made the point about the Lou video being played for a group of female/non sports fans. One of the topics I have planned for this week's HR Happy Hour show is whether men in the workplace use bonding over sports as a way to exclude women from the 'in-crowd'.
Thanks very much as always for reading and for your comments.
I have been lucky enough to have worked for a company much like the "cradle of coaches". PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. PwC has one of the most developed alumni networks I have ever been exposed to. PwC hires "the best and the brightest" but they are smart enough to know that not everyone is cut out for a career in Big 4 public accounting. Knowing that up front, there is an expectation that many strong performers will ultimately leave and take on high-level roles (CFO, Controller, etc) in many of the fortune 500 companies PwC targets as clients. By treating ALL their employees with respect during their career at PwC, they build a lasting relationship so that when employees leave, they still come back to PwC as a client. They even offer confidential career placement services onsite in many locations.
Once you leave PwC, you are continually communicated with via monthly newsletter, email, phone calls. You are invited to alumni events each year- and everyone comes back just to catch up with old colleagues. They also hold women's networking events for female alumni. In fact, I just went to one recently where the guest speakers were prominent business women in St. Louis. So, to me, PwC is the perfect example of a business that is getting it right and keeping all their best former employees in the spotlight.
Like Trish, I came from Deloitte with a similarly developed program built for the same purposes. I love this topic and look forward to this next installment of the HR Happy Hour show -- as I always do! Plus, you know I am always up for anything with a sports theme :)
Trish - Thanks for the really outstanding example of how PwC embraces their alumni, and tries to continually leverage that relationship over time. The Big 4 are light years ahead of most companies in this area. Really interesting and thanks for sharing.
Chris - Thanks for you comments, I agree it is fun topic and we are planning a super show this Friday night, I hope you can listen or better still, call in live!