Corporate Alumni Networks AWS International

AWS Featured in Publications

AWS was featured in the Houston Business Journal HR Focus magazine and the PennEnergy Industry Review where AWS shares best business practice for keeping in touch with former employees.

In the Friday May 21 2010 Houston Business Journal HR Focus magazine AWS President Cathy Clonts shared the value former employees can play as boomerang employees and referring quality talent to the organization. "Many companies recognize the value the graying workforce represents. By 2012, those 45 and older will account for 40 percent of the workforce"

"This older crowd will also have the most disposable income. Innovative companies offering late career initiatives recognize that this key age group is a valuable source of talent"

The article looked at the top HR challenges for 2010 including re-establishing loyalty in the workforce, changing legislation, re-establishing job duties and recruiting in a high-tech era.

In the PennEnergy industry review Clonts summarized the benefits of online alumni communities. A recent report from the CIPD found 81 percent of HR professionals are experiencing hiring difficulties and 73 percent indicate this is particularly true for specialist skills. As the work force changes and adapts, employees no longer enjoy a long, uninterrupted career with one company. A number of innovative companies in the oil and gas industry are mining their online alumni communities to rehire former employees with newly enhanced skills to bring back to the company. In addition to recruiting boomerangs, alumni communities enable companies to obtain quality referrals and to promote corporate brand and image to a loyal community.

Job satisfaction remains high in oil and gas industry

In a recent Alumni Web Services’ (AWS) survey of its online networking and alumni community members in the oil and gas industry, members were asked how their job satisfaction compared to the 2007 SPE survey where 73% of respondents were satisfied. AWS members’ responses remained consistent to the SPE survey; 43% percent report they are equally satisfied and a whopping 31% report a higher level of job satisfaction than before the economic downturn. This is good news compared with a recent Conference Board survey of job satisfaction levels in the U.S. According to the nationwide survey, only 45% of Americans were satisfied with their work—the lowest level recorded in 22 years of the survey.

AWS and Chevron Alumni Featured in Houston Chronicle

Chevron's welcome mat is out for ex-employees
A summary of the article featured in the Houston Chronicle Feb. 11, 2010

Jay Swearingen loves to fish.

So when he retired from Chevron Corp. two years ago after spending 36 years in offshore production and operations in the United States, South America, Asia and Africa, Swearingen was ready to put up his feet and relax. Hurricane Ike disrupted those plans when it destroyed his cottage at Crystal Beach.

“There's nothing left,” he said. “Not a board or a shingle.”

Figuring it would take a while to rebuild, Swearingen began thinking of going back to work. Other companies were calling with offers, but something better landed in his lap — a job opportunity from an old boss at Chevron. Like many companies, Chevron has an online alumni network to keep up with its former employees and, for those who are interested, to provide an opportunity to come back as contract workers. Three weeks after he signed up, Swearingen got a call that Chevron was forming a team in upstream capability and needed an operations consultant.

“I thought it would be easier coming back,” he said. “I knew operations. I knew people. At some point I worked with just about everyone.”

Deloitte Alumni Stay Linked In

Alumni linked in to old firms
This is a summary of an article originally published by L.M. SIXEL in the Houston Chronicle on Feb 3rd 2010.

Janet Roth wasn't looking for a new job.

But her neighbor, a former colleague at Deloitte, encouraged Roth to join the firm's online network for former employees and retirees. Roth had worked at Deloitte for seven years, leaving in 1996 to join one of its clients.

Late one night Roth was scrolling through Deloitte's alumni site and saw a job opening that sounded interesting. She applied, went through a streamlined interview process and rejoined Deloitte in 2007.

She joined the network mostly for social reasons, “but I ended up with a job,” said Roth, who is now senior manager in the mergers and acquisitions group in Houston.

It used to be that when you walked out the door, that was it. The working relationship was over once you turned in your ID badge and collected your last paycheck.

But many companies are reconsidering that strategy. After all, skilled employees aren't that easy to find, especially ones who know the corporate culture. So companies have taken a page from social sites and launched their own alumni networks.

Professional Networking Communities keep talent at hand

We may be down, but don’t let the seemingly constant barrage of poor economic indicators make you forget that some sectors are holding their own and even growing. That’s the message reverberating throughout the oil and gas industry.

Pemex, Petrobras, and CNOOC all recently announced hefty increases in their offshore budgets, despite low oil prices, according to the March 2009 OPC Newsletter. And according to Dow Jones Newswire, with nearly US $40 billion in its coffers, giant ExxonMobil is poised to change the landscape with what could be the biggest round of deal-making since a fertile period 10 years ago when oil sold for less than $10 a barrel. Simply put, oil companies are mindful of not repeating the errors of the ’90s when many companies reduced activity to such an extent that rebounding when prices rose was costly.

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