Boomerang Employee

The search for top talent is an ongoing challenge for businesses. Every company wants to hire the best person for the job. Why? Because businesses depend on employee performance as the main driver for success. Through the collective efforts of the workforce, targets are achieved and goals are met. 

When companies lose stellar employees, it can be a challenge to recover. Leaders would wonder, what could have caused them to resign? While it can seem difficult to accept at first, businesses nowadays are keen on keeping an open mind. After all, somewhere along the way, those who leave could become boomerang employees. 

What is a boomerang employee? 

A boomerang employee is a term for an employee who has left an organization but comes back to work for the same organization after a time. Like a boomerang, these employees leave and come back. 

What are common reasons why employees leave?

There can be multiple reasons why employees leave a company. Whether it is for a personal reason or a professional one, employee resignation can and will happen at some point. No organization is immune to it. 

The following are common reasons why employees voluntarily leave their companies:

• To advance their career, learn new skill sets, or be compensated better
• To pursue other passions and explore new industries
• To focus on major life events and changes, care for a family member, or attend to their medical condition
• To have different work arrangements such as working seasonally

What are the benefits of rehiring boomerang employees? 

Throughout the years, there has been a lot of support for re-hiring boomerang employees. Here are some advantages: 

• Re-hiring can be cost-effective. Although the salary that you will offer boomerang employees will be higher than what they were originally receiving before they left, re-hiring former employees will save time and money in onboarding and training. By cutting the time in training them, these employees can be productive and contribute right away. 
• Boomerang employees already know the company culture.Since they’ve been part of the organization before, boomerang employees are already familiar with the office culture and work environment. If they have been gone for a long time, orientation to new policies and procedures is still going to be required. However, they are more or less plug-and-play when it comes to company culture. 
• Boomerang employees have gained new skills and experiences. With their new experience and skills come new perspectives and ideas that they can bring to the table. 
• Re-hiring boomerang employees can strengthen employee retention. Having former employees come back to the company can boost the employer-employee relationship. Employees will feel valued and trusted, thereby increasing company loyalty. 

What are the potential drawbacks of re-hiring boomerang employees? 

While there are managers who fully support re-hiring employees, others may argue that re-hiring has its disadvantages. The following are some potential drawbacks:

• Re-hiring boomerang employees is not a guarantee that they are best for the position. We mentioned before that re-hiring can save time and money by reducing the time spent on onboarding and training. However, just because a boomerang employee has been accepted before does not necessarily mean that they are the best candidate for the job now. There may be a fresh new candidate who can contribute better. 
• Boomerang employees may not be welcomed by some current employees. Gaining the trust of leaders does not necessarily translate that former employees are wanted back by current team members. If the boomerang employees left on a sour note, re-hiring them might cause some strain on current employees. This might hinder their work performance and team productivity. 

What are some tips on re-hiring boomerang employees? 

Welcoming back returning employees into the company is fundamentally the choice of the employer. If your organization does decide to rehire a boomerang employee, the hiring process will be a bit different in the interview stage. Here are some questions that may help in interviewing boomerang employees: 

• Can you tell us about your work experiences since you left the company? 
• How have you improved your skills and experience? 
• What are the reasons that motivated you to come back to the company? 
• Can you tell us about any unresolved concerns or issues with the company or any of your colleagues, if there are any? 

In re-hiring boomerang employees, it’s important to conduct a formal interview and onboarding process. While they may already know most of the information, they still need to be reacquainted with the guidelines and procedures. They also will need to be oriented on any new company policies and projects. 

Finally, consider informing current team members about the returning employee. While their opinion will not be a deciding factor in the hiring decision, their thoughts need to be heard. This is also a good opportunity for you to hear them out and offer how you can help.