Employees come and go for different reasons. Others were laid off after businesses needed to cut down some costs, due to the employee’s reckless behavior or their poor performance. Some employees leave due to conflict with their co-workers or managers. Others leave the company because of the lack of opportunities for career advancement, personal reasons, etc. Whenever a business loses an employee or two, it can create a domino effect especially if that member was a valuable talent. The company will need to pull strings to replace their staff with the right people.
These days, businesses invest in various tools like employee referral tracking software to find quality talents that match their needs. This enables them to leverage the power of their current employee’s network to tap a pool of qualified applicants. Since referrals often have a higher retention rate, employers are encouraging their staff to find A-players in exchange for incentives.
But what if you come across an old hire who wants to work again in your company? Should you accept them back or not?
Three Cases of Successful Boomerang Employees
We call employees who left the company but later returns to work for the same business again as boomerang employees. While rehiring old staff is not always a good idea, some companies benefited from rehiring.
Steve Jobs founded Apple together with Steve Wozniak in 1976. A few years later, he left the company only to return as interim chief executive. This proved to the right move as he was able to bring the struggling Apple to new heights.
LeBron James, often compared to Michael Jordon, left Cleaveland Cavaliers in 2010 to play for Miami Heat. After four years Cleaveland Cavaliers welcomed him back as an unrestricted free agent. Even though he is currently with Los Angeles Lakers, his return to Cleaveland certainly helped the team win the championship in 2016.
In 2018, Jack Dorsey was fired from his position as Twitter’s chief executive when the company was just two years old. He returned as the CEO of the company in 2015. As of October 2020, Twitter’s net worth is at $36.07B.
Why Some Businesses Choose Not to Rehire Former Employees
Some businesses would not rehire simply because they think their employees are not loyal enough. Others are bitter about their old staff leaving in the first place. If there are valid reasons to rehire an old employee, the following are good reasons not to hire a boomerang staff.
- They have a poor performance history in your company and his latest employer and co-workers have the same opinion
- They caused a major disturbance or broke a major company rule
- They have personnel issues with some of your employees
It Makes Sense to Welcome a Boomerang Employee
There are good reasons to hire a returning employee. For one, they are likely to stay since they appreciate the company more after working for other businesses. You also get to boost your current employee’s morale and productivity by letting them know that the company is willing to reconsider old hires.
Rehiring allows you to reduce costs since they won’t need much training compared to new recruits. If they meet your requirements such as the following and can add value to the company, then you can consider welcoming them on board.
- They gained additional skills and experiences they can bring to the table
- They had no performance issues during their stay on your company
- They are the best fit for the job
How to Encourage Former Employees to Come Back
The key to encouraging boomerang employees is to maintain a good relationship with them. You can use the following tactics to accomplish this.
Let Them Know They Are Welcome to Come Back
The most direct way to let them know that your doors are open for their comeback is to tell them directly. Before they leave the business, thank them for their service. Employees who feel valued are more like to return.
Write a Good Recommendation Letter
I order to pursue another job, recruiters would often ask for a recommendation letter from their previous companies. You can use this to your advantage by writing a great recommendation letter for your good employees. If you put in a good word or two about them, they will surely appreciate the feedback and will remember your kind gesture.
Engage With Them Online
On a good way to remind former employees how good your company is to remind them of the company culture and the improvements you made over the past few months or years. Share your company achievements online, encourage employees to write good company reviews, and share engaging content on social media. This can make them rethink their choices and want to join the organization once again.
Rehiring old staff has its pros and cons. Before you welcome them back, make sure you do a thorough interview and consider their good and bad points. If they seem to be the perfect fit for a job opening, then you know you managed to hire a valuable asset. If not, then it would be best to part ways in good terms. Don’t forget to entice old hires if you want high-performing employees to come back.