Recruiting ‘boomerang’ employees

Question: We have heard that former or so-called “boomerang” employees often make great job candidates. What types of policies and programs can we put into place to attract former employees and ultimately rehire them?

Answer: Very few employers these days think of departing or former employees as “traitors.” People leave organizations for all kinds of reasons, and many employers now welcome back former employees with open arms. This is particularly important where there are skills shortages or where specific industry, technical or organizational knowledge is advantageous.

Whether they leave to further their careers and pursue promotional or development opportunities not available with their former employers, or due to family or spousal relocation, better compensation or simply a change of scenery, former employees often make great candidates.

Because they are known commodities and are familiar with the organization’s structure, jobs, tools, policies, norms, culture, vision, mission and values, they can often be recruited, onboarded, trained and socialized into the organization much faster than other new hires.

It is also generally easier to obtain honest and candid references and determine suitability and organizational fit — particularly with individuals who left the organization relatively recently and on good terms. Former managers are likely to be honest and provide a more complete picture of a candidate when contacted by another manager within the organization.

Potential challenges, solutions

Having said that, there can be problems with hiring former employees. For one thing, employers are unlikely to want to rehire mediocre or poor performers into the organization.

This can create an awkward situation — particularly where the person’s performance wasn’t bad enough to justify termination and the individual is listed as recommended for rehire in the organization’s HR management system (HRMS).

Secondly, boomerang employees could have changed and outgrown the organization, or may not realize how much the organization has changed, and try to operate under the assumption things are just the way they were when they left when it comes to culture, tools, processes, rules, norms and people.

Another potential issue is managers and former co-workers may assume the boomerang employee hasn’t changed, developed or grown by treating her as if she is incapable of doing more. There is often a tendency to think of people as they once were, forgetting that someone could have learned and acquired new skills and abilities.

Best practices

But assuming the organization is aware of these potential challenges and has taken steps to mitigate the risks, there are a number of ways an employer can facilitate the recruitment and hiring of former employees.

First of all, employers need to treat departing employees with dignity and respect, regardless of whether or not they are leaving on their own accord.

Secondly, recruitment policies and practices should be examined to ensure they are more friendly towards rehires.

For example, the organization may wish to take previous seniority into consideration and tweak policies to ensure the recruitment of previous employees is specifically dealt with.

It may also be a good idea to create recruitment advertising designed to appeal to former employees and seek to change attitudes among hiring managers regarding departing or former employees — particularly if the organization has had a history of treating employees who left the company as pariahs.

One of the best ways to help recruit former employees is to establish a formal alumni network among people who left the company.

This can be done through alumni pages on social media, putting together mailing lists for former employees so they can maintain their contact information, having gatherings and social events for former employees, creating a newsletter for company alumni to provide them with news about the organization and notifying former employees of changes in the organization as well as special projects, philanthropic endeavours, new appointments or job vacancies.

The overall message promoted by such a network could be something like: “You may have left the company, but you will always be part of the XYZ family.” That way, they never feel like they truly left the organization.

And even if they aren’t interested in a specific vacancy, they may actually know someone who would be an excellent fit (company referrals are also great sources of candidates, and there is no reason why former employees cannot also refer candidates).

Even if they don’t end up returning to the organization, employee alumni can be valuable sources of information, tips, suggestions and best practices. For this reason, two-way communication is absolutely essential.

As a bonus, employee alumni may eventually become purchasers of the firm’s services, and will often promote and advocate on behalf of the organization.