Reviving businesses requires tribal knowledge with a fresh perspective. As businesses reopen, new roles emerge, and restructuring changes the nature of the business, former employees can bring back to it some unique skills and motivations. And that is why boomerang employees, as they are fondly called, can be good hires in the current crisis your business is facing.
In August 2020, companies such as Persistent Systems (India) put out a call on social media platformsOpens a new window to rehire former staff for 600 new positions. Other tech companies are also following suit.
The most famous example of a boomerang employee is Steve Jobs, who was rehired by Apple after he was unceremoniously fired. Once frowned upon, this practice is now gaining more prominence as the value of rehiring former staff becomes more evident. And it’s simpler for a range of reasons to bring back people familiar with the business.
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4 Reasons to Rehire Former Staff in a World Defined by COVID-19
In August, the U.S. unemployment rate fell by 10%Opens a new window when companies started rehiring former staff as they resumed business. Even if it is the staff you laid off just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut businesses down, or it is staff from years ago who moved on from the company for various reasons, as you bring your business back to life, here’s why it’s good to rehire former staff.
1. The financial trauma of COVID-19 can be rebuffed by rehiring former staff
Rehiring former staff can withstand some of the financial trauma of COVID-19, as it is cheaper than recruiting a new employee right now. And while candidate experienceOpens a new window – even of a former employee – is paramount, it’ll look different from that of a new employee and will be less expensive as well.
2. You can rely on former employees for their loyalty
If former employees are currently not working elsewhere and were given a compassionate exit, they are more likely to return to the job – not just for the pay but because you treated them like human beings.
3. Re-onboarding, albeit necessary, will be a shorter process
With remote onboarding in place, it will be quicker to onboard former employees. They can hit the ground running much faster. They are already familiar with the workplace culture and values. They may also have good working relationships with former colleagues.
4. They can bring back a range of skills and values they learned outside your organization
The COVID-19 era has been dubbed as an era of resilience. Employers who have shown resilience have survived in comparison to their non-resilient counterparts. If former employees were of the same caliber, if they used the time they were laid off to upskill or reskill, picked up a new job and learned a new skill there, they may be employees worth rehiring. If you have kept track of these employees, you may already know who the best fit would be – for a new role or an existing role – right now.
Learn More: Top 10 Employee Recruitment Strategies for 2020 to Hire the Best Talent
Bring Back Boomerang Employees: How to Do It
Rehiring former employees, especially at this time, requires a different recruitment strategy.
1. Keep track of them and their growth
Rhiannon Staples, CMO of Hibob
“Many companies nowadays are even managing a corporate alumni group. Especially if a former employee left on good terms, him or her coming back often means that they had an affinity for working at their former firm, and willingly chose to return. Rehiring an old hire often speaks very highly of the company and its relationship with the employee,†says Rhiannon Staples, CMO of HibobOpens a new window , an HRIS people management software.
If your organization doesn’t have one, it’s important to keep track of those you know you could bring back to the organization at some point in time.
This means keeping track of where they are working and what their latest skills acquisitions are through regular emails or automating a newsletter that keeps them informed about the company. Also stay in touch to have their updated contact information.
Then, reach out when you find that you need someone to fill a skill/talent gap in the organization.
2. Give former employees a solid reason to return
Former employees become boomerang employees when they get solid reasons to return to a job.
Why did they leave? Was it culture? Was it better pay elsewhere? Was it better benefits?
Something has to have changed for them to want to come back. For instance, after Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft, the company saw a surge in boomerang employeesOpens a new window . The changing culture under his leadership attracted many employees back into the company.
If you’re lucky enough that they had a poor experience elsewhere and felt more at home here, then you are sorted. But if you want the new employee’s expertise, you will have to offer them a better reason to return. For instance, a lot of companies are going permanently remote. This provides a form of flexibility a lot of employees have craved. Can you offer them this benefit?
3. Update them about the changes in business if any
COVID-19 has forced many companies to rethink their business model, workplace culture, benefits offerings, and much more. So when re-onboarding a former employee, update them about changing company goals, business plans, and culture, if any. This is critical as they fit into a business that has survived and adapted to the changing economy and way of work.
4. No matter how long they’ve been gone, run a background check
Even if you have a full-fledged relationship with the former employee and wish them to return to the company based on that relationship, run a background check to ensure that employee records are as clean as you remember them. Even internal transitions sometimes require a background check, so when rehiring former staff, this becomes essential.
But Wait, Do Former Employees Fit Your Ideal Candidate Profile?
For all the benefits and value boomerang employees can bring back to the organization, organizations need to consider whether these candidates fulfill the profile you are hiring for. And this is not just in terms of skills but also the culture fit they exhibited on the job, past performance, and collaboration style. Check on these factors before rehiring a former employee.
“When rehiring a former employee, each circumstance should be viewed independently,†says Staples. “Hiring managers must be fully aware of what led the employee to leave the company, and audit to see if those red flags are still present today. For example, if they left for better pay, evaluate if your company is paying at or above market value. If they were not a good cultural fit, evaluate to see if anything has changed in the business to indicate that s/he may still not quite ‘fit’. These considerations can help HR managers predict the chance for success of a rehire.â€