The trend of rehiring boomerang candidates is on the rise with statistics revealing the majority of HR professionals have received applications from past employees. Here are the pros and cons for you to decide whether this talent attraction and engagement strategy is right for you.
Kate Neilson reporting for HRM Online offers a case study about CEO Aron Ain’s organisation welcoming back a past employee, who had left after a 25-year tenure.
“Ain had a decision to make. He could have smugly sent this employee (or Kronite, as they like to call themselves) packing. The employee had stepped away from an opportunity to work for an organisation consistently gracing prestigious lists such as ‘Great Places to Work’ and Fortune Magazine’s ‘100 Best Companies To Work For’. But Ain didn’t do that. Instead, this employee was welcomed back with open arms, and he’s not the only one.”
According to Ain, approximately 250 of his employees are boomerang candidates. Not only this, but they were actively recruiting them through their website.
The stats: rising trend of boomerang candidates
“The boomerang employee has been a rising phenomenon in the recruitment space for some time now. A Kronos study from 2015 surveyed 1,800 HR professionals, people managers, and employees in the US. The findings showed that half of the HR managers surveyed said their organisations used to have policies against re-hiring former employees, but 76 per cent are now more accepting of this.
“Eighty-five per cent of the HR professionals said they received job applications from previous employees from 2010-2015, and 40 per cent proceeded to re-hire these candidates. It also seems the old saying ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ might ring true, with managers (51 per cent) and HR professionals (56 per cent) saying they’d give “high or very high priority” to a former employee who left the organisation on good terms.
“Taking a look at the employee perspective, only 15 per cent reported being a boomerang themselves, but 40 per cent admitted they’d consider trying to go back to a previous employer. This statistic differs for various ages. For Millennials, 46 per cent would consider returning to an old employer, whereas only 33 per cent of Gen Xers and 29 per cent of Baby Boomers would do the same.”
Why rehire a boomerang candidate?
As an employer, an employee’s career journey is not something that belongs to you. Encouraging employees choices and opportunities to leave, gain new skills and return, is a mutually beneficial arrangement.
According to Ain, boomerang candidates are “unbelievably loyal” and he’s seen many examples of this.
Brendan Browne, vice president of global talent acquisition at LinkedIn relayed the benefits of re-hiring former staff in his article for the Business Insider, stating that they’re valuable to an organiation’s growth because they’re familiar with its culture.
Established relationships only work to create another layer to employee loyalty, which results in increased retention. They also bring new experience, skills, knowledge and ideas. Even potential customers!
Organisations such as Microsoft, Deloitte and JP Morgan are all working to retain relationships with their past employees in the hope they might one day return.
Risks and challenges
Every talent attraction strategy comes with certain challenges. One of the major challenges is reducing the diversity in your organisation.
“If an employee has been with an organisation for 25+ years, maybe it’s time for them to move on and pave the way for someone new who can bring fresh ideas to the company.
There is such a thing as healthy turnover.”
According to Patty McCord, Netflix HR chief, organisations who want to foster a high-performance culture need to get rid of the notion of retention and let people go with dignity.
On another note, some organisation leaders are averse to rehiring boomerang candidates because promoting this strategy might make it too easy for people to leave and return with the belief that returning to their previous position is a sure thing. The best way to work around this is by communicating to your talent that it is an invitation and opportunity, not a guarantee.
What process should you use to rehire boomerang candidates?
Should you make candidates apply for the role in the same way other candidates do through applications and interviews?
Ultimately, the decision really depends on your recruitment process and hiring needs, as well as the person themselves; make these decisions on a case-by-case basis.
For some CEOs like Ain, the benefits far outweigh the risks. Change is healthy and good for organisations, employers and employees. Ensure your current talent feels engaged and appreciated at work, and communicate that opportunities to return are an invitation.
Source
Should you embrace boomerang employees?
Kate Neilson
HRM Online