Human Capital Management
The HR Professional’s Guide to Boomerang Employees
Have you ever had top talent leave and found yourself transforming into Mariah Carey singing “We Belong Together”? Every HR professional has gone through a similar scenario where a valuable employee decides to leave, but the good news is that they might come back.
Boomerang employees can strengthen the workforce and improve workplace culture. But how will you know which employees to take back? What can you do to ethically encourage them to come back?
Explore the top tips for HR professionals to identify high-value boomerang employees and entice them to return.
What Are Boomerang Employees?
Boomerang employees are those who leave a company and later return and are rehired. They may have left voluntarily, or they could’ve been terminated or laid off. The term also applies to seasonal workers who are returning for a permanent or new position.
While boomerang rates vary, research from Harvard Business Review shows that across multiple industries, 28% of the new hires were boomerang employees. Hiring boomerang employees has pros and cons, so HR professionals need to be equipped with the skills to identify when it is and isn’t worth taking them on.
The Benefits of Boomerang Employees
When an employee leaves a company and tries to return, it’s tempting to look at it from a negative perspective. However, boomerang employees actually help companies in many cases. They can be the secret key to developing a loyal team with a deep connection to the business. Here are some of the top benefits they bring:
- Improves appreciation: When employees return to the company, they come back with a stronger appreciation for the business. It sends a positive message among other workers that the company is a valuable place.
- Enhances commitment: When employees come back, they may be more committed to the company and can encourage that attitude among others.
- Boosts company culture: If you’ve gone the extra mile to create belonging in the workplace, boomerang employees can help boost that positive culture and encourage newer employees to engage in best practices that align with the culture.
- Speeds up the interview process: The company will already have a former employee’s details in the system, which makes for a quicker and more cost-effective onboarding process.
- Provides honest feedback: Boomerang employees have seen other perspectives in your industry, so they bring fresh insights and provide valuable feedback on how your company can better cater to employees’ needs.
- Offers quick reintegration: Boomerang employees already know how things work at the company. Their existing knowledge may even be useful to newer employees, and they can bring a deep understanding of proper system processes.
Are All Boomerang Employees Worth Taking Back?
While boomerang employees can help companies, that isn’t always the case. How can HR professionals identify an employee who may not be a good fit to reenter the company?
Evaluate the reasons they initially left the company and look at their past performance. Here are some factors to consider when deciding whether to take an employee back:
- Did they leave for personal reasons, or were they unhappy at work? One study shows that 54% of employee resignations were due to feeling undervalued and unappreciated by their employer. If employees were unhappy at the workplace, it’s unlikely that they will feel better this time around, and they may not remain loyal.
- Did they leave on a bad note? If the employee was not a good culture fit, struggled to meet KPIs or caused trouble in the workplace before they left, you’ll need to thoroughly evaluate if it would be worth giving them a second chance.
- Are they still a good fit for the company? If they were part of the company before major changes in policies and vision, they may not be a good fit for the company now. Evaluate their suitability with a fresh perspective and, if possible, check if they will be prepared to take the steps to fit the new criteria.
- Will existing team members be accepting of their return? A recent study found that former colleagues are sometimes less helpful to boomerangs, and researchers theorized this was due to underlying resentment. If an employee left on bad terms or without completing work, the existing team members may have had to pick up the slack. In this case, the team might not be happy about the employee’s return.
How to Interview Boomerang Employees
Even if you’ve worked with the employee before, it’s still crucial to conduct a thorough interview. Be wary of hiring them because they’re the “easy” option. This time, the focus won’t be on their foundational qualification — it’ll be on the skills they’ve picked up since they left and why they hope to return. Here are some examples of interview questions for boomerang employees:
- Since leaving, what are some of the top skills you’ve picked up?
- What was your reason for leaving our company previously?
- What excites you most about coming back?
- Would you say you have any unresolved issues at the company, with our systems or with other co-workers?
- How do you plan on growing with the company this time around?
How to Entice Employees to Come Back
Statistics show that the rate of boomerang employees has increased from 2.6% in 2018 to 3.4% in 2023, suggesting a growing interest in returning to former employers. So, what can HR professionals do to entice their previous top talent to return?
Clear Communication
Surprisingly, the answer is not in some complex strategy to draw attention. It all lies in the exit interview. It’s important to destigmatize departures and let them know that the door is open for them to return someday. This step can make them feel more comfortable with reaching out if they want to come back. It’s also important to have conversations throughout the employee journey to normalize leaving and coming back.
Exude Human Capital can offer consulting services to help maintain connections with former employees and facilitate ethical rehiring practices. We’ve worked with countless organizations to provide human resources consulting solutions focused on keeping employees happy, increasing retention rates and making the workplace highly valuable and desirable.
Financial Incentives
Salary is also a big factor that can entice top talent to return. According to payroll transaction data from approximately 10 million U.S. employees, the average year-over-year increase for job switchers was over 15% in 2022. If you want to entice workers to stay or return, you cannot overlook the importance of a good compensation package.
Exude can help you build a comprehensive compensation structure with a range of benefits, nonmonetary perks, and fixed and variable pay. Our expertise can help you create salary structures that increase employee loyalty, align with company capabilities and boost satisfaction.
Keep Your Employees Thriving With Exude Human Capital
Do you want to see your employees thrive and create an environment where top talent desires to return? At Exude, we offer consulting services for human resources, compensation packages and more. We specialize in helping companies elevate their workforce and improve retention through our expert solutions.
Since 2006, our consulting firm has been transforming organizations from the inside out. We understand that the people are the foundation of every successful company. We make it our personal mission to create an environment where employees can thrive and grow with the company.
Are you ready to receive tailored strategies that can unlock the true potential of your workforce and make your workspace the place to be? Contact us today and let us support your mission.
