The "Boomerang Employee" Trend: Should Companies Rehire Ex-Employees?

The unpredictable labor market has led many companies to adopt a welcoming stance toward rehiring ex-employees or boomerang employees.

Boomerang employees are those who leave an organization and return later with new perspectives and skills—presenting a strategic opportunity and competitive advantage for companies. Their return allows employers to reduce onboarding costs, strengthen internal teams, and build a thriving workplace. Boomerang employees have become a goldmine of talent and insight for organizations looking to cultivate a stable, long-term workforce. 

However, rehiring ex-employees has its own unique set of downsides, the biggest of which is the risk of losing these new boomerang rehires to their previous employers. This blog takes a closer look at the pros and cons of rehiring former employees.

Who are Boomerang Employees?

A boomerang employee is a worker who leaves an employer and later returns to their former company to work there again. 

The employee may have left voluntarily—for reasons such as gaining new skills, pursuing higher education, or exploring new career pathways—or may have been laid off or terminated.

While some employers have strict corporate hiring policies regarding ex-employees, plenty of others are rather welcoming and even intentional about recruiting alumni, given the experience, familiarity, and new perspectives they bring to the table.

Advantages of Rehiring Former Employees

Here are the potential benefits of hiring former employees:

1. Faster onboarding: Old workers know a company's products, corporate culture, and bureaucratic processes. They can jump right back into the action and start making an impact with minimal training and support.

2. Cost of hiring vs. rehiring: The investments made in recruiting, onboarding, and upskilling new hires are higher than those made in rehiring. Many businesses recognize this advantage and design corporate rehiring policies that favor boomerang employees. According to a 2023 Harvard Business Review report, over one-quarter of all “new” hires were returning employees. 

3. Unique perspectives and insights: Besides reintegrating with new skills, boomerang employees also bring fresh ideas and insights to an organization. Companies can leverage their objective perspectives and experiences with other organizations to drive positive workplace outcomes.

4. More engaged and committed employees: When employees boomerang to a company they left on good terms, they usually do so with renewed loyalty and purpose. They are likely to be more engaged and committed to delivering meaningful work. 

5. Impact of rehiring on company morale: Rehiring a valued employee allows colleagues to reconnect and collaborate. It also reflects well on the company's culture and leadership when employees see them maintain positive relationships with former employees.

Disadvantages of Hiring Boomerang Employees

Here are the potential downsides of hiring former employees:

1. Employee turnover and rehires: Companies should be well aware of the reason behind a candidate's departure, especially if it were the candidate who initiated it. Perhaps they had an issue with the workplace culture or a conflict with a colleague. Rehiring the ex-employee may not be a good idea if companies haven't addressed and fixed these problems since it increases turnover risk. Similarly, suppose the employee was terminated voluntarily due to inadequate performance or a lack of culture fit. In that case, there should be solid evidence of change or growth on the returning employee's part to warrant rehiring them.

2. Workplace culture and returning employees: When returning employees rejoin at higher pay and with a more influential title, it may perpetuate resentment among employees loyal to the organization. Furthermore, if the decision to rehire an ex-employee affects existing employees’ career advancement prospects, they may push back against it. In industries where competition is high, and jobs are scarce, this can pose a significant problem for companies.

3. Adjustment challenges: Rehiring ex-employees presents adjustment challenges for workers despite their history with the company and familiarity with internal processes. Updated policies, redefined management strategies, or new frameworks may be in play, which might require time and effort to adapt to. HR leaders would need to invest in the upskilling and training of returning employees to ensure smooth reintegration with the organization.

HR Strategies for Rehiring Boomerang Employees

While re-hiring a boomerang employee is relatively more seamless because they are already familiar with the company, HR managers should have effective strategies to address past concerns and align future expectations. 

1. Interviewing potential rehires: Interviews with Boomerang employees should be comprehensive. They should cover everything from reasons for quitting to salary expectations, motivations for wanting to return, and future expectations. If need be, hiring managers should contact previous employers to gain more clarity on the returning employee's professional history.

2. Upskilling returning talent: The employee may be returning after a short absence, but businesses evolve continuously and adopt new processes, technologies, or frameworks to stay competitive. Therefore, HR managers should ensure returning employees undergo upskilling and training that gets them up-to-date with current company systems and norms.

3. Reintegrating with transparency: HR managers and leaders should be upfront with existing employees about their decision to rehire an ex-employee. This is key to addressing any potential friction in the reintegration arising from feelings of resentment towards rehires.

Conclusion

Companies generally have more to gain than lose from this recent talent acquisition trend of returning former employees, especially if they were valuable contributors. However, HR leaders should carefully weigh the risks and challenges and move ahead only if the benefits outweigh them.

If companies decide to bring back old workers, there should be clear HR strategies for rehiring and workforce planning to mitigate risks and ensure smooth onboarding. Beyond this, companies should devise effective employee retention strategies to set up boomerang rehire for success.