Sourcing

Why Your Next New Hire May Be a Former Colleague — and 3 Tips for Successfully Recruiting Boomerangs

Photo of smiling woman walking out a door and down stairs

Steve Jobs may be the most famous “boomerang” of all time — he left Apple in 1985, and then returned 11 years later. Even back then, rehiring former employees wasn’t as common as it is today. Companies like Sodexo, EY, and Microsoft all boast double-digit rehire rates. 

The uptick is due in part to changing attitudes about job tenure. Employers no longer expect lifetime employees, and employees, especially younger ones, are quicker to switch companies to advance. Today, the average tenure with employers is 4.1 years and only 2.8 years for 25-34 year olds. Social media is another driving force, having made it much easier for companies to stay connected to their alumni.

The pandemic may be the latest catalyst for boomerang hiring. With 9.4 million jobs lost in 2020, millions of others having left the workforce for caregiving or health reasons, and so many companies now having to rebuild, a key question is: Should you rehire your former employees? The short answer is: It depends. Below are some pros and cons and three tips for success.

The upsides of boomerang hires

They ramp up faster. Not only do you avoid sourcing and vetting boomerang candidates from scratch, they can hit the ground running from day one. They’re already familiar with your culture and need less training and hand-holding compared to new-hire counterparts. 

They perform better in the short term, especially in certain roles. Research shows boomerangs outperform both internal and new hires in the short term, so long as they originally left for neutral or positive reasons (e.g., spouse relocation, more schooling). They don’t tend to perform better if the reason for leaving was negative (e.g., poor performance.)

Role type matters. Boomerangs initially outperform new hires when the work requires high internal coordination of people (e.g., HR specialists, customer-service representatives) or administrative processes (e.g., purchasing managers, IT project managers). This makes sense, as boomerangs have a head start because they already know how to get things done. 

They’re less risky. Overall, boomerangs’ job performance is on par with their performance the first time around. And when they leave again, their reasons usually mirror the reasons why they left initially. Especially in this uncertain time, knowing what to expect from people can bring added security to hiring decisions.

They can boost diversity and inclusion. Boomerangs can make your workplace more inclusive too. For example, Nielsen has a boomerang program that specifically engages Black alumni and shows the company cares about including them even if they leave. 

They can broaden your perspectives. Rehires can bring in fresh knowledge and points of view. As LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman puts it, “Boomerangs are uniquely valuable because they offer an outsider perspective combined with an insider’s knowledge of company process and culture.” 

The downsides of boomerang hires

They cost more. Boomerangs typically earn $10K more than employee counterparts who have never left. On average, Gartner reports, employees get a 13% pay hike when they change companies. Often, boomerangs have gained skills, experience, and industry knowledge in their time away that ostensibly makes them more valuable.

They perform worse than other hires in the long term. While boomerangs have shown a performance edge in the short term, they’re outperformed by both internal and new hires in the long term. And they aren’t necessarily more committed the second time around. In fact, there’s twice as much turnover compared to internal hires. 

You may miss the superstars. The downside of first-time and boomerang performance being comparable is you may be settling. If you need a superstar and the boomerang wasn’t one, you won’t be getting the top talent that you could. 

3 tips for making boomerang hiring a success

1. Design a thoughtful exit process. Offboarding doesn’t get as much attention as onboarding, but it should. The end of an experience is what people most remember, so investing in your “end” is key to a strong employer brand. Just like onboarding, your exit process should be strategic, data-driven, and integrated with the rest of your talent system. 

  • Before the exit: Set a tone of support such that you’ll help employees grow, even if it means moving outside the company. The “You’re always welcome” message builds trust, and the more employees hear it during their tenure, the more authentic it’ll feel at the end. For example, promoting your alumni network when employees join rather than when they leave helps set this tone. 
  • During the exit: Document the reason or reasons for leaving. Individual data is key to making rehire decisions and setting boomerangs up for success upon return. Discuss rehiring eligibility, ask to stay in touch, and collect contact information. Remember that other employees note how their colleagues are treated, so careful attention is important for retention purposes too.
  • After the exit: Stay connected. Alumni will be more engaged and interested in rejoining if they feel like they never left your community. Consider reaching out a few times a year. Farewell emails, birthday wishes, sharing company news, and promoting open roles are just a few ideas.

2. Invest in a formal alumni program. Companies with formal alumni programs have 16% higher employer ratings, according to one study. Strong alumni networks are a growing source of quality hires and they also double as talent attraction and retention tools.  

Networking is a given perk, but other benefits such as access to thought leaders, training programs, and social gatherings can all build loyalty too. Be sure to personalize your outreach so that the content is relevant to your different alumni populations. 

3. Know your objectives and priorities when making rehiring decisions so you can weigh them against the insights above. Consider your time-to-hire constraints, whether your need is more short term or long term, and the nature of the open role. 

Most of what we know about boomerangs comes from before the pandemic. It remains to be seen whether their behavior and that of their former companies will follow the same patterns in a post-COVID world. 

But with more and more signs that the war for talent will soon be rejoined, it may be the ideal time for companies to put more effort into alumni outreach and into adding potential boomerangs to their talent pipelines.

To receive blog posts like this one straight in your inbox, subscribe to the blog newsletter.

Have blog stories delivered to your inbox