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Although millions of people continue to leave the workforce each month, things may not be exactly as they seem. In fact, new research reveals that many workers are reentering the workforce, often not long after their departure. Some are even returning to their former employers in a career move that might seem surprising at first glance.
These “boomerang” employees, as they’re called, accounted for 4.5% of all new hires in 2021 — up from 3.9% in 2019. Typically, these workers left their company under positive circumstances, but for various reasons they eventually decide to rejoin their organization. Some may have quit to fulfill caretaking duties, but are no longer burdened by these. Others may have wanted to explore a different career path, but find that it isn’t the right fit for them.
And some employees may simply have discovered that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. For example, new research from UKG finds that 43% of people who quit their jobs during the pandemic now admit they were actually better off at their old job. Their study also revealed that nearly 1 in 5 people who quit during the pandemic have already boomeranged back to the job they left.
Of course, the concept of returning to a former employer is nothing new. Back in 2015, my company partnered with UKG on a similar study, and discovered that nearly 40% of workers would consider going back to a company where they once worked. However, 80% said that former employers didn’t have a strategy in place to encourage them to return, with 64% percent saying there appeared to be no strategy for maintaining a relationship.
The issue is that not much has changed since then. In fact, most organizations still aren’t doing enough to keep track of their former employees or maintain relationships with them. And with the Great Resignation showing no signs of slowing down, this could be a critical misstep for companies as they scramble to fill vacancies and stay afloat.
Employers could also be missing out on some of the notable benefits that come with rehiring former employees, from more cost-effective recruiting and on-boarding to better long-term performance. However, bringing on boomerang workers can have its pitfalls as well, including the very real risk that they might leave again. Let’s take a look.
There are several benefits of welcoming former workers back to your business:
Hiring a former employee can offer many benefits, but keep an eye out for these red flags when evaluating a potential candidate:
Although there are risks associated with rehiring former employees, with some due diligence your company can benefit enormously from welcoming them back. But don’t expect workers to just come knocking at your door — you’ll need to step up your efforts when it comes to recruiting from your alumni network. After all, people have lots of options in today’s employee-driven job market. And if their previous employer isn’t actively trying to maintain a relationship with them, they may feel uncertain about whether they’d be welcomed back and decide that it's best to move on.
So if your company is grappling with a talent shortage — like so many organizations are — maybe now is the time to focus your recruitment efforts on this untapped talent pool. You never know what might come of it!
Thanks for reading — be sure to join the conversation on LinkedIn and let me know whether your company is focusing its recruitment efforts on rehiring former team members.
Check out the previous issues of the Workplace Intelligence Insider newsletter below and subscribe now to get new articles every Monday.
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