Boomerang Employee

Is turn over an end state? Is it that the employee leaving the organization will leave
permanently?
You have to realize good people will leave when presented with the right opportunity, said
Greg Ambrose, CEO of Stack Talent, a human capital consultancy in Chicago that helps
companies hire engineering professionals. The question is whether theyre leaving like a
spouse whos filed for divorce or a sibling whos going abroad.
Boomerang is a concept developed to identify top-performing former employees who are
purposely targeted and brought back (Sullivan, 2006, p. 66). The practice has been
successful in both the health care and business worlds. Many of the top management
consulting companies have utilized the boomerang concept. One firm, Booz Allen Hamilton,
successfully pulled together a team called the comeback kids to spearhead an initiative
(Sullivan, 2006). An architectural firm in San Francisco presented its boomerangs with an
actual boomerang as a gift upon their return.
Some individuals who leave, the employment experience may extend to a second
employment period when they return to their former employer. Indeed, there is mounting
evidence to suggest that the population of rehires (termed Boomerangs) is not
inconsequential as they constitute approximately 1020% of an organizations hires (Clarke
et al., 2010; Weaver, 2006; Williams et al., 1993). In addition, a survey by The Ladders.com
(Goodman, 2010) found that 43% of its 3,500 respondents had returned to work with a
former employer at some point in their career.
Brendan Browne is vice president of global talent acquisition at LinkedIn says, my current
motto is: "Come to LinkedIn, become part of our family, stay as long as you feel challenged
and fulfilled. We will help you get to where you want to go, whether that's here or somewhere
else. Oh, and if you want to come back to LinkedIn for the right opportunity, the door is
always open!"
Debabrat Mishra Director, Hay Group India says that typically a new hire takes about 45-60
days to settle down and understand the organisation's networks and culture. A boomerang
employee would save the company this additional time. If you save two months of a new
employee's 'settling-in period', that works out to 16.6 per cent savings for the company.
Who can be a boomerang?
Top performers who voluntarily left
Employees who were in key positions
Valuable workers with key skills, contacts, or experience
Promising interns who failed to return
Retirees who may have realised they weren't ready to retire
Top finalists who accepted another job
Long-term consultants or contractors
Advantages of Boomerang employees
 First, former employees may be familiar with the corporate culture, policies, and
practices, so they need less recruiting, socialization, and training than new hires, thus
saving time and money for the organization (Zimmerman, 2006). In fact, some
estimate that the average Fortune 500 Company could save $12 million per year if
former employees were actively recruited and hired (Sertoglu and Berkowitch, 2002).
So the return on recruitment investment on boomerang employee is high. The cost of
rehiring a boomerang of employee has been reported to be 1/3 to 2/3 the cost of hiring
a new employee (Kumavat, 2012).
Second, individuals often change jobs in search of greener pastures (Blau, 1993, p.
316). However, if former employees discover that the grass is not greener
elsewhere, they may demonstrate a particularly high level of loyalty upon rehire
(Grossman, 2005; Pulley, 2006; Sertoglu & Berkowitch, 2002). Therefore, boomerang
employee are less likely to leave again.
Finally, gaining experience with another employer can expand employees knowledge,
provide fresh perspectives and new insights for improving work processes, and lead to
increased social capital outside the firm (Somaya and Williamson, 2008; Weaver,
2006). Therefore, provide competitive intelligence by bringing new idea or fresh
perspective to organization from outside.
Chain of boomerang employee. When one of the boomerang employee gets rehired, it
may cause a chain of employee to be hired again by the previous organization.
Fast hire. Boomerangs offer an opportunity to acquire a top person quickly (the
search and the assessment take little time)

Building community. Alumni programs help build a sense of a long-term

community among employees because even when you leave, employees know
they can maintain a relationship with the firm.
Disadvantages of Hiring a boomerang employee
Bringing back a prior employee can also create resentment in existing staff. And it
could unintentionally trigger other staff departures. A case in point is where you
promote the returning worker to a higher level upon their return: your other staff may
see this as a signal that the better way to rise up the ladder is to exit you now and re-
apply later on.
Boomerang employee: who are they?
According to (Shipp et al, 2014) Boomerang employment may be planned (e.g., leaving the
workforce temporarily after the birth of a child) or unplanned (e.g., returning from the
subsequent job after discovering that the previous job was better). This suggests that although
some Boomerangs may be identified prior to leaving (e.g., those for whom a return is
planned), most other Boomerangs may only be identified after leaving (e.g., those for whom
leaving is a mistake)
Best practise firm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SoHSi1QuHc
How to make boomerang employee recruitment successful?
Rehiring a former employee or a boomerang employee requires a different mind-set. The
expert practical advice for employer in Irland (2015) states to consider the below if deciding
to hire boomerang employees:
Stay in Touch
It can sometimes be tough to accept that a top employee has decided to move on, and often
personal feelings can get in the way of professional decisions. If the employee has a good
track record then an employer should offer to be a reference for any future opportunities they
may have. Employers should keep in touch with past employees and make sure to catch up a
couple of times a year. It is important to keep their contact details on file and keep them in the
loop with company announcements via email. Even if the employee isn't re-hired, they could
potentially be a new client or refer someone to the business due to positive relationships with
the company.
Be Thorough when Rehiring
Boomerang employees that only left the company a few months prior dont necessarily have
to be re-interviewed and quite often, simply having a conversation with the leadership team
will suffice. However, for those that have been gone for more than a year, a formal interview
process is beneficial, as company factors may have changed after a year staff, culture,
processes, etc.
Within any company, employers aim to ensure they are hiring the most qualified people and
so it is important to approach potential rehires in the same way as unknown candidates.
Focusing on positive performance records, in any company they have been hired with, as well
as professional references, along with skills tests if needed, ensures their knowledge and
abilities are up to standard.
The formal interview also enables a company to revisit the employees exit interview and
look at their reasons for leaving in the first place. Any previous issues mustn't be overlooked,
because chances are if they felt it once, they can feel it again. Asking questions such as "What
do you think you can offer our company now that some of our priorities and service goals
have changed?" confirms that the employer is not taking the re-hiring process lightly.
Treat Rehiring Different from Hiring

When considering a former employee for a job opening, remember that youre dealing with
someone you know. For that reason, Ambrose suggests following a different process than you
would for a candidate youre meeting for the first time.

Begin with social, rather than formal, interactions, such as lunch with the candidates former
colleagues. Have an open and honest discussion about their previous experience with the
company, and how each side could improve upon it. Again, Ambrose speaks of treating
former employees like a member of the extended family. After all, you should already know
them.
Debrief Returning Staff
As touched on in the previous point, if a boomerang employee has been out of the returning
work place for a considerable amount of time, they may need to be brought up to speed on
new structures within the company. The person who they report to may have changed, or if
they are being hired for the position they held before, certain responsibilities may have
changed. Employers must encourage a returning employee to ask questions and provide them
with a go to person in their department who can offer assistance if need be.
Boomerang employees may need to be retrained. At this stage of re-employment, managers
should be over communicating with the employee as well as ensuring that they know there
wont be any special treatment.
Prepare Current Staff
As soon as the decision is made to rehire an employee, team members must be told
immediately to avoid upsetting existing, loyal staff as well as allowing an employer to be
notified of any potential hesitations or concerns. Managers should work especially closely
with the group of employees to which the boomerang employee is returning and ensure that
there is open and honest communication within the workplace.
Monitor Progress
Often, boomerang employees are reluctant to ask for assistance when they need it, for fear
their employer will question the decision to bring them back. To ensure the employee is
happy, managers must check in regularly to show interest in their progress and ask of any
concerns they may have.
Transitioning back into an organisation may be slightly uncomfortable at first for boomerang
employees, especially if there's been a lot of restructuring or staff changes since they left.
Being considerate to returning employees needs can lead to them adapting more quickly and
feeling positive about starting with the company again.
In an age where specific skills are increasingly limited, it is irrational to believe that departure
from a company has anything to do with lack of loyalty. Individuals with the most valuable
skills are always offered new opportunities, and if a valued employee accepts another
position, due to flexible work arrangements, higher pay or growth opportunities, it could be
seen as the employers fault for failing to retain the employee, and not the employees fault
for taking advantage of market conditions. Rehiring former employees who have the skills a
company needs is not only the right thing to do, its good for business.
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