The risks and benefits of rehiring Great Resignation ‘boomerang employees’

There is no denying that an increase in personal reflections induced by the pandemic, and stay-at-home orders, has had a remarkable impact on the careers of many. Companies saw employees rapidly turning off familiar paths, inspired by less travelled trails, such as wanting to work for a bigger or smaller company or try a completely new sector.

Record numbers also took the plunge into entrepreneurialism, with nearly 80 new businesses created in the UK every hour in the first half of last year.

But now, it seems, many are considering going back to the companies they originally moved on from in the Great Resignation. A survey of 5,000 employees across the US and the UK revealed that 75% of respondents expressed an interest in maintaining contact with their previous employer after resigning. Anthony Klotz, the business psychologist who coined the ‘Great Resignation, says the next dominant hiring trend is hiring “boomerang employees’.”

Hiring a boomerang can be mutually beneficial. For the companies, employees are already familiar with their business’s culture and processes and need less training and on-boarding to get up to speed, and importantly bring newly gained skills back to the business with them.

Employees, meanwhile, weary after a tumultuous two-year pandemic journey, recognize that building a longer-term relationship with an employer can in fact lead to greater career progression than short stints at multiple companies would.

Though there is great opportunity for all here, beware the potential pitfalls.

WITH OPEN ARMS

Business leaders will need to convince ex-employees that the company has not stood still for the past two years.

Two clear priorities among employees looking to (re)enter a place of work emerged from our talent management platform’s Talent Index research. First, over a quarter of the 5,000 respondents pointed to wanting improved training and career guidance, hinting at why they may have left in the first place. Demonstrating the new learning and development opportunities the company has started, like a talent acceleration program (which 42% of all respondents say they now have access to), could be an effective way to engage with past employees.