Rehiring Previous Employees: Opportunity or Obstacle?

Leaving one company to pursue a career with another used to mean severing ties with the former employer for good. That’s not the case anymore. Now, many employers are leaving the door open to potentially reconnect  with these ‘boomerang employees’ in the future.

But should they?

Boomerang Employee Defined
A boomerang employee is an employee who left a company and later returns to work for the same organization. The reasons for an employee’s departure vary, from leaving to further their career in another opportunity, go back to school, for personal reasons or personal growth, or to simply try something different. The important piece with boomerang employees is they go back to their previous company. It’s a pretty simple concept but boomerang employees tap into an interesting pool of job candidates. They provide both strengths and weaknesses, and it’s important that employers understand the benefits or potential consequences of rehiring a previous employee.

Advantages of Rehiring a Past Employee
A former employee will already know the company’s culture, and work and performance expectations. An employer will have insights into whether that employee’s character, work ethic and personality fit with current staff and the company’s values.

Reemploying will also undoubtedly make the overall hiring and training process less cumbersome since returning employees are ideally able to hit the ground running in their role. Even if a returning employee is being hired back in a different role, the company’s organizational structure remains the same and the focus of training can be on new tasks rather than starting from scratch.

Drawbacks of a Boomerang Hire
There is always the possibility the employee will continue to be a flight risk. While all new hires have the potential to quit, an employee who has already left a company once may have a tendency to do it again. The last thing an employer wants is to waste time and money retraining an employee who may just up and leave if something better comes along.

Depending on how long an employee has been away, the company’s values, structure and goals may have changed or evolved, and it can be hard to instil these new mindsets in a boomerang employee. Rehiring a past employee could lead to an unintentional sense of entitlement or seniority, where the employee feels they need to assert their place.

Another potential disadvantage is old habits die hard. Boomerang employees can recreate bad working relationships that may have existed in the past or develop a ‘we used to do it this way’ mindset.

It’s important to do due diligence and learn how the boomerang employee performed prior to leaving, what made them leave in the first place and, most importantly, what they have been doing since they left the company.

Asking a boomerang employee what led them to leave and what is drawing them back gives insight into the ebbs and flows of the company, the reasons employees leave and why they want to return. It provides a learning experience for employers to improve on their company’s day-to-day workings.

In learning about what the employee has been doing since leaving, an employer can gain valuable insight into where they could potentially (re)land. Did they go back to school? Have they been bettering their skill sets? What new assets are they able to bring to the table?

During the interview and hiring process, it’s necessary to be clear, concise and transparent about intentions. (This is important for both the employer and employee.) Take into account where the employee sees themselves in the future within the company in order to set the groundwork for mutual growth.

It’s also critical not to skip the onboarding or training process when rehiring a past employee. Even though they’ve worked for the company before, certain standards may have changed. This will also help reduce a hierarchy that may be instilled by a returning employee and will create a new dynamic that is not based on older ways.

Lindsay Koruna is a paralegal in Toronto, with nearly a decade of experience across criminal and employment law sectors. She honed her skills in boutique law firms, specializing in sexual assault and personal injury civil litigation, showcasing her versatility in handling sensitive and complex legal matters.