Boomerang workers, employees who leave a company for a period of time and then later return to their former employer, are becoming increasingly common. According to a recent poll, 29% have boomeranged, 41% would consider boomeranging and 52% said their company employed a boomerang worker.
Why?
So why are people so willing to return to a place that they already left behind? The prime reason was found to be benefits, along with comparable pay and a better career path.
What now?
How does this new trend affect the employer?
Firstly, it’s important to find out why the employee decided to leave in the first place. Exit interviews can give a company important information regarding culture, salary, benefit packages and management. They can also give the employer an idea of who would be willing to return and what the company would need to do in order to win them back.
So, in the event of losing a valued key employee, conducting an exit interview can create the dialogue necessary to keeping a positive relationship.
Employers must also think about how this trend impacts professional relationships. In this era of LinkedIn and industry happy hours, burning bridges has become much less common, and in its place, staying in touch and keeping connected is the new norm.
With so many employees willing to return to a former employer and 98% of HR professionals willing to hire a former employee, job transitions must be handled with a new type of care. Maintaining these relationships is just as important, especially if there is a particular employee that you want to win back.
And finally, this new trend gives hope to employers who may have lost an important employee. Because, for the right reason, they just may be interested in coming back. It’s up to you to take the steps to get there and win back those boomerang workers.
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Source:
“Benefits prime reason employees return to former employer.” Employee Benefits News.