Building a Boomerang Culture
Four elements that will help you build a culture that attracts former employees
With everything that has happened in the last couple weeks, a lot of businesses are in a tough position— struggling with the uncertainty the coronavirus has caused and trying to navigate this uncharted territory. It’s an incredibly challenging time as leaders try to balance keeping the business afloat with the impact any changes could have on the lives of their employees.
Several years ago, our business went through a similar season of uncertainty. We were forced to say goodbye to some great people, including some employees that were incredibly valuable and loyal. What struck me was that about a year later, Ryan, an employee that was laid off, came back to work for us.
We all know that the goal during layoffs is that everyone would return when business picks back up, but for those of us in the professional services business, we know that this rarely happens. So when I found out he wanted to come back, I couldn’t help but dig into why.
No culture is perfect, and we have a long way to go, but talking with Ryan about his decision to return showed me some positives about our organization. It helped me define what it means to build a culture that employees want to invest in, even after the difficulty of being laid off. In other words, I’m learning how to build a boomerang culture.
Here are four things to consider when evaluating your boomerang culture:
Transparency
Ryan shared with us that one reason he returned was because of our emphasis on transparency. He really appreciated our candor when things got tough. I’ve come to learn that although having honest conversations with employees is very difficult, taking the conversation to the edge of your comfort zone and proactively letting people know when the business path is diverging from their capabilities, role, or value, will build employee trust immensely.
People Over Role
When we had the opportunity to bring Ryan back, we tried to remain open minded about the role he would come back to. Our approach in hiring is to focus on finding the right people and trust that the value they bring will follow. We offered him a role in which he had little experience, but because he knew our culture, he knew that we would train them on the job, give him mentoring and shadowing opportunities, and allow him time to grow. Ultimately, the freedom to take a new path and the investment in his development made coming back hard to say no to.
Strong Teams
A couple benefits that have come from years of emphasizing hiring the right people is that the wrong people naturally filter out and the right ones stick around. We’re not without our issues, but most of our highly skilled employees are in the right role and have been invested in our success for years. Our teams are comfortable with each other, they work well together and they make the work environment enjoyable. We’ve found that this goes a long way for ex-employees who want to come back. On considering his return, Ryan remarked “Of all the organizations I could go to, I already know that this one has people who take pride in the work they do. Why would I risk going to work with another team when I already know this one is the best?”
Let People Fail
We try to give people the space to make mistakes and to see failure as a learning opportunity. Ryan had experienced failure in his first tenure with us but because he was given the opportunity to learn from it, he wasn’t worried about coming back and taking on a new role; he knew that we would give him the freedom to learn from his mistakes. It’s a tough tenant to champion, and I won’t say that this hasn’t come at a cost, but it’s crucial to building a culture where people feel safe and supported. When people feel safe and supported they perform their best.
Obviously, these principles aren’t implemented over night; building a boomerang culture takes time. But, even still, I have begun to see these values as essential to any culture, not just a culture that welcomes ex-employees. What boomerang culture values would you add to this list? What did I miss? Would you take anything off this list?
Let me know what you think at @troywhittaker
P.S. - My sincere thanks to Ryan Grutter for your trust, authenticity and uniquely valuable perspective.