Should You Hire Former Employees?

Last week, I interviewed Kronos CEO Aron Ain, whose new book, Work Inspired: How to Build a Workplace Where Everyone Loves to Work, releases this month. We discovered that we must be twins, as our thought-leadership around, management, culture, employee happiness, and customers are perfectly aligned.

Aron shared with me how his organization is actively and proudly recruiting Boomerang employees (those who have left the organization and are open to returning), a strategy that I highly encourage you to consider. Here’s an excerpt from my interview with Aron, on the subject of Boomerang employees. The full article will be posted on Forbes, later this month.

We call people up when we have open positions, and we ask them, “Will you come back?” We reach out to people whom we’ve laid off in the past and ask them if they are interested in returning. We also have a Boomerang area on our website so that former employees can easily access us.

Now it’s one thing to say you do something. It’s another to have the numbers to back up exactly why you are continuing down a particular path. Aron told me they have 200-300 Boomerangs around the globe and that the CFO and the CHRO both fall into this category.   

Here are some things to consider as you entertain the idea of hiring former employees.

1. Remember why the employee left in the first place. Time heals all wounds; or does it? If it’s been a while since the employee left, you may no longer remember the relief you felt after her departure. Were you overwhelmed with joy because your biggest problem child became someone else's challenge, or in hindsight do you wish you could have helped this employee navigate through the political landmine that eventually took her out? If it’s the first, then it’s best to stay the course and continue your search.

2. Is this person the best candidate for the job? Recruiting and hiring can take quite a bit of time, which is something executives seem to have in short supply. Is the person you are considering rehiring the best candidate for the job, or are you deciding to rehire them because this is a quick fix for you?

3. What will this person bring to the position? Sometimes you have to leave home to grow up. What has this person been doing since leaving your employ, and how will his experience be beneficial to your firm? Keep in mind that if you aren’t moving your company forward, then you are falling behind. Will this rehire bring new ideas to propel your company forward, or will he merely be doing what he did when he left and nothing more?

Your Assignment: Identify two or three workers whom you'd love to have back. Pick up the phone and start a conversation. See if you can convince them to come back. Write to me and let me know how you fare.

Let's start a conversation: What's your experience hiring former employees? Is it a good idea or not? Have you ever boomeranged? If so, how'd things work out?

? Matuson Consulting, 2018.

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