Why Your Next Great Hire Might Be a Former Employee

As leaders, we often look forward when searching for new talent, focusing on fresh faces and untapped potential. But what if the best strategy isn’t just to look forward but to also look back? At Freshfield, we’ve developed a service called Return of the Jedi, based on the idea that the best hire might just be someone who left your company—someone who still holds valuable knowledge, experience, and loyalty that can be re-ignited.

More than just a strategy for rehiring, Return of the Jedi?involves conducting insightful, post-exit interviews with key former employees. Here’s why it works and how it can give your company a strategic edge.

1. The Value of Post-Exit Interviews: Real Insights from Real Experiences

Exit interviews are typically conducted when an employee is walking out the door, at a time when emotions can run high and they’re often focused on the future. But what if you reached out six months, a year, or even two years after they left?

With the benefit of time and a new perspective, former employees can often provide invaluable feedback on their experience.

Why it matters:

• More Honest Feedback: After some time away, former employees are often in a better position to provide objective feedback—what worked, what didn’t, and why they made the decision to leave.
• Understanding Strengths and Weaknesses: This gives leadership a deeper understanding of the company’s culture, strengths, and areas for improvement. Often, ex-employees share insights that current staff may hesitate to reveal.
• Strategic Feedback: Former employees can also offer a clearer perspective on how your company compares to their new employer, helping inform decisions on how to improve and remain competitive.

At Freshfield, we conduct these post-exit interviews as a third party, providing an open, safe platform for former employees to share insights they might otherwise withhold. The value of this data can be immense, offering a clear roadmap for improvement.

2. Rehiring Valuable Employees: A Strategic Opportunity

In addition to providing valuable feedback, post-exit interviews also present an exciting opportunity: rehiring former stars.

In today’s highly competitive talent market, rehiring former employees who already understand your culture and have since grown in their skills can be a brilliant move.

Here’s why rehiring works:

• Instant Cultural Fit: Former employees already understand your company’s mission, values, and work environment, so they can quickly reintegrate with minimal onboarding.
• New Skills, Old Loyalties: They may return with fresh expertise from their time away, yet with the same loyalty they once held.
• A Mutually Beneficial Relationship: By reaching out through the post-exit interview, you show that you value their opinion and recognize their worth. This relationship-building naturally leads to conversations about potential future roles.

Many companies overlook former employees as potential hires, assuming they’ve moved on for good. But re-engaging with these professionals can yield candidates who understand your organization’s intricacies while bringing new skills and perspectives.

3. Freshfield’s Return of the Jedi: A Strategic Solution for Feedback and Talent Reengagement

At Freshfield Recruitment, we’ve embedded these principles into Return of the Jedi. Through targeted post-exit interviews, we help organizations:

• Gather high-value feedback?from former star employees to fine-tune operations and improve culture.
• Identify key former employees?ready to be re-engaged for potential new roles, enhancing your talent pool.

Often part of a broader recruitment effort, Return of the Jedi?serves as an additional, high-value reservoir within a comprehensive search strategy. While we continuously seek out new candidates to expand the talent pool, Return of the Jedi?ensures that experienced professionals—those who already know your company and bring unique insights—are considered among the potential hires.

Our process is selective, focusing on key former employees whose expertise is invaluable and whose potential return would drive growth.

Closing Thoughts

Stop viewing talent acquisition as a purely forward-focused process. By re-evaluating relationships with former employees, you can gain valuable insights into your organization’s inner workings and open the door to rehiring professionals who are prepared to deliver results. So, the next time you’re looking for top talent, remember: sometimes, the force is strongest with those who have already walked your halls.