The return of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers riveted the sports world and reinvigorated Cleveland. For employers, however, James’ “going home” has prompted conversations about boomerang employees—i.e., employees who leave an employer only to return later. This article looks at this relatively new concept and outlines what factors employers should consider before rehiring a boomerang employee. 
Considerations
In the past, when the question of whether to rehire a former employee came up, many employers belonged to one school of thinking: “If you thought the grass was greener on the other side, you can stay there.” However, that mind-set has become the minority view. This shift is forcing recruiters and employers to rethink not only their recruiting strategies but also their hiring and exit practices. The shift seems to be spurred on by four major factors: (1) generational disparity, (2) the economy, (3) changing/expanding gender roles, and (4) skill specialization.
Generational disparity
The Veterans (born before 1946) and the Baby Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) were hesitant to leave one job for another out of fear of being considered disloyal or a job-hopper. That is no longer the case. Now the percentage of employees who stay with one employer throughout their career is extremely low.
This trend first became noticeable for workers in Generation X (born from 1964 to the mid-1980s). In fact, it seems that when Generation X entered the workforce, it abandoned the idea of lifelong employment along with eight-track tapes. This change in ideology did not stop with Generation X. It continued with Generation Y, also known as the Millennials (born from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s). While many Gen Xers turned to job-hopping to survive, Generation Y took it further, turning to job-hopping as a means of career advancement.
The economy
This attitude shift is not based solely on workers’ personalities. (Those pesky Gen Xers did not let listening to too much Nirvana rot their brains.) Economic factors play a key role as well.
Baby Boomers have been slow to leave the workforce because of financial constraints, meaning there have been fewer advancement opportunities for younger workers. Job-hopping is no longer a sign of poor character; it’s a career plan. Many Gen Xers and Millennials think, “The only way to move up is to move on.” In addition, most private-sector employers phased out defined pension plans that rewarded long-term service long ago and replaced them with more portable 401(k) plans and other options. Thus, a major benefit of long-term employment dried up.
Also, Generations X and Y experienced the recession that started in 2008. Many workers lost their jobs and homes and basically had their lives turned upside down. Further, Generations X and Y have one thing Baby Boomers didn’t have—student loan debt, and lots of it. The recession changed the way those groups look at things. Growing up, those generations were taught that if you go to college, you can get a good job with financial security. The recession proved that idea to be false for many jobseekers. For many, higher education is no longer the golden ticket to a good job. Now education is viewed as an investment that comes with risk just like traditional investments such as stocks and real estate.
Changing/expanding gender roles
More women are in the workforce than ever before, more families are dual income, and more women are breadwinners. Changing/expanding gender roles have caused employees to leave jobs for many reasons. Employees move so they can go to school, have children, or allow their spouse to get a better job. Also, some employees change jobs for better work-life balance. That leads some employees to opt for project-type work rather than a steady nine-to-five job. In other words, life happens, and flexible employers win out.
Skill specialization
Skill specialization is the last factor. The workforce has changed, and there is high demand for employees with specialized skills. Thus, employees with coveted skills are constantly offered new opportunities. Some employees leave because they can, not because they are disloyal. These days, money and job flexibility talk. Other employees stay because they have to, not because they are loyal. Employers are just as much at fault as employees because employers must learn how to retain top talent through job flexibility and creative benefit options (e.g., on-site day care).
Advantages
Generational disparity, the economy, changing/expanding gender roles, and skill specialization have made lifelong employment a thing of the past. The free-agent workplace is the future. The good news is, employers seem to be getting on board. Many employers no longer view an employee leaving as a betrayal, and many companies have changed their thinking about boomerang employees. They no longer see them as “ex-employees” or “traitors.” Rather, they consider former employees to be “alumni” and continue to maintain their connections to them.
There is no denying the value of rehiring boomerang employees. Hiring and training new employees is expensive, and rehiring a boomerang employee has one of the highest returns on recruiting investment. In fact, rehiring a former employee costs one-third to two-thirds less than hiring a newbie. It makes sense for employers to rehire former workers to offset some of the costs.
Social media sites such as LinkedIn make it easy to keep track of former employees. Typically, it’s less expensive to rehire former employees directly and bypass the search and recruitment process altogether. With former employees, you know what you are getting.
Another advantage of boomerang employees: They save on training and ramp-up time (time needed to get the employee oriented, settled, and ready to begin performing the job). Also, they tend to acclimate to the workplace more easily because they understand the structure and culture. They will know most of the key players if the company has not had a lot of turnover.
Finally, boomerang employees have gotten to see whether the grass really is greener on the other side. Many times, employees who have seen that it is not are better workers, more committed, more loyal, and better ambassadors for your brand.
Risks
However, everything is not positive. There are risks in hiring boomerang employees because not all returning employees are created equal. It’s not always the “one that got away” who tries to return. There are five factors you must consider when rehiring a boomerang employee.
Number 1: circumstances of the employee’s departure. Determine why and how the employee left. Not surprisingly, employees who left voluntarily on good terms are better suited to return than employees who left involuntarily or on bad terms. Consider whether the employee left because of dissatisfaction with the company or because of personal reasons—e.g., pregnancy or relocation of a spouse’s job.
If the employee left because of a lack of opportunities for growth, because she thought she was underpaid, or because she had a less-than- stellar relationship with her supervisor or coworkers, it is unlikely that the issue has been resolved or things have stabilized in a manner that will result in long-term employment unless the company has undergone significant changes since she left. In addition, if she was fired or forced out, she should not be considered for rehire (unless, of course, it was discovered that the person who forced her out was the problem). Similarly, if an employee left involuntarily because of poor performance, it would be foolish to rehire her.
Also, some employers refuse to rehire employees who left to go to a competitor. There may be noncompete issues to consider in that situation. A rehire decision could become very expensive if it results in litigation with an employee’s previous employer.
These considerations show why it’s important to conduct and document exit interviews when employees resign or are terminated. Exit interviews give employees an opportunity to provide you with constructive feedback about their job, coworkers, and supervisors and the company as a whole. If you document what an employee said during an exit interview and retain that information, it will be an invaluable resource if you consider rehiring her a few years down the road.
Number 2: length of departure. How long was the employee away from your workplace? Employees who are gone for short periods take less time to train and acclimate to the company, its culture, and the demands of the job. Bottom line: The shorter the period, the more money your company can save.
Number 3: past performance. This consideration largely follows the first factor. One reason to keep good employment records is to determine whether an employee should be considered for rehire. Of course, no employer wants to rehire a poor performer or an employee with chronic attendance problems. However, large employers or employers with high turnover rates may have little or no institutional knowledge about a former employee’s tenure. That means that if details about the employee’s performance are not documented, the employer may not discover it.
This is why it’s important to ask whether applicants have worked for your company before and, if so, why they left. If an employee was terminated, that information should come out. If an applicant lies and you hire him, he could be terminated for lying during the application process once the lie is discovered.
Number 4: performance at current employer and reason for returning. During their absence, there is a good chance boomerang employees have learned new skills, expanded their network, and experienced other successes. It is important to have a candid conversation with a potential boomerang employee and find out exactly why she wants to return. There are right reasons to return, and there are wrong reasons to return. A former employee wanting to return because she misses her colleagues is not a good reason. An employee wanting to return because she has not been successful in subsequent jobs is not a good reason, either. The best case is an employee wanting to return because he has had time to learn, grow, and develop new skills and believes you can take advantage of his expanded skillset and network.
Number 5: needs of the company. No matter how great a former employee was, rehire decisions ultimately come down to whether the company needs the employee’s skills, has the money to hire him, and has a job for him.
Bottom line
In addition, hiring a boomerang employee can be political, and reintegrating a returning employee can be precarious. Key players may have changed since the employee left, and interpersonal relationships may have changed, too. Also, things may be tense if a boomerang employee leapfrogs a current employee, who might feel slighted by not getting the job.
On a personal note, I am happy LeBron is returning to Cleveland. When I practiced law in Cleveland, I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times. Although he was younger then, he was always polite, respectful, and gracious enough to pose for pictures.
Sara Hutchins Jodka is a senior associate with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP in Columbus, Ohio. She may be contacted at sjodka@porterwright.com.
This is a well researched, written, and presented article.
I’d add that the economy definitely affected the workforce in the past few years – it wasn’t always choice that forced associates to move from their positions. In my industry (building supply), we had to greatly reduce our workforce when the recession hit. This forced our associates to seek other employment.
Now that our industry is on the upswing, we are slowly growing again. If we can rehire some of those displaced associates, it is a win-win for both parties.
Thanks for a great piece!