Boomerang Employees | Meaning, Benefits and Drawbacks

What is a Boomerang Employee?

A Boomerang employee can be defined as an employee who departs from a company for either personal or professional reasons and later gets hired back. The employee can have quit on their own, been laid off, or been fired. Seasonal workers may also take up new employment with the company or seek out their prior positions. Due to businesses realising the benefits of rehiring former employees, this trend has been growing in recent years.

Key takeaways from Boomerang Employees:

• The time and expense associated with onboarding can be reduced because boomerang employees are already familiar with the company’s culture, procedures, etc.
• They bring important knowledge, experience, and abilities from their prior employment that the firm may find helpful.
• They probably fit with the company’s principles and culture because they are returning.
• Returning to a former workplace may present candidates for career advancement that were not present during the employee’s first employment.
• They might be drawn in by the company’s work-life balance policies, benefits, or other features that they previously found appealing.

Reasons for Employee taking off from work

• To advance their careers, acquire new abilities, or earn more money when an alternative option arises.
• To experiment with new things, look into alternative fields, or follow a passion.
• To concentrate on a significant life event, such as a spouse moving, looking after a child, or managing a medical condition.
• To perform seasonal jobs.

Benefits of hiring Boomerang Employees

There are many benefits to hiring the Boomerang employees. Some of them are as follows:

1. Knowledge of the Company: Boomerang employees are already used to the organisation’s culture, values, mission, and operational procedures. The amount of time and money needed for onboarding and training might be greatly decreased as a result.

2. Performance and Productivity: Boomerang employees frequently have an advantage over new hires in that they can contribute to team productivity and overall performance more rapidly because they have past experience working for the company.

3. Information and abilities: The information, abilities, and experience that boomerang employees acquired during their prior employment are brought with them. If they have gained new knowledge or experiences since leaving, this can be extremely helpful.

4. Reduced Risks of Hiring: There is always some risk associated with hiring decisions. There is less uncertainty when a company hires a boomerang employee because the company is already familiar with their work ethic, performance, and team dynamics.

5. Culture Fit: Boomerang employees have previously shown that their culture fits with the business, which reduces the possibility of cultural conflicts or incompatibilities.

6. Fresh Viewpoint: Boomerang employees who gained outside experience may return to the organisation with new insights and creative ideas.

7. Variety of skills: Boomerang workers who have worked in various positions or sectors during their absence might contribute a variety of viewpoints and skill sets to the company.

8. Transfer of Knowledge: By sharing the knowledge and best practices they have learned while abroad, boomerang employees can serve as channels for knowledge transfer.

Drawbacks of hiring Boomerang Employees

There are many drawbacks which the company should consider while re-hiring the employee. Some of them are:

1. Risk of Repeat Performance Problems: If a boomerang employee experienced problems with their performance in their previous position, there is a chance that these problems could reappear when they return.

2. Lack of Fresh viewpoints: While boomerang workers provide expertise and familiarity, they could also lack the new ideas and viewpoints that new hiring from outside sources might offer.

3. Limited Diversity of Thought: Rehiring former workers can result in a homogenous workforce, which would reduce the variety of viewpoints held inside the organisation.

4. Impact on corporate Culture: If a previous employee left on bad terms or caused problems within the team, their return could have an adverse effect on the dynamics of the team and the corporate culture as a whole.

5. Mismatched Expectations: The company and the returning employee may have different ideas of what their job should entail in terms of duties and opportunities for advancement. Unfulfilled expectations might result in a lack of satisfaction for both parties.

6. Lost Opportunity for Fresh Talent: Rehiring old employees may result in wasted opportunities to bring in new talent with fresh abilities, viewpoints, and experiences that could be advantageous to the business.

7. Risk of Turnover: Employee turnover is a possibility for boomerang employees who feel there are few chances for job progression or who find a better offer elsewhere. Additional turnover and disruptions may result from this.

8. Conflicts with Current Employees: If returning employees have issues with current team members or if there are unresolved issues from previous jobs, teamwork may be affected.

Conclusion

Boomerang employees can be a good addition to a business. The main thing which should be remembered is that the company should carefully consider the re-hiring process of an employee. Also, it is good for businesses to keep good contact with their former employees and to create such an environment that they feel confident and appreciated if they wish to return to a company.