Canadian HR Reporter

Credit: advent/Shutterstock Best practices in boomerang hiring F e aT U r e S RECRUITMENT F e aT U r e S RECRUITMENT F e aT U r e S By Angus Duff and Salvador Barragan I n the ever-elusive search for talent, organizations are reaching for a new tool in the talent management quiver — the boomerang hire. boomerang hiring is a talent management approach where employers re- hire past employees to return to the fi rm. Virtually all employers engage in boomerang hiring to some extent. On the surface, this seems like a simple and cost-eff ective way to bring in workers who have already proven themselves and, therefore, are very likely to be successful again. Organizations dealing with industry-wide skills shortages, such as those in information tech- nology or bio-sciences, have em- braced this approach. However, if boomerang hiring is merely a reactive, quick-fi x solu- tion, it may be a fad that will with- er when the next new approach comes along. Strategic boomer- ang recruiting, on the other hand, provides cost-eff ective access to talent that requires less training and orientation. Background e key determinant of whether this type of recruiting is ben- eficial depends on whether employers employ a reactive approach or a strategic approach. Reactive boomerang hiring is the indiscriminate re-hiring of past employees who either re-apply or are solicited by line managers to fi ll immediate talent shortages. e key focus of this approach is a response to created job vacancies. Sometimes these workers realize the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence and want to return to their previous employer. Other times, these are retirees who realize they are not ready for the lifestyle change that comes with the tran- sition to not working. Other times, as a result of re- structuring and downsizing, workers who have left the fi rm fi nd themselves out of work when things take a turn for the worse at the new organization. Strategic boomerang recruit- ing, by contrast, is when employ- ers actively reach out to past em- ployees to try to persuade them to return to the fi rm. Employers are far less likely to engage in stra- tegic boomerang recruiting (less than 50 per cent), according to our research, but organizations engaging in strategic boomerang recruiting fi nd this to be an ef- fective approach to fi ll specifi c skills needs with prequalified candidates. Benefi ts and pitfalls While different organizations have embraced boomerang hir- ing for diff erent reasons, there are common benefi ts and pitfalls. Firstly, industries such as the teaching industry have embraced boomerang hiring by allowing retired employees to come back part-time. In the teaching pro- fession, this has certainly made it easier for school boards to ensure they have a competent roster of supply teachers. However, this short-term re- lief may create a seismic shift for school boards when the baby boom generation leaves the work- force entirely. Until that time, new teachers may be unable to secure teaching jobs or gain experience, and when vacancies are fi nally created, many classrooms will be taught by newly minted teachers. When boomerang hiring is conducted for convenience rather than strategic goals, it has the potential to compromise the long-term success of a fi rm, even though it meets short-term needs. is has been seen on many oc- casions where manufacturing line managers, desperate to address skills shortages, may pressure HR to bring back former employees. If they do so without assessing cultural fit, the employee may eventually quit again, once she is reminded of the reasons she left in the fi rst place. While reactive boomerang hir- ing can be problematic, strategic boomerang recruiting appears to be more successful because it involves a deeper scrutiny of past employees before an organization actively solicits them to return. It's about recruiters connect- ing with HR to identify past em- ployees who not only have strong skills but were also a good cultural fi t before they left an organization. For example, the reasons for leav- ing the organization were related to a lack of internal career oppor- tunities, problems with a diffi cult supervisor or external circum- stances, rather than fi t with the organization's culture. Strategic boomerang recruit- ing actively targets only ideal can- didates — those with the needed skills and who fi t with the orga- nization. One organization, for example, exemplified strategic boomerang recruiting when one employee who left a subsidiary of the organization as a result of limited career opportunities was later rehired as the CEO. Employees who had a very strong cultural fi t with the orga- nization are more likely to again be strong contributors to the fi rm. On the other hand, when reactive boomerang hiring is done to ad- dress a skills shortage, employ- ers are quickly reminded of the reason the person left — perhaps because he did not quite fi t the organization's culture. Diffi cul- ties may quickly resurface, with managers asking themselves why they brought this employee back. Alternatively, a repeated misfi t might soon be experienced by the hire himself, who will resign again once reminded of why he left in the fi rst place. Employees who did not fi t before are soon found to not fi t again. Strategic boomerang recruiting has the potential to be an excep- tionally powerful HR tool. When organizations track the skills and organizational fi t of strong employees and set them free to work and train with competitor organizations, the return of those employees to the fi rm has the po- tential to: • send a message to other employ- ees in the fi rm that this is an em- ployer of choice • bring organization-specifi c skills and industry knowledge to the employer that are a source of competitive advantage • require far less cultural integra- tion than other unproven new hires. Best practices Organizations that successfully engage in strategic boomerang recruiting appear to: • identify top employees in terms of both skill and cultural fi t • retain contact with such people after they leave through social networks and social media sites such as LinkedIn • restrict boomerang recruiting to a pre-identifi ed pool of former employees • see the departure of such em- ployees as a valuable training ground for their return. Angus Duff and Salvador Barra- gan are assistant professors in the School of Business and Economics at ompson Rivers University in Kam- loops, B.C. ey can be contacted at aduff @tru.ca and sbarragan@tru.ca respectively. Making a comeback Making a comeback Employees with a strong cultural fi t are more likely to be strong contributors.

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