3 Reasons why you should rehire a former employee
Would you rehire a former employee who discovered that the grass isn’t always greener? If you’ve got an ex-co-worker banging on your door begging for their old job back it can be hard to say no.
But rehiring a boomerang employee isn’t always your best option.
What is a boomerang employee?
A boomerang employee is one that left your company only to return a few months or even years later.
3 Reasons why you should rehire a former employee
1 – They’re a safe choice
When you rehire past employees, you know exactly what you’re getting into. They’re a safer bet than a completely fresh person who is essentially a wildcard.
You’ll know how they perform, get on with key team members and what to expect from them.
If they were one of your top performing employees in the past, taking them on again will be a welcome opportunity for both parties.
2 – They’re low cost
Hiring takes a lot of time and money. But with boomerang employees, you get to skip the screening and interviewing stage and get right on with work.
Taking on a low-cost employee is always tempting for smaller companies. And when you haven’t started your hiring process yet it’s definitely something to consider.
This reduced cost also translates into reduced time onboarding and inducting your old employee. If they left the company recently then they should be able to hit the ground running. If it’s been a few years, a couple of days of training will be all it takes.
Compare that to a standard 2 week onboarding and training process and it’s hard to deny that rehiring former employees is a great option.
3 – They can make a big impact
Boomerang employees can make a big impact on your workplace. When your employees discover that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, they might be put off applying to jobs or accepting offers.
When your boomerang employee is excited and passionate about returning to work with you, this enthusiasm will hopefully rub off on your team.
3 Reasons why you shouldn’t rehire a former employee
1 – The same thing could happen again
If your former employee wasn’t loyal to you before, why would they suddenly become loyal now?
The key thing to understand is that they left for a reason. Whether it was to do with their salary, the company culture or even boredom, if their issues of the past aren’t addressed they will be just as unhappy with you the second time around.
Research suggests that rehires are more likely to leave your company again than both internal and external hires. So you could be left out in the cold in a few months when a better offer comes.
2 – They can sew doubt
Rehiring an employee comes with its risks, but one that’s often overlooked is the effect this has on your team. Boomerang employees can sew doubt among your staff by bringing up old conflict and damaging your company culture.
Rehiring an old employee could also make your current staff more willing to accept other job offers as they know that there is a safety net: they could have their old job back whenever they need it.
3 – They often don’t perform better
There’s nothing like a desire to prove yourself in a new job. Rehires often don’t have this desire and motivation to impress, so can underperform internal and external hires.
So it might be worth spending that extra time and money on finding a great new employee because they are likely to massively outperform your rehire.
Want to find a brand-new high-performing hire?
Although I mentioned that hiring is usually an expensive, time-consuming process it doesn’t have to be! You can browse our database that’s full of eager job hunters here and get on with hiring the perfect person for your business.