Hiring | Why 'boomerang employees' may be the answer to hiring woes

Over the last year or so, many trends have made their way onto the hiring scene. Take the so-called ‘Great Resignation’ for example. In essence, this refers to an ongoing trend that describes huge numbers of staff leaving their jobs at once.

Now, experts such as Anthony Klotz, who predicted and coined the ‘Great Resignation’, have suggested that the next trend in hiring is a surge of ‘boomerang' workers, according to a recent article from Forbes. The website Elevate defines ‘boomerang' employees as those team members who decide to leave a company but return at some point in the future. For those employers struggling to fill roles, the Forbes article went on to explain that these workers could present a pool of potentially untapped talent, and also provide useful insights about the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation.

Jane Hulme, HR Director at Unum UK, explained to HR Grapevine: “It’s a priority for HR managers to understand why staff are leaving so that they can be better equipped to provide the sought-after criteria that ‘boomerang' staff felt they were missing which contributed to their decision to leave in the first place. For example, wanting more mental health support, flexible working and even ESG commitments are all high on employee agendas, as well as competitive total reward and employee benefits packages.”

While ‘boomerang' hires can provide insight into the current strengths and weaknesses of the organisation – and pave the way to future improvements – it is also important for HR to consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of re-hiring a former member of staff, and how this could help with plugging talent shortages.