If you’re having a farewell party for a beloved colleague, don’t cry too hard into your cake. There’s a decent chance they’ll be back. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 28% of “new hires” were “boomerang hires,” the term for someone who’d resigned within the last three years only to return.
Mindi Cox, chief people officer for O.C. Tanner, provider of employee recognition and reward solutions, falls into the boomerang employee category herself. As a hiring manager, she’s also done her fair share of hiring former employees, too.
“People often leave a job because there’s an opportunity that’s too good to turn down, or they have a life season, like I had, and need to step away from work,” she says. “The same employees might become homesick for a culture that they’ve left and have discovered that maybe the grass wasn’t as green as they thought. Or that the priority of the pay, or the title, or the opportunity they were chasing didn’t outweigh their coworker relationships or the care that they felt in a previous workplace. There’s all kinds of reasons people move around and return, but I think [boomerang employees] are an overlooked workforce.”
What boomerangs bring back
Having an employee boomerang is a good sign for the company, says Angela Jackson, author of The Win-Win Workplace: How Thriving Employees Drive Bottom-Line Success. “Sometimes, the right people step off for a while to grow, gain new skills, and return even stronger, bringing fresh perspectives, external best practices, and a renewed commitment to the company’s mission,” she says. “Their return signals to current employees that the company is a place worth coming back to, reinforcing a culture of mutual respect and growth.”
Returning can bring benefits to the company, the first of which is much simpler onboarding, says Carolyn Walker, global HR director at Tenth Revolution Group, a tech talent provider.
“Someone familiar with the business is far more likely to hit the ground running and know the nuances and quirks that can otherwise take time to get up to speed with,” she says. “Plus, in those vital first few months where a new recruit is forming an opinion, good or bad, about you, a boomerang employee is far less likely to form a negative impression.”
Boomerang employees also return with fresh perspectives, says Nathaalie Carey, chief human resources officer at the logistics real estate company Prologis. “Having gained new skills and experiences elsewhere can strengthen your teams,” she says.
And boomerangs send an encouraging message to employees. “We have a client that welcomes boomerangs back with a special pin that goes on their badge,” says Cox. “It can break the ice for someone who may not know their career story. They might say, ‘I see that you left and came back. Tell me about that.’ Sometimes boomerangs are your best evangelists about all the reasons to stay.”
Leaving and returning also means they solved the “what ifs” about leaving, adds Cox. “We never want to say, ‘Don’t talk about your experience,’” she says. “They’re back, which means your company is the better spot for them.”
Leaving the Door Open
Since boomerangs can bring value back to your organization, it’s important to stay in touch. Depending on how closely you may have worked with them, Carey recommends touchpoints by personal email or text or through professional networking, such as trade organizations or digital tools like LinkedIn.
“Many times, employees who leave tend to stay in the same industry, meaning there are plenty of opportunities to stay connected and provide value to one another, whether it’s for knowledge sharing, forging partnerships, or working together,” she says.
Companies can also maintain formal alumni networks, such as creating a LinkedIn group. Jackson says a great example is the consulting firm McKinsey, with thousands of members worldwide. “They actively stay connected with former employees through the McKinsey Alumni Center, which offers networking events, job boards, thought leadership content, and even investment opportunities in alumni-led startups,” she says.
Exit interviews are an important tool for nurturing a boomerang employee. Cox asks her recruiters to be mindful of people they were sad to see go. If there is an open position, they reach out, saying “We have this position and immediately thought of you. It may be something you wish was in your growth path but just wasn’t open at the time. Before we hire for this, we want to put it on your radar.”
Always be supportive of an employee who leaves to further their career, says Cox. “Too often employees will say, ‘I thought you’d be upset with me,’” she says. “People want to know that they’re cheered on as people. […] We want them to know that we’re interested in them as individuals.”
Beware of the Drawbacks
Rehiring isn’t always a win-win, says Jackson. “Just because someone was a great fit in the past doesn’t mean they’re the right fit for the future,” she says. “Nostalgia can cloud judgment. Companies should focus on whether a returning employee adds new value, not just whether they were once successful in the role.”
There’s also a risk of perceived unfairness. “If a boomerang hire comes back at a higher salary or with special treatment, it can send the message that loyalty is undervalued,” says Jackson.
The best boomerang employee hiring strategies focus on mutualistic relationships where the benefits for both sides are clear, says Jackson. “Companies should be clear about how their culture, expectations, and priorities have changed. And returning employees should bring fresh insights, not just familiarity. A great rehire isn’t just picking up where they left off; they’re leveling up.”
The main thing for employers to do is to have a culture that people will get homesick for, says Cox. “Invite them to decide, this is the best place for me,” she says. “If they don’t stay, at least be somewhere that they’ll miss that will bring them back.”
