Gone days when employees quit their job for better opportunities or were let go due to downsizing were not considered by management for rehire. Recruitment teams would remove “alumni” from their hiring pools, worrying that they would disrupt teams if they came back. 

Today, however, a growing number of companies realize the real value of recruiting “boomerangs.” Companies are particularly interested in rehiring top former employees since they are already aware of expert skills and understanding.  

These boomerang employees often rise rapidly and do not require training to fit them back into the job. There is usually less training because they are familiar with the company’s processes, values, and culture.

Research has revealed that rehires more comfortable to hold on to for the long-term than other hires. Due to this, LinkedIn and other social media platforms are beyond average with corporate alumni groups. 

These kinds of online alumni networks present an excellent opportunity for the ex-employees to get in touch with their former associates and open doors for recruitment back into their previous companies. On the other side, companies tend to take advantage of these groups to post job vacancies, talk about or host alumni events, and other activities aimed at engaging former employees.

Recruiters need to tap into these pools of boomerang employees. They also need to use their best interview and evaluation skills to identify which ex-employees are worth bringing back to the company. 

Here are eight things to consider when rehiring a former employee.

Try to get in touch with everyone who worked with the former employee. It will help you to understand the value they held for the company. Dive into and understand what you can about their inter-departmental relationships and assess their past performance.

1. Gather complete information to see if the employee still holds the same constructive qualities and values since they left the company.
2. Make sure that the ex-employee understands your company’s current culture, values, and direction. Make them aware of what’s new with things like; your company’s offerings, current reward programs, your goals, etc.
3. Perform a gut check. Confirm whether employees are on board with where the company is heading and genuinely show interest in rejoining.
4. Ensure that any issues that made them leave the company no longer exist. So they are likely to stay with the company for a longer time.
5. Don’t be desperate to get the employee back. If they do due to any reason, do not return, you don’t want to spoil your reputation or tarnish it because you came across as needy. It can make outsiders question the future of your company (its stability).
6. Completely and thoroughly assess your current resources and internal cross-hiring pool. Ensure that you do not overlook an employee internally before making the final hiring decision to bring someone back.
7. Finally, after performing all of your due diligence, you feel that the ex-employee deserves to be rehired, make every effort to make them stick for the long-term by offering them incentives or perks so that they will feel valued. 

As you can see, organizations need to recognize alumni relations’ value and implement a complete corporate alumni program. If you understand this value, contact NextBee today and let us help you drive success.