• Home
  • About
  • Courses
  • Podcast
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIN
  • YouTube
  • RSS
  • Email
  • Podcast

Workology

The Art & Science of Work

  • Intern
  • Entry
  • Experienced
  • Senior
  • Executive

The Rehire: How To Win Back Good Employees

July 16, 2013 By Jessica Miller-Merrell Leave a Comment

Good Employees

The economy is like a pendulum and appears to have started its swing back toward prosperity.  As a hiring manager or organizational leader, it may have been only a few short years ago you were scheduling meetings in regard to corporate layoffs. Layoffs cost your organization more than the size of its employees.

And, you lost more than productivity you can simply regain with the sourcing, hiring and training of a new body. Experience, insight and industry knowledge walked out the door with every pink slip. Today, you want to regain the momentum you lost, wind up and take off down the path of prosperity and growth.

Add the extra challenging of the talent that stayed the course with you through the slowdown is now being syphoned off by other companies, further weakening your company’s internal talent.  You need to add new talent. You need qualified candidates. You need them now.

 

Join us on 4/19 at 12:00 PM EST as we learn how to supercharge your talent brand. Register here.   

 

You may be faced with the prospect of a rehire.

A rehire, often referred to as a boomerang employee is defined as someone who is a returning employee. Their role may be the same or different, but they left the organization at some point either voluntarily or involuntarily. They already understand the culture of the organization; they know what is expected and are familiar with the work environment.

The boomerang employee doesn’t just have to be a victim of a layoff. He or she could have left for what seemed like a greener pasture. Maybe they retired and realized they weren’t quite ready. Whatever the case may be, they used to work for your company and now don’t. But, having them back could mean a boost to your company’s productivity and talent.

I call this the Coach Snider Effect.

Rehires come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. Take head football Coach Bill Snider of the Kansas State Wildcats. Snider took the head football coaching job at Kansas State in 1989. What Snyder did for the Wildcats is nothing short of legendary and his list of awards and accomplishments through the years are amazing. In 2005, he retired and Kansas State moved on and the tradition amazing football KSU fans had grown to expect took an immediate nosedive. It didn’t take long for rumors of a return from retirement to start churning. And, in November 2008, Coach Snyder was rehired and returned to the sidelines in 2009 – a rare return in college football.

The same holds true for former Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz who returned to lead Starbucks, the struggling coffee house chain in early 2008. Schultz returned to replace Jim Donald as the head coffee bean. Upon the head bean’s return organizational changes were made resulting in store closures, layoffs, and product offering changes. It seems that this boomerang made an impact as sales for Starbucks continue to soar since his return.

Another great example is with Jay Leno. In 2004, NBC brought on Conan O’Brien with the intentions of replacing Jay Leno as late night show host. Leno retired as host in 2009 ushering a new era as O’Brien took the lead spot. Ratings suffered and Leno was effectively rehired into his old position, debuting the new old Late Show in March 2010.

Should you bring back lost employees and is it a good idea for your company? Before you pick start sifting through past employee files, there are some things you should consider:

How-to: Win Back Good Employees

Continue to establish a line of communication. Keep the communication lines open with former employees often referred to as alumni. This could be through LinkedIn alumni networks or an alumni newsletter. Be creative but don’t badger.

Demonstrate value. This means giving something to your alumni community first that creates value, conversation, and discussion. Maybe it’s a free resume writing class or webinar.  Create value and put yourself in the shoes of your alumni network. What’s important to them should be what you’re writing/talking to them about.

Build a rehire database. Just like a talent pipeline within your organization, your rehire community and database should include ratings, information, and insights from previous managers and management. Build your most wanted list and target your must hires and re-hires.

Photo Credit.

Related Posts

when to talk politics at workWould It Help?: When to Talk Politics at Work
Team communication, workplace communication, team communication at work, communicating with a team,Improving Communication In Your Workplace Team
work gamification, workplace gamification, gamification at work, gamification strategy, gaming office, gaming HR, hr techMake More! is Mindless Factory Work for Your Thumbs
Sustainability and How to Get Creative with Your Workplace Wellness Program
employee participation, employee relationships, employee engaging, improving employee engagement, employee engagement5 Benefits of Promoting Employee Participation
Creative Genius Employees Are a Leader’s Worst Nightmare But Drive Amazing Business Results
snapchat spectacles review, snapchat at work, snapchat spectacles, snapchat recruiting, snapchat work, snapchat hiring,Five Ways to Use Snapchat Spectacles Around Your Workplace
job seekers, hiring, recruiting, work3 Types of Job Hunters Who Can’t Find Work
hr, empathy, caring, human resourcesThe Importance Of Empathy In HR
business leaders, read, learn, leadership7 Books for the New Business Leader to Add to Their Reading List

Filed Under: Work Tagged With: good employees, hiring

Jessica Miller-Merrell

About Jessica Miller-Merrell

Jessica Miller-Merrell, is workplace change agent and author focused on human resources and talent acquisition living in Austin, TX. Recognized by Forbes as a top 50 social media influencer. She's the founder of Workology. Follow her on Twitter, @jmillermerrell.

Trackbacks

  1. The Rehire: How To Win Back Good Employees | GenerateJob.com says:
    July 16, 2013 at 10:27 am

    […] Blogging4Jobs […]

    Reply
  2. The Rehire: How To Win Back Good Employees | generatecareer.com says:
    July 16, 2013 at 10:53 pm

    […] Blogging4Jobs […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad

Categorically Speaking

  • Business
  • HR
  • Leadership
  • Life
  • Tech
  • Podcast
  • Reviews
  • Work
  • Social Media
  • Sourcing
  • Recruiting
  • Career
  • Millenials

Workology Popular Posts

  • Latest
  • Popular
  • How to Write A Job Description How to Write A Job Description
  • It’s Hard to Speak Up It’s Hard to Speak Up
  • Ep 132 – The Future of Accessible Workplace Technology Ep 132 – The Future of Accessible Workplace Technology
  • Getting Real About Unconscious Bias in the Workplace Getting Real About Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
  • Are Transgender People a Federal Protected Class? Are Transgender People a Federal Protected Class?
  • How to Make Your Career Site & Apply Process More Accessible #shrmtalent How to Make Your Career Site & Apply Process More Accessible #shrmtalent
  • What Indeed Buying Workopolis Means for Recruiting Data What Indeed Buying Workopolis Means for Recruiting Data
  • Engaging Through Story Engaging Through Story
  • Women Working with Women: How to Support One Another Women Working with Women: How to Support One Another
  • Progressive Discipline As Model for Honesty, Not Punishment Progressive Discipline As Model for Honesty, Not Punishment
  • Today Week Month All
  • 3 Sample Email Templates Job Seekers Can Send to A Recruiter 3 Sample Email Templates Job Seekers Can Send to A Recruiter (359,559 views)
  • 4 External Factors that Affect Human Resource Management 4 External Factors that Affect Human Resource Management (99,073 views)
  • Employee Rights: Time Off Requests for Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employee Rights: Time Off Requests for Exempt vs. Non-Exempt (81,002 views)
  • 27 Companies Who Hire Adults With Autism 27 Companies Who Hire Adults With Autism (73,461 views)
  • The Difference Between an HR Business Partner & Just HR The Difference Between an HR Business Partner & Just HR (70,134 views)
  • The Perfect Revenge: How to Quit a Job & Resign at Work The Perfect Revenge: How to Quit a Job & Resign at Work (35,963 views)
  • 10 Reasons Why I Love Being an HR Professional 10 Reasons Why I Love Being an HR Professional (33,726 views)
  • Manner Monday: Requesting an Appointment for Conference Call Manner Monday: Requesting an Appointment for Conference Call (27,533 views)
  • 5 Ways to Improve Your Employee’s Quality of Work & Life 5 Ways to Improve Your Employee’s Quality of Work & Life (25,909 views)
  • 5 Employee Twitter Bio Disclaimers You Should Add Today 5 Employee Twitter Bio Disclaimers You Should Add Today (24,989 views)
Ajax spinner

Featured Resources

Copyright © 2018 · Workology Inc. All Rights Reserved. Site Design by The Spinbird Group.

  • Contributing
  • Advertising
  • Disclaimer
  • Press
  • Contact Us