Boomerang Hiring: Winning back former employees
Employers use "boomerang hiring" to bring former employees back into the company. Smart HR management and an appreciative corporate culture are needed to ensure that they are happy to return. Nicole Frey, Head HR Germany at UBS Europe SE, shows how successful re-hiring works.
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There can be many reasons for dismissing employees. However, it is rare for a company to want to part with a good manager or specialist. After all, competent staff are highly sought after, competition is fierce and every employee is valuable.
The situation seems paradoxical. The crises of recent years - the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the subsequent energy crisis, inflation and the still tense supply chain situation - are presenting many companies with major economic and personnel challenges.
In addition, the digital transformation requires further major personnel changes in many companies. In many cases, companies may have to cut staff in certain areas on the one hand, while on the other hand they urgently need specialists to set up or expand new services.
1. re-hiring: investing in former employees as a smart HR tool
This situation requires clever personnel management and foresight. After all, a specialist who has to be made redundant today or leaves voluntarily may be valuable to the company again tomorrow. If you put off your skilled workers forever now, you will lose out to the competition in the end.
Employees who have already left the company usually disappear from the recruiting radar. However, a long-term investment in future former employees could also be worthwhile for the company. The key is so-called "boomerang hiring" (or re-hiring).
"Boomerang hiring" refers to the rehiring of former employees after they have left the company. In this context, the term "boomerang" means that the former employees "return" to the company.
Re-employing former employees can be of great benefit to companies, as the returnees are already familiar with the company and its culture and can therefore become productive more quickly. They also show a high degree of loyalty and commitment to the company, as they have already built up a relationship with it in the past. Returnees can also contribute newly gained experience to the company.
Just a few years ago, it was unimaginable to return to your former job - either the relationship was no longer the best after leaving, or it was considered a career step backwards to return to your former company.
However, due to the shortage of skilled workers, companies simply cannot afford to turn away qualified employees simply because they have already been employed by the company.
2. best practice: UBS Group AG attractive for returnees
According to an analysis of 100,000 Swiss LinkedIn profiles in 2017, the company with the most returnees in Switzerland is the major bank UBS Group AG.
Nicole Frey, Head HR Germany at UBS, also recognizes a trend in Germany that brings former employees back to their old employer:
"The development in the Swiss labor market can only be transferred to Germany to a limited extent, as the competitive landscape alone is much more pronounced here than in Switzerland. However, former UBS employees are now increasingly returning to the bank in Germany as well. We definitely see a positive trend here and are very pleased about this development.
"Returnees know the internal processes and need less training time"
Boomerang Hiring brings several advantages for the company, explains Nicole Frey:
"Returnees already know the internal processes and our culture well and therefore need less time to familiarize themselves with them. At the same time, they may have gained new experience and broadened their horizons in the meantime. So if the motives are right, the switch back can not only advance your own career, but also offer great added value for companies."
3. five good reasons for Boomerang Hiring
It can therefore be very attractive for employers to rehire former employees. Boomerang Hiring offers these 5 advantages:
1. fast onboarding, lower costs:
It takes up to six months for a new employee to be trained and familiarized with the processes and tasks in the new company. For former employees, the cost and time factor is significantly reduced as they are familiar with the structures. In addition, there is no need for a lengthy, expensive application process.
2. familiar corporate culture
Former employees know the corporate culture and know that they fit in there. Otherwise they would hardly have come back. With new employees, there is always a risk that they will not fit in with the corporate culture.
3. new impulses
Ex-employees not only know the company, they also bring new experience, new know-how and new contacts back to the company - and provide new impetus for change.
4. loyalty
Returnees know what they are getting into and already feel connected to the company.
5. no surprises
Both returnees and companies know what to expect. The probability of being dismissed during the probationary period is therefore low.
4. how successful Boomerang Hiring works
Boomerang hiring measures are often part of a longer-term strategy. As a rule, they do not begin when the employee resigns, but well before. After all, only a team member who has a good reason for leaving will actually come back.
If the company fosters respectful communication and a positive corporate culture, employees feel comfortable and understood. This is a crucial point that is more important than ever for many employees.
For Nicole Frey , an appreciative corporate culture is crucial to success: "We attach great importance to respectful cooperation, diversity, equality and inclusion. Over 74,000 employees in more than 48 countries across all age structures work in the entire UBS Group. There are many different roles and areas of expertise that need to be taken into account - this makes everyday working life exciting and very diverse in many respects."
4.1 Increase employer attractiveness with employee retention measures
HR departments are right to invest a lot of energy in comprehensive retention management, such as employer assistance programs or health offers, and are always looking for new ways to attract specialists.
It is obvious that these measures also convince potential returnees, but this is often not immediately recognized.
For Nicole Frey , employee retention measures are an integral part of employer branding - also when it comes to winning back former employees: "In general, we support all our employees in growing in a collaborative and inclusive environment - here in Germany and Europe as well as at other UBS locations through internal mobility offers. We do a lot to ensure that work and private life can be harmonized individually, depending on personal needs."
For those returning from parental leave, UBS Europe SE also offers a cooperation with pme Familienservice , for example childcare in the form of a crèche, kindergarten or back-up service, which is used extensively by the bank's employees.
"The opportunity to work in a hybrid way, as well as multidisciplinary, agile teams, are two further examples that help us to become more flexible, innovative and inclusive. In addition, we offer all employees specialized training throughout the year for further education purposes. In short: you never stop learning at UBS, and that is another thing that characterizes our working environment," says Nicole Frey.
4.2 Creating a fair separation culture with outplacement or newplacement
Just like good onboarding, good offboarding should be part and parcel of a company, i.e. the team member is well prepared and given an appreciative farewell.
After all, if companies and employees part on good terms, it is not so far-fetched that former employees will return at some point. A strategic outplacement process can be a valuable aid here, helping former employees to make a pleasant exit or new start.
Nicole Frey believes it is important to signal to departing employees that the doors are still open and that they can return when the time is right:
"If our employees decide to move to a new employer, we attach great importance to understanding their motives and continuing to treat them with respect, as this is the only way we can continue to develop as a company. When employees return to us after leaving, their motivation is usually very positive - a valuable contribution to our corporate culture. Of course, we then also focus on creating a work and task area for the returnee with which they can fully identify and where they feel they belong."
4.3 Staying in touch with networking
To keep in touch with departing employees, it is a good idea to call them now and again or to contact them indirectly via an email newsletter. Former employees who are invited to company events or receive an annual birthday card feel more connected to their old employer. Alumni or social business networks such as LinkedIn are also a good way of maintaining long-term contact.
If employees leave the company because they do not see any opportunities for development and promotion, a talent pool can be the right choice. This lists former employees with potential new roles. If it doesn't fit now, it may look different in one, two or five years' time.
Nicole Frey
Head HR Germany, UBS Europe SE
"UBS is a very modern and international company. We attach great importance to respectful cooperation, diversity, equality and inclusion. More than 74,000 employees across all age groups work in more than 48 countries throughout the UBS Group ."
