The HR Dictionary

Boomerang Employee

A boomerang employee is an employee who leaves an employer and then returns to work for the same employer at a later date. Regardless of the cause, boomerang employee typically leaves on their own initiative rather than being fired by the company. 

The explanations for why workers come back are equally as unique and varied as those for leaving. It's possible that they had to relocate, but now their firm is offering remote working alternatives that weren't available before (think pre-pandemic). Some people may feel more prepared to do their previous duties now that they have fresh insights and experiences to share with the organization.

The benefits of rehiring someone are numerous and clear. They are first-hand familiar with your business and its culture. You may eliminate the entire question from the discussion because it's likely that the employee was a good fit for their position in the past. Naturally, bringing someone back onto the team will likely result in significantly lower hiring costs than searching for, selecting, and onboarding new employees. 

But it is critical to determine why they left because they did. It is important to find out why they believe this time will be better for them if the reasons for leaving in the first place are still present, they might want to leave again. You should also interview them just like you would any other candidate for a job at that level, especially if they are boomeranging back into a higher role than they were in previously. 

Having HR software in your organization would also facilitate this process as reinstating a boomerang employee can easily be done by using the same employee profile created previously.