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Building a Better Boomerang
(Innovative Strategies to Get Your Best People Back)

by John Putzier, M.S., SPHR

Current research proves what most high-tech employers already know. That is, not only are your best people the most vulnerable to leave, but they are usually the ones in whom you have also just invested significant time and money in their training and have yet to maximize a return on that investment.

Recent studies confirm that it is neither your entry-level employee nor your senior-level executive who is most likely to depart; but that mid-level person in the 3-7 years of experience range. This is not a new phenomenon, but it has become a particularly costly one for technology and other high-performance companies because of the incredible demand for intellectual capital. In fact, the Corporate Leadership Council recently estimated that the “average” cost of losing a high tech employee is $123,000!

Therefore, it is obviously important to find creative ways to retain good people. But, equally important, but often overlooked, is the need to understand the psychological dynamics of why good people leave and what you can do to improve the odds that they might return. In other words, don’t just reduce turnover, but increase turn-around! Thus, the term “boomerang” strategies.

Your 3-7 year employees are no longer in the honeymoon period of their employment relationship, nor do they have a basis for comparison as to whether the grass is truly greener on the other side. In most cases this is probably their first professional job/employer, and being wooed by the competition is not only ego-boosting, but also very tempting. We all have bad days and bad moods, and the more options that appear, the more likely they are to explore, and maybe exercise one of them.

But, the employment relationship is not always better the second time around. So, as the first mate, why not take advantage of the real possibility that your ex-employees may want to annul their divorce from you? The same psychological dynamics that cause good people to leave can also cause them to return!

Delayed Exit Interviews
Most employers who conduct exit interviews, do them during the person’s last days or even on their last day of employment. And, their purpose is usually just to find out why people are leaving. Although this is better than not doing one at all, it really doesn’t serve your purposes as well as it could.

Wait a couple of weeks after they have started their new job and then send an exit questionnaire. Better yet, set up a phone interview; or even best, arrange to meet over coffee (or, for techies, M&M’s, Coke or beer) to conduct it. Not only will they be more candid, but they (and you) will have a better sense of how their new job and employer compares. This is your opportunity to start planting some seeds for their return, particularly since their honeymoon is now over and their period of blissful ignorance has expired. Here are some of the seeds you can plant:
  • “Get Out of Jail Free” Card
    If you know for a fact that you would rehire this person no matter what (i.e., they are a rare talent, you know it, and you’ll always need it), give them a “get out of jail free” card that entitles them to immediate re-employment without going through Human Resources or any other bureaucratic process requirements first. “You want a job? You got it!” It is a powerful symbolic gesture that reinforces their value to you and leaves them with a very positive last impression of what they are leaving. They can escape the jail of your competition any time! After all, why do you need to check references, or complete any other pre-employment requirements? You already hired them once, and they have obviously proven themselves to you, or you wouldn’t want them back, right? You’ve already got something better than references or credentials; you’ve got past performance!

  • Bridge/Restore Service
    When a high-performer leaves, don’t let your ego get in the way of your success as an employer. Show regret, wish them well and tell them that you would love to have them back if their new employment doesn’t work out like they had hoped it would. And, to capitalize on the fact that the honeymoon period always wears off, tell them that if they return to your company within one year, you will not only restore their prior service, but you will also “bridge” their service for the time they were gone (i.e., they will be treated as if they had never left). This means that their vacation schedule is accelerated and any other perks of tenure continue to build as if they had never left.

    Think about this. It costs nothing if they do not exercise the option, and next to nothing if they do, but it plants a year long seed in their brain that they can defect and be kept whole. They can have their cake and eat it too! If you have to justify it another way, think of it as a leave of absence or a hiatus. The ROI on this incentive is huge if you recover valuable talent.

    Bottom line: Employees who leave and come back are the most loyal employees you will ever have.

    There are several other twists that you can put on this incentive. For example, what if the first year lapses and you still want to lure them back? Offer to restore but not bridge their service after a year. Or, you can add the caveat that this bridge or restoration of service will not take effect until they have been back with you for another year. Again, it is a very inexpensive yet effective way of keeping your hooks in them for as long as possible, to start realizing a return on your prior investment and to maximize retention, all at the same time!

  • Alumni Associations
    Just like your college uses alumni associations to keep in touch (and keep you contributing), you can do the same. It’s not a sign of failure to have a lot of “ex-employees.” It may even be a sign of success! Your graduates are in demand! The only problem is, you paid for their tuition. Do you want to recoup your losses?

    Create a database of alumni and keep in touch, both electronically and by hard copy. Invite them to appropriate company events (announcements, annual meetings, socials, etc.). Send them your newsletter, press releases and other positive communications so they not only remember you exist, but see that you are doing well (even without them). Again, treat them as if they are on sabbatical or hiatus, not just dearly departed.

    Even better, personalize it. Assign your alumni to various “linkages” within the company (current employees) to manage the relationship and to keep in touch in other ways. They can attach a personal note to your alumni mailings, or even call them or meet with them on occasion. You can even create an incentive for the linkage person in the event their alum becomes a boomerang (just like your other “bird dog” bonuses).

  • External Job Postings
    If you have an internal job posting process, why not put your alumni on the distribution list? It’s another alumni benefit (a placement office) of having graduated from your company. In order not to offend your current employees, alumni can go into a 2nd tier status. In other words, for positions not filled first by current employees, your alumni get preference over the rest of the world. Not only does that dangle another carrot in front of a potentially disenchanted alum, but it is also a whole lot cheaper and more reliable than using head hunters or traditional advertising.

  • Wedding Receptions
    So, let’s say one of these strategies works! Your ex comes back! This is cause for celebration, so take advantage of the opportunity to showcase your success. If you’re a technology or other high-performance company, you probably already know how to have fun. Re-hiring a former employee is a great excuse for showing off.

    Send out publicity and press releases to both your local media and to the media in the alum’s hometown, college press, etc. After all, that’s where you found them? What a great testimonial to you as an employer. People who leave actually come back. And, don’t forget to send a copy of the wedding invitation to your boomerangs-to-be! That will get them thinking, too.

    Have a party! Wedding cake, confetti, the whole thing! After all, look at all the money you saved by not paying head hunters or advertisers, and not hiring an unknown? Oh, and by the way, be sure the wedding gift is an engraved, golden boomerang!

    John Putzier is the author of “Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work” (AMACOM, New York, 2001) .

    Copyright © John Putzier. All rights reserved.

    END
 
 
 
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