Thinking Carefully about Boomerang Employees

How often do employees return to your company after departing for a promising opportunity elsewhere?  Why did they leave, and what caused them to return?  Anthony C. Klotz, Andrea Derler, Carlina Kim and Manda Winlaw have conducted some useful research on the topic of boomerang employees.  They found that returning to an organization where an individual once worked is quite common. Based on their analysis of extensive employee work records, "28% of “new hires” were actually boomerang hires who had resigned within the last 36 months."  Clearly, employees depart and often discover that the grass indeed was not greener elsewhere.  

What does this boomerang phenomenon mean for employees and employers?  For employees, the research implies that individuals must do more homework before jumping ship.  They need to go beyond what recruiters might be telling them and try to ascertain precisely what their role and responsibilities will be.  Moreover, they need to try to determine how the culture and values as articulated might differ from the actual practice within the organization.  Chris Argyris used to describe this schism as the difference between espoused values and values-in-use.  Employees also need to focus on how they leave their existing organization.  Ian Morris, co-founder of Likewise and former CEO of real estate software company Market Leader, once advised my students that they should always "leave well" when departing an organization.  You never know if and when your path may cross with that of a former co-worker or manager.  Preserving relationships during and after the departure may be very important for one's career.  It surely will help if you become a boomerang employee.

For companies, the boomerang phenomenon means two things. For the companies losing talent, managers  should maintain open lines of communication with talented former employees.  The research shows that many boomerangs occur shortly after the one year mark at the new company. Thus, managers should reach out around that time to see how things are going for the former employee at their new organization.  For the companies gaining talent, they need to think about how they can check in regularly with new employees to see if they are finding the position consistent with their expectations.  Identifying discrepancies between expectations and reality as early as possible can help to avoid misunderstandings, clarify roles and responsibilities, and make adjustments to better match workers' professional goals with organizational needs and demands.   Don't wait for the one-year merit review to have an in-depth conversation with a new employee because they may already have one foot out the door at that point.