Should You Re-Hire An Employee Who Left Your Company?



It’s becoming increasingly common for an employee to leave their workplace, either on their own or through lay-offs, only to have them re-apply a few months or even years later. 

Also known as “boomerang hiring,” re-hiring former employees was once considered a taboo topic, and many companies ruled it out entirely. 

But now, in an era where employees frequently job hop in search of greener pastures, should you consider re-hiring a former employee? Unfortunately, the answer isn’t always cut and dry, nor will it be the same with every boomerang employee. 

You’ll need to carefully consider several crucial factors before making your decision. Additionally, you’ll always need new background screenings — you never know what might’ve changed since they left. 

Should you re-hire someone who left your company? Keep reading to learn how to assess each boomerang employee to make your decision.

Should You Re-Hire? The Answer Isn’t Always the Same

Re-hiring a former employee can often be a good idea, but sometimes it should be avoided. How do you know the difference?

Let’s explore both options to help you decide if a boomerang employee will become an asset — or a liability. 

When Does it Make Sense to Re-Hire?

The first factor to consider is why they left. Were they terminated, or did they leave voluntarily to pursue other employment opportunities?

If they left for another opportunity, but the grass wasn’t as green as they expected, re-hiring might make sense. Some of the benefits of re-hiring include:

• 
  The employee already knows your company culture and how you operate.
• You can reduce training time and costs since they only need to be caught up on new changes.
• Boomerang employees are often appreciative of getting a second chance, which can improve productivity and loyalty.
• A Harvard study found that boomerang hires have predictable performance based on previous employment, which can be positive or negative.

Re-hiring might be worthwhile if they voluntarily left and were previously ideal employees. But what about boomerang applicants that were terminated?

When Might Re-Hiring Be a Bad Idea?

What if employment was terminated due to poor performance, attendance, or a violation of company policies? Re-hiring might be a bad idea. 

The first factor to consider is the exact situation that led to letting them go. Is there any reason to believe things will be different with a second chance? 

Re-hiring might be worth considering if they missed too many days due to a temporary situation. But if they consistently underperformed, why would things be different this time?

Additionally, some boomerang applicants that were let go can have lingering feelings of betrayal or resentment. These feelings can affect both their performance and your other employees.

Consult or Create Your Re-Hiring Policy

Does your company have a re-hiring policy? If not, it’s worth creating a policy to help guide re-hiring decisions.

For example, your policy might clearly state that employees who were terminated for poor performance can not be re-hired or cannot be re-hired for a specific timeframe. Alternatively, employees who voluntarily left the company and gave appropriate notice can be eligible for re-hiring. 

Having a defined policy will streamline re-hiring decisions. Hiring managers can simply consult the policy and make faster decisions.

You Still Need Appropriate Background Screenings

You'll still need new background checks if you’ve decided to re-hire a former employee. 

Depending on your industry, new screenings may be a legal requirement. But even if it’s not required, conducting new background screenings will help ensure you have up-to-date information about a boomerang candidate. 

Let’s discuss a few real-world examples to demonstrate why you need new background checks.

Real World Example: Food Delivery Drivers

Restaurants depend on delivery drivers, and they can often be in short supply. When a former driver re-applies, hiring them on the spot is tempting. 

However, what if their driving abstract has changed since they left? For example, perhaps they went to work for another restaurant, but they were terminated following new citations or accidents. 

Running a new driving abstract and background check will keep you informed about their current status rather than the status when you first hired the driver. Having safe, reliable drivers is essential, and new background checks will ensure you do. 

Real World Example: Vulnerable Sector Employees

It’s a legal requirement to conduct a vulnerable sector criminal background check for specific industries, such as healthcare or child care. 

If your clinic had a nurse voluntarily leave but had excellent work performance, it’s worth re-hiring. But do you know if there have been any incidents since the nurse left?

Conducting a new vulnerable sector criminal background check will uncover any potential issues that have occurred since they left your clinic. If so, you’ll avoid taking on new liabilities. But if not, you can confidently re-hire the nurse.

Real World Example: Retail Seasonal Workers

Seasonal workers are common in retail to help cover the busy holiday season. It’s common for seasonal workers to be let go when the busy months are over, even if they were high performers and problem free. 

You likely conducted a pre-employment screening before hiring them last season, so should you hire them again without one this season?

Retail workers are often viewed as low-risk employees, but they can also be responsible for theft or a bad shopper experience. Conducting a new pre-employment screening will ensure that the seasonal worker has not had any potential issues since they were last hired. 

You’ll have confidence that you won’t be inviting new liabilities to your company, and instead, have the same high-performing worker as last season.

Are you Re-Hiring an Employee? Hire Performance Can Help

Re-hiring is often a great idea. You’ll cut down on training costs, have predictable job performance, and create a loyal employee. However, you should still conduct new background checks appropriate for your industry before welcoming them back.

Are you considering a boomerang candidate? Let us know if you have any questions to help you decide if re-hiring is worth it or not.