Familiar with the phrase, "Out with the old, in with the new"?

Well, when it comes to your team, it may not be the most sage advice.  

In a recent Workhuman research report, nearly two-thirds of employees said they’d return to work for a former employer in the future. And that number is being reflected in the rise of “boomerang employees” — AKA people who are rehired by the same company.

Compared to hiring a brand new employee, welcoming back a former team member can save time and money through reduced onboarding needs. Boomerang employees also come with the added bonus of having an existing understanding of your company’s inner clockwork, processes, and work culture.

Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll need to consider when onboarding a boomerang employee and how this process is different from an onboarding experience with a brand new staffer.

What is a boomerang employee and what makes the onboarding process unique? 

We’re in the throes of the “Great Resignation,” and it’s no exaggeration to say employees are leaving the workplace in droves. From COVID-19-induced resignations and layoffs to employees feeling overworked, undervalued, or in need of flexibility while working from home, the empty seats are palpable.

At the same time, the “Great Resignation” has given employees and employers alike time to reflect on their relationships with their work environment and fellow team members. 

The verdict? 

Many workers have realized they preferred the conditions and work culture at their previous job. 

From the business end, companies are investing in alumni-recruitment efforts to welcome back employees who left on good terms. Not only are these boomerang employees more productive when they return, but they can offer fresh ideas and bring new skills to the table. 

There are several key factors to keep in mind when a boomerang employee returns, and that starts with tailoring their onboarding process to meet their particular needs so you can retain them for the long haul.

Rehiring boomerang employees: pros and cons

Hiring a boomerang employee is less about recreating the exact details and dynamics of the previous role and more about providing a new opportunity for both parties. 

This might be a good time to gauge how the employee has grown during their time away, and assess the tools and resources they’ll need to continue doing so in the future.

Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons of rehiring a boomerang employee. 

On the plus side, a boomerang employee may:

• Already have a foundational understanding of your company’s processes, policies, and work culture.
• Require less of a learning curve than a traditional new hire.
• Bring new perspectives and ideas from other work environments.
• Improve employee morale (seeing a former employee choose to return is a strong endorsement of the company’s culture and offerings).
• Come equipped with insight into competitor market knowledge.
• Have lower training costs due to existing certifications.
• Have existing relationships with colleagues and management.
• Be less costly to recruit.

However, a boomerang employee may also:

• Leave your company again (they’ve done it once, so…)
• Resurface past grievances or issues.
• Be out of step with your current culture and policies.
• Not necessarily be the best candidate for the role despite their familiarity with the company.

What you’ll need before onboarding

The onboarding process is, in many ways, unique for all new employees. This couldn’t be more true for a boomerang employee. 

Instead of assuming what they do or don’t remember, here’s a list of data and tools it may help to have on hand to help you customize their onboarding process.

Data

• Details of the employee’s new and previous roles.
• Feedback from their exit interview including, why they left the company, what they felt the company could change, any grievances (if applicable).
• How long they worked for your company.
• How long they’ve been away from the company.
• The number of teammates or collaborators who worked with the employee in the past and who are still working at the company.
• Which Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have changed since the employee last worked with your company.
• A list of additional skills or training that they have acquired since leaving their previous role.

Tools

A boomerang employee onboarding checklist might include:

• High-and low-level overviews of the job.
• Goal-setting initiatives.
• Required and optional training modules (with due dates).
• Accountability opportunities.
• Job shadowing goals and schedule (if applicable).
• An introduction to their new team and the workplace culture.

You may want to consider creating a business playbook (sometimes called a “company playbook”) to ease your boomerang employee’s transition. This might include information such as:

• Their role.
• Organization background: its set-up, history, and business strategy.
• Key team members, their roles, and contact information.
• SOPs.
• Contact information for finance, HR, and other key departments.

Top considerations when onboarding a boomerang employee 

There are a few extra considerations you might want to bear in mind when onboarding a boomerang employee: 

Avoid assuming the employee still has a clear understanding of the mission and SOPs

Onboarding a boomerang employee can save you time, money, and other resources, but it’s also important to remember that your company is likely to have evolved in their absence. 

Your policies, SOPs, and work culture may have changed since the employee left the first time — even if they haven’t been gone that long. Don’t make assumptions about their existing knowledge of these factors. 

A make sure you have clear game plan for onboarding them— it's a crucial step. In fact, you may want to consider a Learning Management System (LMS). It's an efficient and effective way to make sure boomerang employees have everything they need to train for the position. It’s also a great way for them to track their onboarding progress and know who they can communicate with if they have questions.

Refrain from cutting them loose to navigate the new role on their own

Check in with your boomerang employee as if they were a completely new hire.

It’s easy to assume your boomerang employee will automatically hit the ground running without a learning curve. However, it’s still a transition, so a slight learning curve is likely, no matter how familiar they were with their previous role. 

Clear and consistent communication and the occasional “check in” can help to ease some of that re-entry anxiety.

Don’t forget to consider how a boomerang employee can impact your company’s work culture

Let’s say your new employee returned to fill a role that boasts a much larger salary and perks (hello, corner office with a view!) 

You may have passed over three internal applicants before hiring a boomerang employee. And those internal applicants may now be part of your boomerang employee’s team. 

This type of atmosphere has the potential to impact your workplace culture, so it’s well worth considering these types of interpersonal dynamics ahead of time so you can tackle them with transparency. 

How to re-onboard your boomerang employee

Integrating a boomerang employee into your company and work culture and providing them with the tools they’ll need to tackle their new role is at the heart of the re-onboarding process. 

Here is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to get you started:

Step 1: Review the employee’s past data/performance

When it comes to predicting employee success, you have a clear advantage when it comes to a boomerang employee. You already have insights into their past performance, personality, and what they bring (or fail to bring) to your company culture.

Still, reviewing this information can be to the advantage of all involved. It helps to ensure that goals and expectations are well aligned. 

Step 2: Tailor your existing onboarding process to meet their needs

When it comes to customizing the onboarding process for a boomerang employee, there are a couple of factors at play. 

For instance, if the employee only left six months before — after working there for 12 years — they may not need to complete a training module on the history of the company! 

Taking into account the duration of the boomerang employee’s time with your company, and what has changed since they left, can help you to create an efficient onboarding process that neither rehashes familiar material or omits anything new. 

Step 3: Create a business playbook

Instead of fielding a continuous flood of questions from your new hire about the nitty-gritty of their role, creating a business playbook for your company will save time, money, and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Imagine organizing all of the essential information they’ll need in one place. Not only will this make their onboarding process easier, but it’ll also streamline ongoing training and drastically improve your team’s efficiency.

Step 4: Focus on role-based training

It’s essential for any new employee — boomerang or otherwise — to have the technical knowledge and skills to succeed in their new role. 

To get started with their role-specific training, consider the following:

• Create a role-specific training development plan.
• Include a clear, detailed description of their role.
• Indicate which specific skills they’ll need to succeed in this role.
• Assess which training modules/content they’ll need to develop or improve each required skill.
• Only include applicable content for what they do on a day-to-day basis.

Step 5: Create a Job Scorecard

Even a boomerang employee needs to have a clear understanding of what’s expected of them in their new role. Cue the job scorecard.

A job scorecard can include any of the following:

• Identifying information: name, directing manager, role, etc.
• A list of focus areas and goals for their particular role.
• A list of key responsibilities in their role.
• Relevant success metrics (customer satisfaction, response time, etc.).

No need to worry about creating a job scorecard from scratch — this easy-to-use template can help make your expectations clear from the beginning, and also gives your employee clear goals to strive for.

Step 6: Communicate, communicate, communicate

Checking in with your re-hire to see if they’re adjusting well to their new role and integrating with their team is essential to welcoming them back with open arms. 

Instead of waiting for them to approach you with questions, it can be beneficial to take a proactive approach and start the conversation. 

Contacting your boomerang employee throughout the onboarding process helps ensure the lines of communication are open for any questions or clarification needed. 

Ready to streamline the onboarding process?

No matter how familiar a boomerang employee might be with your company’s SOPs and workplace culture, the onboarding process can be a stressful, yet exciting time. 

Ensuring they have access to all of the information (and teammates) they need to be successful, and ultimately, thrive in their new role should be at the cornerstone of their onboarding experience.

The most effective way to set them up for success is to ensure everything they need to thrive is in one, easily-accessible place. 

Creating a business playbook for your company is one way to create tailored training content for your boomerang employee and track their completion. That way, they can work confidently and independently in their new role, taking them from “just re-hired” to “fully productive” in no time.