Tip of the Week: Boomerang Programs

• Author: Melody Orth
• Posted: May 15, 2008
• Category: Sourcing Strategies
• Tags: Employee Retention, Sourcing Strategy, Tools and Resources
• Comments:

When it comes to Boomerang programs, they yield a pretty darn good ROI. Why? Well it’s simple – literally. Boomerang programs cost very little to implement and there is usually no expense in the “getting to know you” phase of recruiting a candidate.

Boomerangs make great hires for many reasons, such as knowing competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, possessing new and improved skills, and their existing knowledge about your company.

Many may think that hiring a boomerang is like bringing back a traitor – somebody who jumped ship and is not worthy to return. Well not so . . . in this day and age, loyalty to any one organization is almost unheard of. If a valuable employee leaves for a better offer, maybe we need to look at implementing a better retention program . . . but that is a conversation for another day.

Back to Boomerangs.

If you are looking for a fast, low fail way to recruit candidates that have EXACTLY what you are looking for, then a Boomerang program is just what you need. But you don’t want to extend the program to EVERY former employee that left the company. If somebody was fired or forced out, they are not a good candidate for a program like this. You want to target the top performers who left voluntarily and on good terms; former employees who retired and maybe have found that retirement is not all it’s cracked up to be; and even candidates that didn’t accept an offer elsewhere.

There are many companies that are doing Boomerang programs and doing them right – for instance, Deloitte & Touche has made as many as one-third of all new hires from their boomerang program.

For more information and to discuss how a Boomerang Program can fit into your overall Recruitment strategy, and to give you a much better ROI and reduce your cost-per-hire, contact us today, or give me a call (561) 277-1259.