The Great Resignation resignees want to be rehired

The Great Resignation is over! Now, the people that left their jobs are going back to the companies they left. We look at the numbers.

A survey of 5,000 employees across the US and the UK revealed that 75% of respondents expressed an interest in maintaining contact with their previous employer.

Boomerang employees–this is what Anthony Klotz, the employment psychologist who coined the term “Great Resignation,” calls them. He predicts that this is the next dominant hiring trend. 

Klotz explains that hiring back employees who fled during the Great Resignation is a win-win scenario for both employee and employer.   

It can be mutually beneficial. Hiring back boomerang employees eliminates the need for familiarizing them with the company culture. Employers also cutback on training expenses. Plus, these employees who probably took on gigs or went into an entrepreneurial adventure during lockdown definitely have newly-acquired skills to bring back with them.

Better opportunity

Employees, meanwhile, weary after a tumultuous two-year pandemic journey, recognize that building a longer-term relationship with an employer can in fact lead to greater career progression than short stints at multiple companies would, Klotz explained in an article on Fast Company. 

Klotz, however, warns that although there are great benefits to boomerang employees, there are also pitfalls to avoid. 

Company leaders will need to convince ex-employees that the company has not stood still for the past two years. To do this, they need to tick off the things employees’ are looking for in an employer. 

According to talent management platform Talent Index’s research, over a quarter of 5,000 respondents say they want improved training and career development.

The availability of hybrid work is also among the factors that makes firms enticing to employees. Data from Talent Index show that those surveyed frequently chose flexible work hours as a benefit. Making the best of hybrid work for now, while keeping a close eye on the evolving preferences and demands from employees, is the right thing to do.

Showcasing how company culture has improved and become more resilient through increased and frequent company-wide touch-points could also serve to inspire optimism toward the next chapter among returning employees, the study suggests.

Based on the survey, a vast majority of respondents express enthusiasm about staying in touch with their former employers despite saying that the corporate culture is toxic. This puts the situation into perspective, leaders who put their employees first are investing in their company’s future. This is a paradigm shift that signals a new era of work. Calibration and adjustment are key elements to transforming the workspace, making it more conducive to corporate and employee growth.

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