​Within corporate talent management, companies constantly seek innovative strategies to attract top talent. One emerging trend is "boomerang employees"—former employees who return to the organisation after time away.

Leveraging corporate alumni programmes to facilitate this process is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. Our Executive Search & Selection team work with many organisations with successful alumni programmes and have plenty of knowledge and insight to offer. 

This blog post delves into the benefits and strategies behind this trend and how companies can effectively implement corporate alumni programmes to enhance their recruitment efforts.

The Rise of the Boomerang Employee

The concept of boomerang employees challenges the traditional notion that once an employee leaves a company, they are gone for good. In reality, many former employees return to their previous employers after gaining new experiences, skills, and perspectives elsewhere. This trend is driven by several factors:

1. Career Development: Employees often leave organisations to seek new challenges and opportunities for growth. Upon achieving these goals, they may find that returning to their former employer offers a unique blend of familiarity and new opportunities.

2. Cultural Fit: Boomerang employees have already adapted to the company culture and values, making their reintegration smoother compared to new hires.

3. Network and Relationships: Maintaining professional relationships with former colleagues and managers can create a strong pull factor for employees considering a return.

The Role of Corporate Alumni Programmes

Corporate alumni programmes are structured initiatives designed to keep former employees engaged with the organisation. These programmes serve as a bridge, maintaining a positive relationship with alumni and paving the way for potential re-employment. Here’s how these programmes can be leveraged effectively:

1. Building a Robust Alumni Network: Creating an exclusive network for former employees allows them to stay connected with the company. This can be achieved through dedicated social media groups, regular newsletters, and alumni events. Such platforms enable alumni to share their achievements, stay updated on company news, and explore opportunities for collaboration.​

2. Offering Continued Value: Providing value to alumni is crucial for maintaining engagement. This can include offering access to professional development resources, exclusive webinars, industry insights, and even career coaching services. By investing in the continued growth of former employees, companies demonstrate their commitment to long-term relationships.

3. Highlighting Success Stories: Showcasing the achievements of boomerang employees can inspire others to consider returning. Success stories can be featured in newsletters, on the company’s website, and through social media channels. This not only recognises the contributions of returning employees but also strengthens the company’s employer brand.

4. Creating Re-engagement Opportunities: Proactively reaching out to alumni with tailored job opportunities can significantly boost re-engagement. Companies can use data analytics to match alumni profiles with current job openings, ensuring that the opportunities presented are relevant and appealing.

Benefits of Hiring Boomerang Employees

The benefits of welcoming back former employees are numerous:

1. Faster Onboarding: Boomerang employees are already familiar with the company’s culture, processes, and systems, resulting in a shorter onboarding period and better productivity. By keeping the lines of communication open with alumnus, it makes it easier to reach out down the line knowing how their knowledge and skills have developed and what kind of role they’dnow be interested in, which can reduce recruitment costs and marketing efforts.

2. Reduced Recruitment Costs: Rehiring former employees can be more cost-effective than sourcing and training entirely new talent. The recruitment process is streamlined, and the risk of a poor cultural fit is minimised.

3. Enhanced Loyalty and Engagement: Employees who return to a company often exhibit a renewed sense of loyalty and commitment. Their decision to come back indicates a strong alignment with the company’s values and mission.It’s equally confidence-boosting for existing employees who will see return employees as validation that the organisation is a great place to work where people development is valued. 

4. Knowledge Transfer: Boomerang employees bring back valuable external insights and new skills acquired during their time away, enriching the company’s knowledge base and fostering innovation.

5. Referrals: Boomerang employees are more likely to be an ambassador for your brand. They’ll add confidence to the existing workforce knowing that return employees are welcomed and pushed to develop their skills, and it will enhance the brand from a marketing perspective. 

Implementing an Effective Corporate Alumni Programme

​To maximise the potential of corporate alumni programmes, companies should consider the following best practices:​

1. Dedicated Alumni Management: Appointing a dedicated alumni relations manager or a dedicated function in HR ensures that the programme receives the necessary attention and resources. This role involves coordinating communications, organising events, and fostering relationships with alumni.

2. Utilising Technology: Leveraging technology platforms can streamline alumni engagement. Specialised software solutions can manage alumni databases, track interactions, and automate communications, making the programme more efficient and scalable.

3. Personalised Engagement: Tailoring communications and opportunities to individual alumni preferences enhances engagement. Personalised emails, targeted job recommendations, and customised event invitations show alumni that they are valued as individuals.

4. Measuring Success: Regularly evaluating the programme’s effectiveness through metrics such as alumni participation rates, rehire rates, and feedback surveys helps identify areas for improvement and demonstrate the programme’s value to the organisation.

Boomerang Employees

The rise of boomerang employees underscores the importance of maintaining positive relationships with former employees. Corporate alumni programmes offer a strategic avenue for companies to tap into this valuable talent pool. By fostering an ecosystem to future-proof talent, providing opportunities for employees to return with enhanced knowledge and skills, it demonstrates a commitment to the wellbeing of the workforce, and showcases the long-term relationships it’s built by encouraging career development. Recruiting alumnus, when leveraged correctly, can revolutionise the way companies consider talent management in today’s competitive landscape. Research from UKG Workforce Institutediscovered that nearly 40% of workers would consider going back to a company where they once worked, so there’s a lot of potential for companies to put a strategy in place to keep connected to alumnus and provide a positive leaving experience for them. 

If you’re looking for advice regarding your talent management strategies, get in touch with our Executive Search and Selection team who have extensive experience working with organisations that boast successful alumni programmes. With their knowledge and insight, they’re able to guide companies through their recruitment processes, including targeting alumni employees and building a strategy with appeals to the demographic.