Competition for experienced talent is aggressive and expensive. Hiring managers are afraid of making a hiring mistakes and interview processes are dragging on for weeks (or months!). Enter: boomerang hiring.

Boomerang hiring has become popular over the past few months. Companies need someone to hit the ground running without all the fanfare that comes along with recruitment, interviews & on-boarding.  Having someone who already knows the ropes is half the battle. But there are several drawbacks to this type of arrangement that largely solves a short-term problem.

• You’re re-packaging a break-up / old relationship.  Even if the employee / employer separation was amicable and a part of the natural progression of the employee’s career path, there is a reason that both parties accepted the terms of separation
• It doesn’t address the root of why the former employee looked elsewhere? Was it a lack of opportunity, compensation, flexibility, culture?  There was some type of catalyst that pushed them to seek another position.
• On the company side, there is a reason you let them go. Even if the employee ultimately made the decision to leave, there is a reason that you didn’t offer up more to get them to stay.  You let them go.
• You’ve forgotten the details. Boomerang hiring is comfortable. It makes you forget all the previous inconveniences and say, “it wasn’t that bad.”
• It only addresses short-term pain. More than likely, the boomerang hire will remember why they left and you will remember why you let them go. 
• It ignores long-term hiring issues, including lengthy or inefficient interviewing processes, poor recruitment practices, or overall uncertainty regarding staff augmentation at the organization.

Companies and job seekers are feeling very uncertain right now about the job market. Boomerang hiring is tempting because it provides a false sense of stability.  While not all boomerang hiring is doomed to fail, it is only a quick fix for most companies and job seekers. 

If your hiring process is too cumbersome, but you need to alleviate a staffing shortage, instead of looking backwards, consider a contract or contract-to-hire solution.