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How is this for bold. A firm issued a press release on how they are adopting a new Boomerang strategy (I have not worked with them). That’s branding!

John

?Boomerangs? provide biggest return on investment
In a hot job market, some firms like Radical are
embracing ex-employees who sought greener pastures

May XX, 2006 (Vancouver) ? In the war for talent, there are no final good-byes.

Radical Entertainment is ensuring potential ?boomerangs? know the door is never closed because they may come back knocking. ?Boomerang? is a recently coined HR term that describes top-performing, ex-employees who are either purposely targeted and brought back, or return on their own volition.

Radical is a leader in retention best-practices and recognized as one of the top places to work in Canada. Both are big reasons why the Vancouver firm has reportedly one of the lowest employee attrition rates in the video-game industry. However, in a hot job market, an employee constantly faces the lure of more money, a more senior role or a posting presenting a unique opportunity. The ?boomerang trend? is fuelled by employees taking advantage of current market conditions, say leading HR experts.

Boomerang recruitment is also seen as a high return-on-investment activity because little effort must be spent in getting to know the candidate, says Dr. John Sullivan, a renown HR consultant and author, in a recent column on erexchange.com As well, boomerangs bring new skills and strategies on top of known competencies, states Sullivan, a Fortune 500 and Silicon Valley consultant who Fast Company magazine calls the ‘Michael Jordan of Hiring.?

Radical technical project manager Katrina Archer, for example, left Radical to join her dream company, Pixar, where she absorbed both new work experience and the studio?s creative culture. However, after three years at Pixar?s California studio, Archer wanted to return to Radical. Archer was welcomed back with open arms, says Leah Rubin, Vice President, Human Resources, Radical.

Archer even arranged to job-share her position with a female colleague ? part of Radical?s ongoing accommodation to work-life balance.

?Sometimes, as with Katrina?s Pixar opportunity, we?re just as excited as the employee when we learn where they?re headed, says Rubin. ?Not only because it?s a unique once-in-a-lifetime chance, but there?s the potential for the person to return to Radical with fantastic new experience and skills.?

Archer?s exit and re-entry is not unique. Other employees may be drawn to the opportunity to live and work overseas. Others may seek the promise of more money or an immediate senior position that Radical can not immediately accommodate.

?There?s the saying, ?The grass is always greener on the other side.? However, we hear from those who left — especially if making top dollar was their sole motivation — that they?ve soon learned the greener pasture was at Radical,? says Rubin.

The situation provides many happy returns for both Radical and the employee. Returning talent come with not only potentially new experience, but a greater appreciation of Radical?s work environment. For Radical, it?s a validation they?re a leader in treating talent well.

Sullivan agrees in his two-part online column, The Strategic Process of Rehiring Your Former Employees: How to develop boomerang and corporate alumni programs.

?Boomerangs make great hires because they strengthen retention efforts by exposing employees at risk of attrition to first-hand accounts of life outside the organization and the selling points of what brought them back,? he writes.

The hiring of boomerangs using a formal process is not widespread. Sullivan lists only a handful in his column. However, Radical?s exit interviews always underline potential re-entry.

?We?re always sorry to lose good talent — that?s why we commit so intensively to retention programs. We stress the door is always open, they?re leaving as a friend of Radical, and we hope they return one day,? says Rubin.

Of course, Radical?s confident strategy only works when you?re recognized as one of the best places to work in Canada. Radical is ranked among ?Canada?s Top 10 Employers for Young People,? ?Canada?s Top 100 Employers,? and ?B.C.?s Top 20 Employers? by Mediacorp Canada Inc. Radical is also continually rated as one of the best places to work in B.C. (#1 in 2002, #3 in 2004 ), according to BC Business magazine and Watson Wyatt.

Radical also employs a Manager of Retention, believed to be the only senior position in the video-game industry dedicated exclusively to retention, making sure employees stay happy ? and stay put.

Radical?s Manager of Retention is dedicated to developing career-pathing, monitoring wellness and work-life balances, establishing training and development opportunities and providing daily retention tips to company managers The initiative also highlights that moving your career forward doesn?t necessarily mean climbing the corporate ladder.

‘Career progression doesn?t always have to be stepping up ? it can be a broadening of your skill set and simply taking on more within the context of your current role,’ says Rubin. ‘While we might not have 40 technical director positions, we have a lot of things we need to get done with smaller teams so the opportunity to expand your own role is great.?

I agree that not only is the ROI high,in many cases the spinoffs with such hires is incalculable.Coincidentally,we have been discussing internally within our organisation on the process/activities which we need to evolve to reach out to our alumni.
More often than not,the first time boomerangs show more loyalty when compared to others.

Pankaj Khanna