RECRUITMENT

and vice presidents. Rehiring has been really good

especially at the middle level in Schneider Electric too.

"Organizations finding candidates for strategièally

important positions sometimes look at former

employees which clearly represent a vast pool," views

Dr. Shallni Sarin, director - BR, of Schneider Electric

India.

According to a Right Management study, only 10%

i u of over 1,000 employers surveyed don't rehire past

employees; i.e. 90% do rehire fonner employees. The

reh i ri ng i:ti0ramp-up time. Agreeing to this is Dr. Sarin, who adds,

`1 "These `outside-insiders' can walk a fine line: balancing

W i 3 1'la deep understanding of the company's culture with

L the right amount of perspective and independence to

push the changes necessary for organizational growth?

dFor example, in US many outplacement candidates are

e gebeing rehired by their former employers on contract

or project assignments to finish important or time-

sensitive initiatives.

Not only companies are considering rehiring people

who have left voluntarily but, also the ones which were

laid off during the recession period, although the reasons

The re-hiring scales keep

changing with time as HR

pros keep weighing its pros

and cons.

Recently, the job market is pepping up. Not

only new hires are being attracted, but

organizations are also keeping their

doors open for their former talents,

especially in this talent starved

market. In fact, at least 25-30% of

companies across all industries are considering

rehiring their ex-employees, anticipates

TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd. Rehiring may

happen in either small or large numbers

dependingupon the organizations rehiring practice

policies. "Certainly, as the economy improves and

the hiring increases, the proportion of rehiring will

also increase," Kavitha Suresh, senior manager - HR of

Ramco Systems predicts.

Irrespective of market conditions, as long as the

employee has been a good performer, he/she will be

sought after by any employer. Ramco Systems has

rehired ex-employees across levels like systems analysts,

business analysts, préject managers, sales managers

HUMAN CAPITAL * hurnancapitalonline.com

Organizations finding candidates for

strategically important positions sometimes

look at former employees... these `outside-

insiders' can balance a deep understanding

of the company's culture with the right amount

of perspective and independence to push

the changes necessary for growth.

OR. SIIALINI SARIN

DIRECTOR - HR SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC INDIA

for rehire remain same. A research from Right

Management reveals that 18% of laid off workers are

rehired by their former employers because of their

familiarity with the job 37%, understanding of

organization's culture 33%, and also the organization

minimizes the likelthood of a bad new hire 20%.

Furthermore, a survey done by an online recruitment

company discovered that 32% of employers who had

laid off their employees in 2009 planned on rehiring

workers in the first six months of 2010.

Rehiring er-employees is relevant also in the context

of talent shortage, and/or talent mismatch. In case of

talent shortage, there are many examples of rehiring in

different sectors as well, such as in oil and gas, aviation.

etc. ONGC rehired several of its retired oil exploration

experts to mitigate the global shortage of talent in that

area. Similarly, airlines have been rehiring pilots. On

the other hand, the potential talent pool may have

expanded in present times these people may not

essentially have the skills or experience some employers

need to deliver on business goals, which becomes a

case of talent mismatch. Actually, employers are

presently having trouble filling vacancies due to lack of

suitable talent. "In fact, a vety large number of new

hires fail within 12-18 months due to problems of

assimilation into the organization, adapting to the new

culture, developing friendly and comfortable

relationships with co-workers etc. This problem

becomes worse at more senior levels where the time

and space available for integration is more limited and

the pressure to perform is higher. Former employees

have a greater likelihood of success since they are

familiar with the culture and are likely to have retained

some links/association with people in the organization

from their previous stint," opines Dhruv Prakash,

managing director-India, leadership and talent

consulting from ICom/Ferry international.

Generally, people leave organizations in search of

diversity of experience or challenge to grow to their

full potential, which organizations are unable to provide

thereby stunting the growth of people. Thus, by going

out, people have the opportunity to go through more

developmental experiences and can join back when

the previous employer is ready to provide the next

level of challenge. Prakash says letting people go and

then taking them back can, thus, work to the advantage

of both the parties. Although, Dr. Sarin thinks it can be

a smart move to welcome back former high-flyers,

but, she prefers only under the right circumstances.

Rehiring, however, does have benefits Along with

tangible benefits like reduction in cost of recruitment

and training, shorter cycle time for the rehired

employee to become productive, proven performance

record of the rehired employee and improved

employee morale rehiring has many intangible benefits

like a rehire gives positive feedback on the work culture/

role, in comparison to the other organizations that the

person has worked with. "This proves to be an immense

reaffirmation of faith in our organization. For a product

company like ours, rehiring is an additional advantage,

because they are ready to be deployed almost

immethately. also notice that the loyalty/engagement

of the rehires towards the business have increased

after the rehiring," avers Suresh.

Additionally, Dr. Sarin shares, there have been cases

where employees have left in haste to know what is in

store for them in other organizations after having

worked with Schneider for long. But, when they join

the new organization, they start realizing the benefits

they enjoyed while they were with Schneider. This

enables them to look back to Schneider and if they

were performing well, we welcome them back with

open arms.

Challenges In rehiringRehiring is a smart practice and many companies have

40 * July2010 wwhurnancaprtalonline.wm U HUMAN CAfltL

RECRUITMENT

welcomed theft ex-employees in recent times. The issue

that organizations may face is on the guarantee that

the retread will not make similar mistakes again. Mostly,

when companies rehire old employees, they expect

that the second time hiring will last for a longer

duration.. .dll retirement. Generally, it is seen that the

boomerang and the company communicate more

openly with each other than their earlier association.

In fact, a regular quitter can always be recognized

during the process of rehiring.

The challenges that a company may face in hiring

a boomerang could be:

* Retreads sometimes join back with the baggage

they left with, such as any bad habits that they formedon the job or any unresolved dispute with former

colleagues who are still present with the company.

* Ex-employees may have inter-personal differences

with employees recruited during their absence.

* There could be sensitivities linked with the rehired

employee's position like former junior employees that

may presently he on higher position now.

Other than these three main issues, rehired

employees need to be handled very cautiously, feels

Dr. Sarin. She pinpoints, though they have the benefit

of knowing the organization environment and culture,

still they require time and resources to form

relationships with newly inducted employees and also

refreshing theft existing contacts. In many cases, rehired

employees sometimes undermine the fact that they

would also be seen as a new resource in the

orgafiization and need to develop niche for themselves

the way they did in theft earlier stint. Hence, it becomes

very important that returning employees need to be

taken care of and handled in a more sensitive manner

to enable them to re-establish themselves in the

organization as fast as possible.

Prakash advises companies need to have very clear

cut policies and criteria for rehiring. If the program

gets to be seen as a means of gaining salary or level

advantage over colleagues who stayed back, it is almost

certain to fail. An employee should be rehired only if

s/he has acquired demonstrable superior skills which

are relevant to the future growth of the organization.

In case the employee is brought back at same or similar

level merely to fill a vacancy then it is critical to ensure

that parity with others and ratio to previously drawn

salary is maintained within defensible range. Rehiring

within a short period, therefore, is more challenging.

HR consultants often advice candidates to leave on

a good note from previous employments as in a

globalized, competitive employment market keeping

positive networking relationships gives job seekers an

edge and incase of employers develops `employer of

choice' value. Research proves that building such

relationships is beneficial for both the candidate and

the employer over time.

In case of laid off ex-employees companies see if

the lay off was handled well; if rehiring is considered.

The issues also depend on, which laid off employee is

considered for rehiring? The person who was laid off

for business/economic conditions or due to behavioral

or administrative issues? In fact, there are stigmas

attached to laid off employees. In the previous situation,

there may not be any stigma attached as in most cases

people understand the rationale around staff

reduction. ..the company was looking at its business

model and required to make some alterations and

since it's not linked with performance, the stigmas

seize to exist. Although, in the latter case, says, Dr.

Sarin i.e. laid off due to behavioral or administrative

issues does raise eyebrows, but, then it depends on the

rehiring process, which makes them rehiring back

effective. If the returning employees are rehired purely

on basis of fresh assessment and past performance

parameters, then the chance of having concerns is

very less. Also, the boomerang needs to be introduced

company Ii ke ours,For a product

rehiring is an additional advantage, because

they are ready to be deployed almost

immediately. We also notice that the loyalty!

engagement of the rehires towards the

business have increased after rehiring,

KAVITHA SIJRESH

SENIOR MANAGER - HR RAMCO SYSTEMS

HUMAN CAPITAL * whumancaØitaIonIne.com July2010 * 41

RECRUITMENT

to the existing workforce in such a way that his

comeback is seen in a positive manner and no stigmas

are generated with his rejoining. HR and the hiring

manager play a very vital role here and they can make

this transition very effective, elucidates, Dr. Sarin.

Advantages and disadvantages related to hiring ex

employees keep shifting. Also, each organization that

rehires ex-employees will have different paybacks and

limitations. However, benefits of rehiring ex-employces

have definitely outweighed the disadvantages for many

organizations that have hired retreads.

Rehiring practicesOrganizations that have a rehiring practice have a

definite rehire policy set in place. Schneider finds out

the niche it is looking for, then glosses over the list of

ex-employees and identifies the right fit. The company

examines some aspects before making an offer: finds

out the work history of the employee identified;

understands the reasons for his quitting; gathers

information about his persona1it attitude towards work

and his inter-personal relations, what the management

felt about him and vice versa; and also checks if there

were any major concerns about his health. "if we are

satisfied with the ex-employee's track record and

convinced of his worth then we seriously consider

taldnghim back," says Dr. Sarin. She adds merelymaking

an offer might not bring that person back to us; we

also find out whether the retread is actually willing to

move from the current job.

Furthermore, as Dr. Sarin explains, they assess the

extent to which his absence affected the organization;

compare his performance with other talented ex

employees to rate the quality of his work, identify the

benefits the organization Is likely to gain by hiring him.

In parallel they trace the evolution of his career after

he left the organization; gather information about the

companies he worked for, the duration in each company

if he changed from one to another, the posts he

served and his performance. This gives a fair idea

about his approach to work and his market value.

At Ramco the process of rehiring has been in

practice for a long thne now. There too, depending on

the business need for a specific skill, a similar process

is followed. "7pically, an ex-employee is interviewed,

irrespective ofthe fact that whether he/she is considered

for the same position or a different role from the

earlier one. Also, due care is taken during fitment of

compensation/position, depending on the time lapsed

from the exit and the availability of the competency

internally to avoid any problems later," says Suresh.

Organizations also consider whether the relieving

process was handled by the employee in a professional

manner and if s/he had given due notice period.

Most organizations have created and are engaged

in alumni networks as this is most effective in keeping

in touch with ex-employees. Many companies have

created alumni groups on their company websites or

on social networking sites like Linkedln and use that to

keep track of the progress of individuals and keep

A CASE IN POINTContrary to the above, in a true case of temporary rehiringIn a pubrication house lead the boomerang employee torealistically mar the relationship with her ex-employet In

fact the first time the employee had left on good terms and

approximately after a year and a half the ex-employer

contacted the boomerang employee and offered her a

higher position of managing editor than her previous sub

editors position. Of course, the boomerang was overjoyedand happy for It, although, she refused the position as she

was already content with her present job, and knew that

this place was toxic. The ex-employer was lacing a talent

shortage on this position given the kind of industry he wasin. Thus, the employer suggested to the boomerangemployee to work temporary on a contract basis of threemonths on Saturdays only tifi he finds a new hire for thevacant position.The boomerang employee, after contemplating, agreed asshe respected her former employer and wanted to M him

out. At first, things went well, but, on the Third Saturday

of the first month her temporary employer started shouting

at her, abusing her for deadlines despite knowing that thelime given is very less., three days to finish the entiremagazine on her own as them were no sub editors plustrain a non media trainee for sub editing! To top it extremeinterference in work by non-editorial people was allowed.

This continued for the next two issues. The boomerang

employee tried voicing out the problems, but, all in vain.

However, she successfully completed all the three issues.

During exit, instead of thanking the boomerang employee,

the employer snubbed her off, and she quietly exited, but,committed to herself not to ever communicate with thistoxic organization. This case highlights that challenges maynot just lie in front of employers while rehiring but, even forthe ex-employee it may get tough, it everything is not

considered before joining.

contact information of ex-employees current and

inform them about company's progress and

achievements/developments. For example, Ramco's

rehiring policy is integrated with its recruitment strategy

The company uses online media like Linkedln and

Facebook, to remain connected with ex-employees.

"Those who have been rehired spread the good word

about their positive experience in coming back to the

company." says, Suresh.

Well, industry experts suggest that boomerang

programs should not target every ex-employee.

Targeting some categories of former employees like

top performers who voluntarily left; top performers

who were in key positions; top performers with key

sldlls, contacts, or experience; retirees who may not

have found retirement to be all that great and are up

for work; and top finalists who accepted another job;

long-term consultants or contractors; and promising

interns who failed to return make up a brilliant alumni

group.

r

42 * July2010 .humancaplalunlinecom U HUMAN CA&AL