Recruiting former employees must be an effective form of recruitment?

Recruiting former employees is a form of recruitment that brings many benefits

“Why not if they are good enough? Have you ever been to a favorite restaurant and always ordered the same food? Probably a lot of times right? Chances are you'll like the other items on the menu as well, but you know what you get is always better.

Re-hiring old employees is similar. In a sea of new candidates with a lot of questions, you never know exactly who they are, what their abilities are, whether they will do the job well or get along with the team. No matter how thorough the interviewing process, you never know how the individual will fit into the business until you hire them.

But when it comes to hiring old people, it's different. You already know this person and what type of employee they are. They are familiar with the company culture and may know other colleagues. This familiarity will greatly reduce risks both in terms of job performance and environmental suitability” – Senior HR commented.

“There are many benefits that come from hiring former employees. In most cases, you know these people, their personalities, work ethic, and why they left your company. They also already know your product, culture, and service delivery model. This can significantly reduce training costs while they can also add value to the business for learning new things.

If the reason an employee is leaving is due to layoffs and if there are no performance issues, then this could be an employee worth rehiring, especially if they were previously a top performer.

Not long ago, we lost a talented member of our programming team. She's just graduated from high school, but she's very capable. Unfortunately there was a reorganization in the department and feeling the lack of interest from the new management, she resigned and joined another company. From the moment you apply for leave until you officially leave, you are still very professional: give 1 month notice and try to do a good job until the last day.

1 year later, I happened to meet you and when I learned that you wanted to come back while the company also needed personnel, I knew I needed to get her back to work right away because in my heart I still miss such an employee. 

Not to be disappointed, from the very first day she had new ideas on how to improve the training process and how to present her work to clients by learning many new things.

However, there are also many potential risks

Contrary to the consensus opinion, there are many objections, flatly refusing to use the form of re-employment for many reasons.

“My opinion is a little different. I will not hire again. I used to work at a multinational company that had a strict policy about never re-hiring old people. The reason they give is because they have given their employees the best treatment, benefits and working environment and if the employee chooses to leave, this is like a betrayal and it hurts. deep.

When a person voluntarily leaves, they may have been persuaded to stay in any way possible. If they are determined to leave, then in their hearts they are no longer interested in the company's benefits. Furthermore, if that employee has already succumbed to the stormy weather outside, that means they're not good enough, so why hire them again?" – HR Manager explains why.

The senior recruiter continued, “Hiring former employees can be risky because they may leave the company again for a better opportunity. Another harsh reality may be that they need the job more than they really want to come back to your company. In addition, employees who have been laid off in the past may harbor resentment. If they bring a toxic attitude, that could be a tragedy for your team.”

When asked "Should I re-hire old employees?", Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoang, Director of Strategic Human Resources, said that the answer depends on many factors. “If you decide it's worth the risk, it helps to have the right strategy in place.

First, make sure to ask the old employee all the same questions you would ask a brand new candidate. This should still be a thorough and professional interview. Learn about the new experience they've had since leaving the company, as well as why they left those jobs. Whatever the reason, consider whether that's what will happen at your company if you hire again.

Along with that, find out why the employee wants to return (Remembering a former colleague is not a reliable reason). What you need to hear is what new abilities have employees had to learn, grow, and develop, and how they feel confident that that new knowledge can benefit your company. .

It's also very important to consider how rehiring an old employee will affect the team they'll be joining. Will they be working with the previous team or a completely new team? How will former members of the group feel about this? Existing employees can feel threatened when someone returns to the same place with new skills. They also won't be happy if an employee comes back with a higher title and a more attractive salary (which is usually the case) and that means boredom and layoffs.

In short, if you decide to go back to rehiring your former employee, make sure you've considered every situation. Otherwise, you could face adverse problems in terms of both cost and reputation for your business.