Sometimes the best person for the job is the person is the person you know. Below you will find the advantages and of these so-called “boomerang” hires and how to make them work.

As it appeared in Universum Quarterly By Kina Zeidler

The advantages of “boomerang” hiring, or bringing back the alums, are:

• Reduce your recruitment expenses

• Access a broader and qualified pool of candidates

• Improve your company’s overall performance; alumni require less time to be productive

• Gain individuals that already share values and expectations

Dos

• Treat your alumni as you would treat other applicants. The demands should remain the same.

• Only re-hire people who were top performers and left in good standing.

• Understand the reasons why they left in the first place, and do your homework before interviewing to make sure those issues no longer exist.

Don’ts

• Don’t lose contact with the alumni if the interview doesn’t turn into a hire.

• Don’t assume the alumni will take your offer over a competing one because of their past history with the company. They are still looking for the best opportunity.

In a recent article from ere.net, Dr. John Sullivan counts down the companies that he personally believes to be the boldest innovators in talent management. Sullivan used the following criteria to come up with the Top 15

1. Firm included in the current BusinessWeek or Fortune rankings as a top place to work.
2. Firm has won awards or been written up for excellence in talent management.
3. Firm has been a “launching pad” for talent management leaders who now serve in a leadership role at other major firms.
4. Firm has continued to grow and hire, in spite of economic turmoil.

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