Boomerang employees better hires: NZ businesses

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More than half of New Zealand businesses have rehired former employees - or boomerang employees - because they rate them as higher performers.

The findings are contained in The Boomerang Phenomenon: Taking Flight in the New Economy report which surveyed more than 1000 New Zealand businesses.

Nine out of ten employers surveyed rated the performance of boomerang employees as above average.

"As we emerge from the worst recession faced in over 70 years, businesses are recognising that employment decisions are more important than ever before," said Hudson's executive general manager Marc Burrage.

With 44 per cent of employers describing their hires as 'not good', boomerangs offer employers the security of a known skill set and an understanding of the culture and processes of the organisation - provided they were still a good match for the company, Burrage said.

However he suggested that employers and employees adopt caution when considering boomerang employment.

"Employers have to be careful not to have unrealistic expectations. There needs to be processes in place to aid re-entry. They need to be honest with the potential employee about things that may have changed during their time away.

"Employees, on the other hand, need to weigh up carefully why they left in the first place and do their due diligence in investigating the current workplace.

"And they need to make sure their new role reflects the development they have experienced in their time away from the company."

- NZ HERALD ONLINE