Businesses which re-employ former employees enjoy cost savings and increased productivity, new research claims.
Corporate social networking company SelectMinds said employers who stay in touch with ex-staff and bring them back into the organisation when needed can expect significant benefits.
In the poll of 60 global firms, 66 per cent of re-hires were classed as star performers as opposed to 26 per cent of new workers.
SelectMinds urged businesses to develop employee alumni networks which allow them to stay in touch with ex-staff who could be useful in the future.
The process of taking on former staff, known as ‘boomerang hiring’, is beneficial, the report said, because re-hires return already comfortable with the organisation’s culture and work ethic meaning training and other costs associated with new employees are eliminated.
Olivia Cook, European account director at SelectMinds, said: “Over the last year, the UK has seen more companies devising formalised alumni corporate social networking programs, which allow former employees to stay in touch with other former employees, as well as those who still work at the organisation.
“This corporate social network serves as a good recruiting source for human resource executives to keep track of and communicate with former employees.
“Hiring former employees back into the organisation eliminates all sorts of costs associated with recruiting a new employee from scratch, including external recruiter fees, HR time, advertising fees and training costs.”
