Companies are increasingly dealing with greater turnover, and the way they handle offboarding is hugely important, according to one top HR consultant.
Rhonda Marcucci, of Gruppo Marcucci, a Chicago-based research and consulting firm, noted the remarkable changes in how long employees remain with a firm — and suggested there are ways companies can respond to extend that longevity.
“It’s clear that companies no longer expect employees to have a 50-year career capped with a gold watch at retirement,” Marcucci told HR Daily Wire. “Statistics show the average American worker now has 12 jobs over their career. Millennials – who average about 1.3 years with an employer – will have even more than that.”
Companies have to be deliberately strategic about how they handle employees leaving their firm.
“Creating a sound offboarding strategy will help build brand ambassadors on sites like Glassdoor and fill your talent pipeline with both new applicants and potential boomerang workers.” Marcucci said. “Few employers have thought strategically about offboarding or even know where to begin.”
Boomerang employees are those who return to the company, again an increasing trend, according to HR experts. They say that’s a sign that the company engaged in an effective offboarding program, one that is a positive and seamless experience and gives employers an engaged “alumni” network.
“Whether they resign or retire, many workers of all ages say they’d consider a “boomerang” job – going back to work for a former employer,” Marcucci said. “That means employers that offboard employees as successfully as they onboard them will be the ones that ultimately win the talent war.”
The view that more and more employers are more willing to hire boomerang employees than ever before is echoed by entrepeneur Megan M. Biro.
“Yes, the phenomenon of boomerang employees is real and more common than ever,” Biro wrote in a recent piece in Entrepeneur magazine. “According to a recent survey, 76 percent of HR professionals said they are more willing to hire a boomerang employee now than in the past.”
One reason for this is the employee’s ability to get right to work with minimal retraining.
