Why an Ex-Employee Could be Your Next Great Hire

You’ve been searching high and low for just the right candidate for a particular position. You’ve screened dozens of resumes, interviewed a plethora of candidates, and still aren’t happy with the prospects.

Have you considered rehiring a former employee?

As one of the leading recruiting agencies in Houston, TX, Murray Resources knows that many hiring managers think ex-employees are off limits. After all, why would you hire someone who left the company? But in reality, past employees can be a rich source of referrals, as well as potential new hires.

So if you haven’t thought about rehiring former employees, here are a few reasons you may want to reconsider:

The person is a known entity.

When you’re interviewing a complete stranger, you have to base your decision on what they’re telling you and the information their references are giving you. Sometimes, it’s a shaky foundation to stand on.

However, when you rehire former employees, you know what you’re getting. You know their personality, work ethic, and attitude. Even better, they may come back to you far more skilled than when they left.

They can get up and running faster.

When someone has worked for the company before, they understand the nuances, the red tape, the policies and procedures. They know their colleagues and are aware of how management works. All this knowledge means that they’ll experience a shorter learning curve, even if you’re hiring them for a completely different role than what they previously held.

They know the culture.

Did you know that a cultural mismatch is actually one of the biggest reasons why new hires leave? In the case of hiring past employees, they know exactly what they’re getting in terms of the culture. And they know they operate well within it, otherwise they wouldn’t want to come back.

It can positively impact morale.

When you bring ex-employees back into the mix, especially if they were laid off, it can have a positive effect on the entire team. Colleagues who previously worked well together can be reunited, while the new “rehire” can share the fresh perspectives and ideas they learned from other work experiences.

Obviously, you’re not going to want to rehire every employee. There are some who aren’t a good fit, didn’t leave on good terms, or wouldn’t necessarily be welcomed back into the fold for a variety of reasons.

However, if you have an opportunity to rehire a past employee who did a great job and left on good terms, then you should certainly explore the option. It could be a win-win in the end!

Know You Need to Hire, But Don’t Have the Time?

If that’s the case for you, let Murray Resources know. As one of the leading recruiting agencies in Houston, TX, companies all over the city rely on our expertise to source and retain top talent for hard-to-fill, key positions across a broad range of business disciplines. Contact us today if you’d like to learn more.