There are countless reasons why an employee might leave a job. Maybe they’re curious about a different field, see an opportunity to broaden their skills or feel ready to take on more responsibilities than their current company can offer.
That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily gone for good, though.
“Boomerang” employees — those that return to a previous employer after working elsewhere for a period of time — existed prior to the pandemic, but they’re drawing renewed attention in the wake of the Great Resignation and recent job-market shakeups. The people analytics company Visier recently studied 3 million employee records across industries and found that 28 percent of “new hires” brought on between 2019 and 2022 had in fact already worked for and resigned from that same company within the past three years.
While the share of rehires was lower for tech roles at 14 percent, boomerang employees represent a substantial opportunity across industries if businesses can successfully lure them back.
For employers, hiring these familiar faces can reduce training time and keep valuable institutional knowledge in-house. If employees feel supported through both their departure and their return, they may feel even more committed and passionate about their work than before they left.
Kat Marshall, a QA analyst lead at SevenRooms, told Built In New York that a brief stint at a larger organization changed her outlook on her current role.
“When I returned to SevenRooms, it felt as if I had never left,” she said. “The team welcomed me back without judgment or resentment for my initial decision to leave. I was able to pick up right where I left off, but this time around, with a new perspective and renewed energy for the impact I could make.”
Read on for more about her experience as well as conversations with boomerang employees at MarketAxess and Share Local Media.
MarketAxess makes fixed-income trading more transparent and efficient for institutional investors and dealers.
Describe your original tenure with your current employer. When did you join and what was your role?
After working at some of the largest global banks in the financial industry, I joined MarketAxess (MKTX) in August 2014 as the client services supervisor. Upon joining, I was instantly drawn to the more intimate work experience MKTX offered, and I was able to build relationships across the organization, at all levels. My role focused on managing a team responsible for the support of customers utilizing the MKTX workstation — our trading system — to trade fixed-income bonds. The type of support provided to customers varied but typically included log-in assistance, system navigation, escalations and other support-desk-type tasks.
Later on, I became the manager of the U.S. account services team, which is where I spent the majority of my time with MKTX during my first tenure. The account services team is responsible for all customer company onboardings for the Americas. As the account services manager, I was providing support to my former team at the bank and other system admins across the major banks that traded on MKTX. I continued on in this role through to the end of my first tenure with MKTX in August 2021.
Tell us about your return. When did you return to your employer? What motivated you to reapply?
MarketAxess is a special organization, affording me the chance to learn from smart individuals who were generous with their knowledge and had my best interests in mind. I established lifelong relationships and friendships while also developing my own management style. As a manager, I focus on positivity, communication, respect and encouragement, all of which were imparted to me during my first tenure at MKTX.
Ultimately, I decided to pursue a passion outside of the business MKTX was in, so in the summer of 2021, I joined a crypto trading platform. While I will forever be grateful for the best parts of my experience with that organization and the incredible perspective I gained, the challenges experienced by that industry led me to reassess my original decision to leave MKTX.
At the same time, the MKTX operations group was going through its own changes, and the opportunity to come back as the U.S. client services manager became something very desirable to both MKTX and me. Some primary factors in my decision to rejoin MKTX were the core leadership we have making critical decisions, the stability of the bond market and the opportunity to again work with so many people I like and respect.
Those first few days and weeks back with MKTX made me realize returning was absolutely the right choice for me.”
When did you know you made the right choice returning to your former employer?
Coming back to a former employer can be scary. You aren’t sure how people will react to your second go around, but in my case, those first few days and weeks back with MKTX made me realize returning was absolutely the right choice for me. I experienced countless “welcome backs,” smiles, hugs and an overall wave of positivity.
One “right choice” moment for me in those early days back was receiving a bear hug on the sales floor from one of the senior sales managers I had known for the better part of a decade. Being welcomed back literally with open arms put a huge smile on my face.
I also have to mention how incredibly patient and supportive the team I returned to was when I rejoined, helping me get reacquainted with all things MKTX. I am so thankful for this second opportunity to be a part of the MarketAxess family and beyond grateful to be back.
Share Local Media connects online brands with customers in the physical world through direct mail marketing.
Describe your original tenure with your current employer. When did you join and what was your role?
I joined Share Local Media in late 2019 as a client and marketing associate. It was my first full-time marketing position, so it was really exciting for me. I was only there for a few months before COVID-19 hit and we all went work from home, but I remember how much I loved going into the office because every day the whole team would have lunch together. It was a great way to get to know all of my coworkers.
Once we were all in lockdown, I became very close with my immediate team as we would speak on Google Meet and Slack every single day. I think the experience of adapting quickly to the pandemic really helped our team become more collaborative, as we needed to balance our clients’ needs against many obstacles that came as a result of the pandemic. Luckily, Share Local Media has always worked with a wide range of e-commerce brands that boomed during the lockdowns, so we had plenty to keep busy with.
I ultimately decided after two and a half years at Share Local Media that I wanted to gain more experience from the brand perspective and explore more channels.
Tell us about your return. When did you return to your employer? What motivated you to reapply?
After almost a year on the brand side of things, I felt like I had learned so much in a short amount of time — most importantly that I missed being in a client-facing role. I also knew that I wanted to be back on a team where you really felt like you were working together for a common goal, rather than working individually on your own tasks day to day.
When considering my options, at first I thought returning to Share Local Media was unlikely. I didn’t realize that boomerang employees were a thing. However, I had kept in touch with a lot of my former team members — and had even made an appearance at a happy hour or two — so I just started by asking whether they thought there was even a position for me. After a couple of months of chatting, a position opened up that was a good fit.
I wanted to come back because I missed the company culture, both in terms of the amazing sense of community — happy hours, quarterly team events, monthly team lunches, etc. — but also how much the managers cared about each employee's professional growth and made each team feel like a collaborative unit. Most importantly, I missed the people!
It can be nerve-racking to approach your former employer, so I wanted to be sure that it was the right decision for me before I even started the conversation.”
When did you know you made the right choice returning to your former employer?
I was already pretty sure that I had made the right decision before I started. After all, it can be nerve-racking to approach your former employer, so I wanted to be sure that it was the right decision for me before I even started the conversation. But a couple of weeks in, I started taking calls and working on mail proposals for clients again, and everything started to click. I really love working with a wide range of clients who all have different needs. On top of that, I look forward to catching up with my team every morning on our daily chats; it’s a nice way to stay connected with everyone.
SevenRooms provides integrated tools that streamline operations for hospitality businesses and improve guest experiences.
Describe your original tenure with your current employer. When did you join and what was your role?
I originally joined SevenRooms in September 2019 as the company’s first quality assurance analyst. At that point, the company was in the early stages of establishing a formal QA team, which included both manual and automation testers. My primary responsibility was to ensure the quality of our product through manual testing and to establish the QA processes that we still adhere to today. Although shaping the team from the ground up had its challenges, it was an incredibly rewarding experience.
Tell us about your return. When did you return to your employer? What motivated you to reapply?
I returned to SevenRooms in October 2021, about a month after I had left for a QA manager role at a larger company. Initially, the allure of working for a bigger organization and a more senior title lured me away from SevenRooms. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
My former manager at SevenRooms consistently checked in on me during my first few weeks at the new job, making sure my transition was easy. This simple act of care was something that nobody at the new company had extended to me. I felt like a small fish lost in a large pond and admitted, “I think I made a mistake.”
At SevenRooms, my contributions to the team were valued and had a significant impact, regardless of my job title. The genuine care and consideration embedded in SevenRooms’ culture was something truly unique and irreplaceable.
So even though the new role offered a title advancement and appeared promising on paper, the culture and community at SevenRooms held a far greater appeal and opportunity for me. I felt that my journey at SevenRooms wasn't over yet, and I decided to reapply. I’m incredibly grateful that I was given the opportunity to return.
It may sound cheesy, but it felt like coming home.”
When did you know you made the right choice returning to your former employer?
Every other week, the engineering team holds a meeting for updates. It just so happened that the meeting was scheduled for the week before my return. My manager suggested keeping my return a secret and surprising everyone.
During the meeting, he announced they had found a “replacement QA member for Kat” and asked the new member to introduce themselves. When I turned on my camera, my chat was immediately flooded with messages of surprise and excitement from my coworkers. One message that stood out to me was, “No one could truly be a replacement, anyway.” It may sound cheesy, but it felt like coming home.
My boomerang experience solidified the significance of company culture and the importance of making new team members feel welcome, included and supported. Now, I make it a point to extend the same sense of belonging and warmth to team members that was missing during my time away.
