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January 26, 2006
Boomers and Boomerangs
I'm scheduled to speak at an event tomorrow and it always happens this way when I've got an event planned: I don't have a hook.
I know what I want to talk about, more or less, and I'm pretty sure I know what the audience will find interesting, but I'm still looking for something that goes a bit beyond interesting.
The panel topic is employment brand research and, if I didn't do it or understand it, I'm sure I'd rather sign up for a root canal--especially since not one, but three people from three different agencies will be presenting. So I want to do something other than the typical "here's how we segment your org chart and your audiences to understand your brand" overview.
Call it serendipity, but I think the answer came in my in-box today in the form of a broadcast email newsletter from Workforce.com's Eilene Zimmerman.
Entitled "The Boom in Boomerangs," Zimmerman's article points to a shift toward active boomerang recruiting as a strong business strategy.
Here are a few key pull-quotes that should catch your attention:
--the cost of boomerang recruitment in 2005 [is estimated] to be between --a third to two-thirds of the cost of bringing in a new recruit
--hiring an ex-employee cost[s] about half as much as a new hire
--rehires [are] 40 percent more productive at work and
--they tend to stay on the job longer.
Having been a boomerang myself in a past life--left for greener pastures, came back because there's no place like home, left again (and for good) because of unfortunate changes in management direction--I certainly see the attraction from the employee perspective.
And on the client side, I frequently see a connection between the stories I hear about why talent leave (greener pastures), their subsequent desire to come back and tight labor pools in some talent markets that make this seem like a no-brainer, so long as certain common-sense steps are taken.
But that's not the story. This is.
Beyond phonetics, is there a connection between boomerangs and boomers? Think about it for a moment: I think there is.
Now, I'm not going to steal what little thunder I can muster tomorrow by working this out here today, but I'll give it a twirl in LA...and if the conversation gets interesting, I'll report back here soon.
Posted by davidkippen at January 26, 2006 05:56 PM