Considering how hard it is to recruit great employees, boomerangs—someone who left, for whatever reason, then comes back—have become, for some architecture or engineering firms, an essential resource.

And it is easy to see why firms are coming around to accepting valued professionals who have left the fold. These employees are easier to train, are able to integrate quickly, and often may be able to offer needed competitive analysis.

Put a Strategy in Place
But to have a great Alumni Recruitment Strategy you must first have a firm that people want to rejoin. You must perform and analyze exit interviews and make your firm the go-to employer.

Another consideration is that you must make it clear that when great people leave, they are allowed to leave in good standing. This means bonuses are paid, they are told the door is open, and you even offer to help them in the future whenever they need it.

Finally, be sure to make it a priority to develop an Alumni Recruitment Strategy. These tactics will keep communication lines open with those who you regret losing. Six tactics to consider:

1. Collect personal email. And keep this database current.

2. Produce an alumni newsletter. Include open positions in the email content.

3. Create a social media group for former and current employees. LinkedIn and Facebook are two favorite platforms for alumni groups.

4. Hold quarterly information “get togethers.” This can be drinks or even free training for current and past employees.

5. Encourage mentoring and accountability partnerships to continue with young professionals who leave.

6. Survey past employees. “Be sure to include a question about accepting a phone call regarding a possible return to the firm,” suggests David Burstein, P.E., Director with PSMJ.

Now in its 10^th biennial edition, A/E Bonus & Benefits Plans Benchmark Survey Report provides data on the various types of incentive bonus plans and other employee benefits provided by firms in the A/E industry. In addition, the report analyzes the level of satisfaction with various types of bonus and benefit plans. We report the results by firm size, type of service, geographic location, type of client, and client marketplace.  To benchmark your A/E firm’s bonus program, employee benefits, and much more, get your copy here.

You also might be interested in these related PSMJ blog posts:

Is Your Benchmarking Giving You the Right Answer?

Need to Know: COE Firms Benchmark for Financial Growth