How the Great Resignation could turn into the Great Employee Return

Are fears of a recession about to come true?

The job picture is still robust despite signs of a slowing economy. A half million jobs were created in a single month.

Some people are not feeling the love. 26% of workers who quit regret their decision, according to a survey by Joblist. There are a number of reasons why.

• Finding a new job has been more difficult than expected (40%)
• They miss their former colleagues (22%)
• The new job is not what they hoped for (17%)
• Their former job was better than they realized (16%)
• There’s bad culture and management at their new company (9%)

It's not a new discovery for employees to learn that the grass isn't always green. In the struggle to attract and retain talent in a tight market there is some good news for human resources executives who could start to see a stream of familiar names on resume

Shayla Thurlow is the vice president of people and talent acquisition at The Muse.

She said that they're not a big deal. They are a well-known entity.

New ways of approaching challenges can be brought back to the company. Individuals who take time away from their company to gain perspective and explore other options can return with a renewed appreciation for an organization and sense of purpose.

It's important to understand why a former employee left in the first place.

She said that leaving because another company offered them more money was different than leaving because their manager didn't like them. She said to make sure you are both clear on the reasons why they want to return and establish clear expectations of the role, salary and if they will be happy at the company this time around.

Thurlow said that sometimes employees want to come back because they want to be around familiar people. It could be that the new job was oversold or that they had trouble adapting to a new culture. She said that you want to understand why they left so that you can meet their needs.

Thurlow warns hiring managers not to hire employees who want to kill time while looking for their next job.

She said that if someone didn't have a good experience in their new firm, it could be that they're just looking to come back to collect a paycheck and do the bare minimum. They can be corrosive to the culture and the team on which that individual works, so you don't want to set yourself up for that.

Establishing consistent communication from the beginning is the best way to avoid such a scenario. She said, "As a leader, you want to know about their job satisfaction and engagement, about whether the job is satisfying and challenging to them and where things can improve." If a person wants to come back, you can go through all the items that will tell you if this is a good fit for them and the company.

Don't be afraid to reach out to your former coworkers. According to the Joblist survey, 23% of respondents said their previous employer contacted them after they quit.

Young said it was worth reaching out and having a conversation if you were keeping in touch with former employees.

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