Research Article
Year 2025,
Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 118 - 142, 30.06.2025
Abstract
This study explores the concept of boomerang employees, defined as former employees who return to their previous organizations, often in higher positions and under improved working conditions. The practice of rehiring boomerang employees has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, largely due to its advantages such as lower recruitment and training costs, familiarity with organizational culture, and positive contributions to employer branding. The primary aim of this research is to examine the perceptions of human resource (HR) managers regarding the employment of boomerang employees. A review of the relevant literature reveals that academic studies focusing on this concept are limited, which positions this research as exploratory in nature. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, demographic information of the HR managers who participated in the interviews was collected. In the second phase, their perceptions of boomerang employees were analyzed using the semi-structured interview method, a qualitative research technique. The findings indicate that HR managers from various sectors, although lacking formal written policies on the issue, generally hold favorable views toward the employment of boomerang employees and have experienced several of the benefits identified in the literature. However, it was also emphasized that these employees should not be assessed differently from other candidates or current employees.
Keywords
References
- Altunay, E., Oral, G., & Yalçınkaya, M. (2014). Eğitim kurumlarında mobbing uygulamalarına ilişkin nitel bir araştırma. Sakarya University Journal of Education, 4(1), 62-80.
- Apy, F. A., & Ryckman, J. (2014). Boomerang hiring: Would you rehire a past employee? Employment Relations Today, 41(3), 13-19
- Arnold, J. D., Iddekinge, Ç. H. V., Campion, M. C., & Bauer, T. N. (2021). Welcome back? Job performance and turnover of boomerang employees compared to internal and external hires. Journal of Management, 47(8), 2198-2225.
- ASAE Center (2021). Pros and cons of boomerang hires. Erişim adresi: Pros and Cons of 'Boomerang' Hires (asaecenter.org) (16.01.2023).
- Badal, J. (2006, October 15). More “boomerangs” return to old jobs. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116086993499893095
- Baum, N. (2024). When the boomerang employee tries to return. Physicians Practice, 1-17.
- Breitsohl, H., & Ruhle, S. (2016). The end is the begining- the role of residual affective commitment in former interns’ intention to return and Word of mouth. European Journal of Work and Organizational Pyschology, 25(6), 833-848.
- Caraher, L. (2017). The boomerang principle: Inspire lifetime loyalty from your employees. New York.: Taylor&Francis.
- Chadbone, D. (2022, August 31). The rise of the boomerang employee trend. Moorepay.
- Christian, A. (2022, August 11). The employees returning after quitting. BBC Worklife. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220809-the-boomerang-employees-returning-after-quitting?ysclid=mci4f5w5ic599581442
- Dachner, A. M., & Makarius, E. (2022). Follw the trails: A path to systematically designing corporate alumni programs. Organizational Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2022.100897
- Duff, A., & Barragan, S. (2015). Making a comeback: Best practices in boomerang hiring. The National Journal of Human Resource Management. https://www.hrreporter.com/articles/making-a-comeback/
- Finans Gündem. (2022). Bumerang çalışanlar. Finans Gündem. https://www.finansgundem.com/haber/bumerang-calisanlar/1682100
- Gajendran, R., & Somaya, D. (Mart, 2016). Employees Leave Good Bosses Neraly as Often as Bad Ones. Human Business Review.
- Grotto, A. R., Hyland, P. K., Caputo, A. W., & Semedo, C. (2017). Employee turnover and strategies for retention. In J. Smith & R. Brown (Eds.), Handbook of organizational behavior (pp. 350–375). Wiley. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781118972472.ch21
- Günsüzalp, S., & Boydak Özan, M. (2019). Akademisyenlerin yetenek yönetimi algısı. Gazi Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 5(2), 1-14.
- Half, R. (2016). Bulletin, Strategic Finance.
- Half, R. (2022, January 10). How and why to embrace boomerang hiring. Robert Half. https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/boomerang-employees-talent-can-come-back-to-you-so-be-ready-to-catch-it
- Harvard Business Review. (2014). Bumerang çalışanlarınıza kapılarınızı kapatmayın. Harvard Business Review Türkiye. https://turkiye.harvardbusinessreview.org/bumerang-calisanlarina-kapilarinizi-kapatmayin
- Hawkes, R. (2020, Şubat 5). What are boomerang employees (and should you hire them?). Elevate. https://www.elevatedirect.com/tag/boomerang-employee/
- Hoffman, R., Casnocha, B., & Yeh, C. (2013). Görev süreleri: Yeni işçi işveren sözleşmesi. Harvard Business Review (Kasım, 2022). İstanbul.
- Kalaycı, Z. (2024, Mayıs). Bumerang çalışanları. https://tr.linkedin.com/pulse/bumerang-%C3%A7al%C4%B1%C5%9Fanlar%C4%B1-zafer-kalayci-bn9qe
- Karataş, Z. (2015). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri. Manevi Temelli Sosyal Hizmet Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(1), 62-80.
- Keller, J. R., Kehoe, R., Bidwell, M., Collings, D., & Myer, A. (2019). In with the old? Examining when boomerang employees outperform new hires. Academy of Management Journal, 1-63.
- Kulik, C. T., Rae, B., Sardeshmukh, S. R., & Perera, S. (2014). Can we still be friends? The role of exit coversations in facilitating post-exit relationships. Human Resource Management, 54(6), 893-912. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21642
- Kumavat, P. P. (2012). Boomerang of employees: “The strategic way of filling the organizational talent gap”. International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IIJMSSR), 1(2).
- Küçük, H. D. (2019). İşletmelerin bumerang çalışanlara ilişkin işe alım politikalarının mevcut çalışanların bağlılık düzeyine etkisi: İstanbul ve Kocaeli illerinde görgül bir araştırma [Yüksek lisans tezi, Yükseköğretim Kurulu Tez Merkezi].
- Martin, M. (2016). Strategies to retain employees in the insurance industry [Doktora tezi, Scholar Works] (2847).
- Maurer, R. (2015, Eylül 23). Attitude on rehiring boomerang workers changing. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/rehiring-boomerang-workers.aspx
- Oksijen. (2022, Ağustos). İstifa ettikleri işlere dönenlerin sayısı artıyor. Oksijen. https://gazeteoksijen.com/dunya/istifa-ettikleri-islere-donenlerin-sayisi-artiyor-bumerang-calisanlar-159863
- Otto, N. (2015, Eylül 4). Employers increasingly open to catching boomerang employees. Employee Benefit News. https://www.benefitnews.com/news/employers-increasingly-open-to-catching-boomerang-employees
- Özçelik Sözer, B. (2017). İşten ayrılanı geri alır mısınız? Burcu Özçelik Blogu. https://burcuozcelik.wordpress.com/2017/06/12/isten-ayrilani-geri-alir-misiniz/
- Paulsen, E. (2022). Boomerang employees: The pros, the cons and how to uncover their potential. Quantum Workplace. https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/boomerang-employees
- Pierre, R. R. (2019). A phenomenological study of the boomerang-employment experience of scientists and engineers. [Doktora tezi] Proquest (10974392).
- Ponomareva, N. (2022). What are the pros and cons of hiring boomerang employees? Horizons. https://nhglobalpartners.com/boomerang-employees/
- Prakoso, Y. (2024). Boomerang employee sabagai model alternatif untuk rekrutmen sumber daya manusia. (Studi kasus: PT Delta Djakarta, TBK). Hope Economic Journal (Mega), 2(2), 268-282.
- Raj, S. V., & Hundekar, S. G. (2013). Developing a successful rehiring model. Internation Research Journal of Social Sciences, 2(6).
- Rao, G. V., & Priyadarshini, K. I. (2017). Some insights into procedures and practices to acquire the right talent. Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management, 6(2), 34-39.
- Raveendra, P. V., & Satish, Y. M. (2022). Boomerang hiring: Strategy for sustainable development in COVİD-19 era. Human Systems Management, (41), 277-282.
- Sessiz istifa ile artan bumerang gündemi. (2023, Kasım). HR Dergi. https://hrdergi.com/sessiz-istifa-ile-artan-bumerang-calisan-gundemi
- Sharma, N. (2018). Role of corporate communication in boomerang. European Journal of Economics and Businnes Studies, 4(1), 66-78.
- Shipp, A., Furst-Hollaway, S., Harris, T. B., & Rosen, B. (2014). Gone today but here tomorrow: Extending the unfolding model of turnover to condider boomerang employees. Personnel Psychology, 67, 421-462.
- Snyder, D. G., Stewart, V. R., & Shea, C. T. (2020). Hello again. Managing talent with boomerang employees. Human Reseour Manage, 1-18.
- Swider, B. W., Liu, J. T., Harris, T. B., & Gardne, R. G. (2017). Employees on the rebound: Extending the carees literatüre to include boomerang employment. Journal of Applied Pyschology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000200
- Tian, Z., Yuan, Q., Qian, S., & Liu, Y. (2022). The generative mechanism of boomerang intention: From the perspective of legacy identification. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 807887.
- Vestal, K. (2006, Ekim). Ex-Employees: Can they come back? Lessons Learned. 6-14.
- Vozza, S. (2022, February 9). Why you should welcome back boomerang employees. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/why-you-should-welcome-back-boomerang-employees.aspx
- Wisenberg Brin, D. (2018, May 2). Catching a boomerang? Pros and cons of rehiring former employees. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/catching-a-boomerang.aspx
- Workforce Institute. (2015, September 2). Are your boomerangs welcomed back? The Workforce Institute at UKG. https://workforceinstitute.org/are-your-boomerangs-welcomed-back/
Year 2025,
Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 118 - 142, 30.06.2025
Abstract
Bumerang çalışan kavramı çeşitli sebeplerden dolayı işletmelerinden ayrılma durumunda kalan eski çalışanların genellikle daha iyi şartlar ile birlikte daha yüksek mevkilere sahip olarak eski işletmelerine geri dönmesi olarak tanımlanabilir. İşletmelerin bumerang çalışanları istihdam etmesi, daha az maliyet oluşturmaları, örgüt kültürüne aşina olmaları, işveren imajına sağladıkları katkı gibi sebeplerden dolayı günümüzde giderek yaygınlaşan bir uygulamadır. Bu çalışmada insan kaynakları yöneticilerinin bumerang çalışan istihdamı konusuna ilişkin algılarını ortaya koymak amaçlanmaktadır. Literatür taraması sonucunda bumerang çalışan kavramı üzerine yapılan çalışmaların sınırlı sayıda olduğu görülmüş ve araştırma keşifsel bir nitelik kazanmıştır. Araştırma 2 aşamalı olarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. İlk aşamada mülakat gerçekleştirilen İnsan Kaynakları Yöneticilerine ait demografik bilgiler derlenmiş olup ikinci aşamada ise İK yöneticilerinin bumerang çalışanlara yönelik algısı nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden yarı yapılandırılmış mülakat yöntemi kullanılarak belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Farklı sektörlerden İK yöneticilerinin, yazılı politikalar doğrultusunda olmasa da bumerang çalışanların istihdamının literatürde de belirtilen birçok faydasını deneyimledikleri ve olumlu yaklaştıkları ancak diğer çalışanlardan ve aday kaynaklarından farklı değerlendirilmemesi gerektiği görüşüne sahip oldukları ortaya konulmuştur.
References
- Altunay, E., Oral, G., & Yalçınkaya, M. (2014). Eğitim kurumlarında mobbing uygulamalarına ilişkin nitel bir araştırma. Sakarya University Journal of Education, 4(1), 62-80.
- Apy, F. A., & Ryckman, J. (2014). Boomerang hiring: Would you rehire a past employee? Employment Relations Today, 41(3), 13-19
- Arnold, J. D., Iddekinge, Ç. H. V., Campion, M. C., & Bauer, T. N. (2021). Welcome back? Job performance and turnover of boomerang employees compared to internal and external hires. Journal of Management, 47(8), 2198-2225.
- ASAE Center (2021). Pros and cons of boomerang hires. Erişim adresi: Pros and Cons of 'Boomerang' Hires (asaecenter.org) (16.01.2023).
- Badal, J. (2006, October 15). More “boomerangs” return to old jobs. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116086993499893095
- Baum, N. (2024). When the boomerang employee tries to return. Physicians Practice, 1-17.
- Breitsohl, H., & Ruhle, S. (2016). The end is the begining- the role of residual affective commitment in former interns’ intention to return and Word of mouth. European Journal of Work and Organizational Pyschology, 25(6), 833-848.
- Caraher, L. (2017). The boomerang principle: Inspire lifetime loyalty from your employees. New York.: Taylor&Francis.
- Chadbone, D. (2022, August 31). The rise of the boomerang employee trend. Moorepay.
- Christian, A. (2022, August 11). The employees returning after quitting. BBC Worklife. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220809-the-boomerang-employees-returning-after-quitting?ysclid=mci4f5w5ic599581442
- Dachner, A. M., & Makarius, E. (2022). Follw the trails: A path to systematically designing corporate alumni programs. Organizational Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2022.100897
- Duff, A., & Barragan, S. (2015). Making a comeback: Best practices in boomerang hiring. The National Journal of Human Resource Management. https://www.hrreporter.com/articles/making-a-comeback/
- Finans Gündem. (2022). Bumerang çalışanlar. Finans Gündem. https://www.finansgundem.com/haber/bumerang-calisanlar/1682100
- Gajendran, R., & Somaya, D. (Mart, 2016). Employees Leave Good Bosses Neraly as Often as Bad Ones. Human Business Review.
- Grotto, A. R., Hyland, P. K., Caputo, A. W., & Semedo, C. (2017). Employee turnover and strategies for retention. In J. Smith & R. Brown (Eds.), Handbook of organizational behavior (pp. 350–375). Wiley. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781118972472.ch21
- Günsüzalp, S., & Boydak Özan, M. (2019). Akademisyenlerin yetenek yönetimi algısı. Gazi Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 5(2), 1-14.
- Half, R. (2016). Bulletin, Strategic Finance.
- Half, R. (2022, January 10). How and why to embrace boomerang hiring. Robert Half. https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/boomerang-employees-talent-can-come-back-to-you-so-be-ready-to-catch-it
- Harvard Business Review. (2014). Bumerang çalışanlarınıza kapılarınızı kapatmayın. Harvard Business Review Türkiye. https://turkiye.harvardbusinessreview.org/bumerang-calisanlarina-kapilarinizi-kapatmayin
- Hawkes, R. (2020, Şubat 5). What are boomerang employees (and should you hire them?). Elevate. https://www.elevatedirect.com/tag/boomerang-employee/
- Hoffman, R., Casnocha, B., & Yeh, C. (2013). Görev süreleri: Yeni işçi işveren sözleşmesi. Harvard Business Review (Kasım, 2022). İstanbul.
- Kalaycı, Z. (2024, Mayıs). Bumerang çalışanları. https://tr.linkedin.com/pulse/bumerang-%C3%A7al%C4%B1%C5%9Fanlar%C4%B1-zafer-kalayci-bn9qe
- Karataş, Z. (2015). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri. Manevi Temelli Sosyal Hizmet Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(1), 62-80.
- Keller, J. R., Kehoe, R., Bidwell, M., Collings, D., & Myer, A. (2019). In with the old? Examining when boomerang employees outperform new hires. Academy of Management Journal, 1-63.
- Kulik, C. T., Rae, B., Sardeshmukh, S. R., & Perera, S. (2014). Can we still be friends? The role of exit coversations in facilitating post-exit relationships. Human Resource Management, 54(6), 893-912. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21642
- Kumavat, P. P. (2012). Boomerang of employees: “The strategic way of filling the organizational talent gap”. International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IIJMSSR), 1(2).
- Küçük, H. D. (2019). İşletmelerin bumerang çalışanlara ilişkin işe alım politikalarının mevcut çalışanların bağlılık düzeyine etkisi: İstanbul ve Kocaeli illerinde görgül bir araştırma [Yüksek lisans tezi, Yükseköğretim Kurulu Tez Merkezi].
- Martin, M. (2016). Strategies to retain employees in the insurance industry [Doktora tezi, Scholar Works] (2847).
- Maurer, R. (2015, Eylül 23). Attitude on rehiring boomerang workers changing. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/rehiring-boomerang-workers.aspx
- Oksijen. (2022, Ağustos). İstifa ettikleri işlere dönenlerin sayısı artıyor. Oksijen. https://gazeteoksijen.com/dunya/istifa-ettikleri-islere-donenlerin-sayisi-artiyor-bumerang-calisanlar-159863
- Otto, N. (2015, Eylül 4). Employers increasingly open to catching boomerang employees. Employee Benefit News. https://www.benefitnews.com/news/employers-increasingly-open-to-catching-boomerang-employees
- Özçelik Sözer, B. (2017). İşten ayrılanı geri alır mısınız? Burcu Özçelik Blogu. https://burcuozcelik.wordpress.com/2017/06/12/isten-ayrilani-geri-alir-misiniz/
- Paulsen, E. (2022). Boomerang employees: The pros, the cons and how to uncover their potential. Quantum Workplace. https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/boomerang-employees
- Pierre, R. R. (2019). A phenomenological study of the boomerang-employment experience of scientists and engineers. [Doktora tezi] Proquest (10974392).
- Ponomareva, N. (2022). What are the pros and cons of hiring boomerang employees? Horizons. https://nhglobalpartners.com/boomerang-employees/
- Prakoso, Y. (2024). Boomerang employee sabagai model alternatif untuk rekrutmen sumber daya manusia. (Studi kasus: PT Delta Djakarta, TBK). Hope Economic Journal (Mega), 2(2), 268-282.
- Raj, S. V., & Hundekar, S. G. (2013). Developing a successful rehiring model. Internation Research Journal of Social Sciences, 2(6).
- Rao, G. V., & Priyadarshini, K. I. (2017). Some insights into procedures and practices to acquire the right talent. Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management, 6(2), 34-39.
- Raveendra, P. V., & Satish, Y. M. (2022). Boomerang hiring: Strategy for sustainable development in COVİD-19 era. Human Systems Management, (41), 277-282.
- Sessiz istifa ile artan bumerang gündemi. (2023, Kasım). HR Dergi. https://hrdergi.com/sessiz-istifa-ile-artan-bumerang-calisan-gundemi
- Sharma, N. (2018). Role of corporate communication in boomerang. European Journal of Economics and Businnes Studies, 4(1), 66-78.
- Shipp, A., Furst-Hollaway, S., Harris, T. B., & Rosen, B. (2014). Gone today but here tomorrow: Extending the unfolding model of turnover to condider boomerang employees. Personnel Psychology, 67, 421-462.
- Snyder, D. G., Stewart, V. R., & Shea, C. T. (2020). Hello again. Managing talent with boomerang employees. Human Reseour Manage, 1-18.
- Swider, B. W., Liu, J. T., Harris, T. B., & Gardne, R. G. (2017). Employees on the rebound: Extending the carees literatüre to include boomerang employment. Journal of Applied Pyschology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000200
- Tian, Z., Yuan, Q., Qian, S., & Liu, Y. (2022). The generative mechanism of boomerang intention: From the perspective of legacy identification. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 807887.
- Vestal, K. (2006, Ekim). Ex-Employees: Can they come back? Lessons Learned. 6-14.
- Vozza, S. (2022, February 9). Why you should welcome back boomerang employees. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/why-you-should-welcome-back-boomerang-employees.aspx
- Wisenberg Brin, D. (2018, May 2). Catching a boomerang? Pros and cons of rehiring former employees. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/catching-a-boomerang.aspx
- Workforce Institute. (2015, September 2). Are your boomerangs welcomed back? The Workforce Institute at UKG. https://workforceinstitute.org/are-your-boomerangs-welcomed-back/
There are 49 citations in total.
Details
| Primary Language | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Business Administration |
| Journal Section | Research Articles |
| Authors | |
| Early Pub Date | June 29, 2025 |
| Publication Date | June 30, 2025 |
| Submission Date | April 15, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | June 18, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 |
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