Why You Should Never Hire a Quitter Back

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I think it depends on the circumstances under which the employee left and the quality of experience/exposure gained after he left and the reasoning why he/she wants to come back.
I had a super star employee who left because he felt 'tapped out'. To his credit, he had several discussions with me and my boss about his career for a good 1 year before he left. I really wanted to promote him but my management had its own issues, not with the employee but they were themselves insecure about how long they'd be around.
Finally my star guy quit and joined a much larger company for a much larger role. He has apparently done very well there and has multiplied his management experience and industry knowledge.
Post his leaving, he has maintained good contact with me and most recently he mentioned his interest in coming back because he likes the fast paced and innovative nature of our company and also how the location will help his commute.
You know I am going to bat for him, if he solidifies his desire to come back. I also think he deserves to come back at a significantly higher level not because I am saying it, but because he is already handing significant responsibilities at our competitor. Some of the staff here my resent but lets face it, he was a super star who took the risk of quitting, went through the pains of integrating into a new corporate culture, gained a whole lot of experience so all in all, why should we say no!

john sykashan of AR 6:49PM March 20, 2011

... and won three more NBA championships with Michael Jordan in the 90s. The two seasons that "Mike" was trying out baseball (compare that to going back to college in a previous post, or trying another industry for a while) the Bulls couldn't make it past the second round of playoffs. With your hard-and-fast rule, you don't allow the greatest player in NBA history to come back to your team. Fine, let him go play for the Pacers where he can kick your #$# multiple times per year.
I am a man of principle, and certain behavior cannot be tolerated even by superstars, but a rule for the sake of having rules is not wise in all cases.

Scottie Mac of SC 10:31PM November 17, 2010

I had 1 employee take a 2 year sabbactical to go back to school and study a new field. The new field did not pan out for work - green energy does not pay that well if you aren't an engineer! It gave him a new appreciation of the job and benefits he had and I was glad to take him back as I have several people in my group retiring this year and next. He knows the job, has an excellent work ethic, and knows our very complex computer system.

Carole of CO 6:44PM June 30, 2010

What effect did the quitter have on the staff? What effect did they have on the company? Under what circumstances did leaving take place under? I do agree; re-hiring may send a message that it is "ok" to leave.

Dr. Danny Hammond of CO 2:04PM April 15, 2010

Some of your best employees need some development that not all companies can offer internally. If they leave for a better opportunity, and then come back to you in a few years, super! Don't burn a bridge where you don't need to.
You are not required to hire back the people you don't want to hire.

Suzanne Lucas 5:28PM February 10, 2010

Think about the damage done to people by suggesting that their search-for-their-place-in-the-world is BAD. It is good to seek the place that one fits best in. Remember Dorothy. She came back knowing where she belonged and why. She knew who loved her most. She decided all the castles in the world elsewhere would not similarly inspire her confidence.
Anyone who has ever left a job knows how the former employer looks from the outside. It is easy to spurn a post-employee, and the most eager to up their own status will do so. It takes a secure, caring, honest individua/company to see beyond the shallow confines of employment status. The person/company who still cares abou the ex-employee acknowledges that the bond of the employees with the company is of real and lasting value.
To disregard the former employee is to say also that the bond of present employees is tenuous, and inherently artificial. For very few employees will work forever for one company. I personally am only grateful to find myself unemployed by the company that treats me badly after: for in doing so they have confirmed my correct decision to leave.
An---as a final reminder---forgive this, please---when we die we are all members of the same company, you know---the dead. (And we know how the living look at us---has-beens.)

walter cunningham of NY 11:55AM February 10, 2010

I might be making it more of a personal issue rather than what is right for the business. I have actually hired people back successfully, just so you know.
Do over.

GL Hoffman of MN 8:23AM February 04, 2010

I would have thought that you would have advised to make the decision based upon what's best for the business. It sounds like you're offended when someone leaves, and coddling your offense takes precedence over what's good for the business.
There can be good reasons for rehiring someone who has left the company:
1. You recoup the training and experience they had (some of which was acquired at your expense).
2. They may have increased their experience and exposure to new ideas and out-of-the-box thinking while they were away, and now your company gets to benefit from that.
3. They may have realized how much better it was working for your company, and may return to be more enthusiastic and loyal than they were originally (assuming, of course, that you really have a company worth working for).
4. You get a better idea of the value that employee brought, and brings again, to the company.

Bill G of IN 12:22AM February 04, 2010

Like in most things, there are few black or white issues. I think you are right, but it depends. But that would not have stimulated any reactions at all.
The point I was trying to make, albeit poorly, was that if you create an environment that allows people to easily move away from your company to "give something else a try," they will. Everyone likes a safety net.
Certainly, you should make your culture and offerings so awesome that no one ever wants to leave your company.
Thanks to all for the comments.

GLH of MN 10:16AM February 03, 2010

Wow - talk about all or nothing. So every person who leaves your company is a "quitter"? I beg to differ.
You really believe that an employee that has reached his/her potential within one company, goes elsewhere to get further development (that you can't offer them), and then comes back with more work experience and new perspective is a bad thing?! How sad.
"I prefer to let it be known that if they quit, we will not hire them back under any circumstances." Really? Wouldn't it be kinder to say, "don't let the door hit you in the a-- on the way out"?
Oh and assuming that your employees are lemmings that will jump off the "quitters cliff" because they believe their employer is a safety net is insulting.
I am hoping that you wrote this simply to get a reaction out of your readers and not because you truly subscribe to this idea. How archaic.

Corporate Daycare 9:23AM February 03, 2010