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Rehiring an employee who quit?

Darin101

Plastic
Joined
Mar 14, 2013
Location
Dundee
We have an employee who gave 2 weeks notice and is going somewhere that has better benefits. Which I completely understand. He's been with us about 10 years and been a pretty good employee for the most part. Good attendance, does quality work, but not the best attitude at times and won't do much of anything aside from running a machine.
My concern is, this isn't the first time he's done this. About 4 years ago he did the same thing and about 4 days later called wanting to come back.
If he does that again, would you take him back? If so, would you take him back at the same pay and benefits level, or would you treat it like a new hire, who has experience?
 
Bring him back as a new hire with a probation period. Inform him that if it happens again, rehire will not be an option. As long as he knows he can return, he is likely to keep searching for something else. I'm sure when he steps out, he causes a bind in the company. Make him an example for other employees as they are watching!
 
Bring him back as a new hire with a probation period. Inform him that if it happens again, rehire will not be an option. As long as he knows he can return, he is likely to keep searching for something else. I'm sure when he steps out, he causes a bind in the company. Make him an example for other employees as they are watching!
I agree. First time maybe a forgivable mistake, second time a bad habit that needs to be corrected.
 
We had a similar case once where we had a mechanic quit to work somewhere else for better pay. Kinda left us in a lurch as there were some jobs he was the go-to guy on and we had to figure things out ourselves. The new place ended up working him much harder than he would like so he asked to come back. Then a couple years later the same thing happened (with the same shop he switched to prior if I remember) and he left us in a lurch again having to pick up the pieces. This time we changed our shop practices and made sure any time we as individuals were learning something, it was documented well and we as management were more able to fill in. A year or so later he asked for his old job back and we turned him down.

Looking back at his job performance, he was pretty cocky. He knew there were tasks we sent his way because it was his "thing" and he felt he was irreplaceable, and until we had the necessity to do it ourselves, we thought he was too. There were a number of jobs I myself took over after he left that I found to be a lot simpler than we previously thought. Technical, yes, but nothing a competent worker couldn't pick-up. It was a learning experience for us to maintain company information despite who has it in their head. Employees and Employers need to be on the same page as far as their compensation and duties are concerned, but in my experience if someone wants to move on because they don't like their compensation or duties, you have probably missed the opportunity to rectify things. I've also gained the opinion that I would rather fight to keep someone on payroll because they were easy to work with, quick learning, and reliable, then if they're only there because for better or worse, "they're the only one." Like a marriage or friendship, it's not healthy.

There's always the idea of MAKING yourself irreplaceable, but IMO it's just better that you could be replaced, but noone would ever want to.

Sometimes people just need to try something new and it doesn't work out. If he does what's needed and you have your companies way of doing things under control, him coming and going shouldn't be an issue, provided he works with you while you find replacements. If he's not reliable though, he's not reliable.
 
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Do they give you a chance to match the offer before leaving? It's easy to understand moving for better compensation, but if they don't give you the chance it might also indicate that they feel like they will just be happier elsewhere, and eventually will find a better fit and not come back anyway.

If the guy gives good notice and doesn't just bail on you, then I have to agree that if he makes you money while he is working then why not bring him back?
 
We have an employee who gave 2 weeks notice and is going somewhere that has better benefits. Which I completely understand. He's been with us about 10 years and been a pretty good employee for the most part. Good attendance, does quality work, but not the best attitude at times and won't do much of anything aside from running a machine.
My concern is, this isn't the first time he's done this. About 4 years ago he did the same thing and about 4 days later called wanting to come back.
If he does that again, would you take him back? If so, would you take him back at the same pay and benefits level, or would you treat it like a new hire, who has experience?


My policy is if I have an employee who quits, I will hire them back 1 time. If they quit a 2nd time, they do not work for me again. Layoffs due to lack of work are a different story, as that is no fault of their own.
 
Place I used to work would remember your job, seniority, etc. for a short amount of time, I think it was 90 days or something like that. If you didn't come back with your tail between your legs in that amount of time, you were interviewing fresh. I knew a couple guys who had left and come back, one within the grace period, one with several years of other employment in between. Multi-billion $$$ Tier 1 automotive place, FWIW.
 
Bring him back as a new hire with a probation period. Inform him that if it happens again, rehire will not be an option. As long as he knows he can return, he is likely to keep searching for something else. I'm sure when he steps out, he causes a bind in the company. Make him an example for other employees as they are watching!
This is exactly my opinion, but I'm worried my boss, the company owner, won't look at it that way.
 
Do they give you a chance to match the offer before leaving? It's easy to understand moving for better compensation, but if they don't give you the chance it might also indicate that they feel like they will just be happier elsewhere, and eventually will find a better fit and not come back anyway.

If the guy gives good notice and doesn't just bail on you, then I have to agree that if he makes you money while he is working then why not bring him back?
No, he didn't take that approach, just said he's giving his 2 weeks notice. However, we couldn't have matched it anyway. He'll be getting paid about the same, but with much better benefits. We're a small shop, only 6 employees. The place he's going has hundreds, so they can offer more and better benifits.
 
QT Op:*so they can offer more and better benefits..) and likely expect more in return, like no phone, few extra breaks, do anything you are told to do.
I guess if a penalty is due the Op could have said you can start back next week. missing a week's pay is a sufficient penalty.
A guy with perhaps 5 years with not messing up is a much better bet than a guy off the street.

QT: We're a small shop, only 6 employees) giving one guy a raise, and likely you end up giving all 6 a raise.
 
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If? Really? Why not cross that bridge when you come to it?

Safe to say you're overthinking this. Better to obsess about this or

If? Really? Why not cross that bridge when you come to it?

Safe to say you're overthinking this. Better to obsess about this or make parts?
I want to be prepared. I know the company he's going to and highly doubt he's going to like it there, but I could be wrong.
I don't think I'm obsessing and trust me, I'm still making parts.
 
Benefits are just money
Whatever the cost of the thing, divided by 2080-[days you get paid but don't work, holidays vacation etc]
So if the annual cost of a gym membership is 700 bucks, and a person works 1928 hours that is 36 cents an hour.

Company match on a 401k? Might cost you a dollar an hour.

Saying you cannot afford it is really not true. At some point with the current employment situation, you might not be able to afford not to.

AS to your situation. Don't listen to any of these knuckleheads who obviously have qualified people lining up at the door to apply for their job openings.
If the guy is a good worker and takes a sabbatical every 4 years, so what.
This isn't personal, it is business.
 
Personally, I wouldn’t take him back. He had two chances and would probably try to find something else again if he were to come back. I do not have an easy time finding employees, but most that leave weren’t a good fit and don’t care to work with them again.
 
It's happened a couple times under my watch. We pay extremely well and have an excellent benefit package so I am never really clear why someone would want to leave, but they have their reasons, I am sure. That said one was an excellent employee whose wife convinced him to go to work at a large Caterpillar dealer that had its own fab shop, pay was actually more working for me, apparently, she thought there was more advancement possibilities there, go figure, anyway 3 months later he asked for his old job back and I said yes. Other two were flakes that I brought back, and I still cuss myself for doing it. I am in California where no one wants to work, very hard to find decent employees, I don't care how much you pay.
 
After I quit ,they wanted me to come back ...but no management ever asked,they sent guys I worked with to try to get me to come back........the new manager was fired for losing key employees....he was basically a froot loop.....and the new owners took over themselves to try and get the place running again.......but I do like to think I was irreplacable ....as was proved when the place shut down.....a bit sad because 40 guys lost their jobs,and only a few were transferred to the steel building fabrication operation run by the new owners.
 








 
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