Should You Rehire Old Employees? | Machine Shop Talk Ep. 60
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- What do you do when an employee leaves to seek greener pastures, only to ask for their job back weeks or months later?
In this episode of MACHINE SHOP TALK, Ian Sandusky from Lakewood Machine is diving back into the Practical Machinist forums to address a poster who is dealing with exactly this scenario.
This is an extremely common situation in the trades - and one that should be handled carefully. There is absolutely nothing wrong with employees seeking new opportunities or experiences, and as a shop owner, manager, or supervisor - you should do everything you can to support them. That said, if an employee has a habit of leaving and returning multiple times, what’s best for your shop?
Have you ever been in this scenario? What have been your experiences with ‘boomerang’ employees? Let us know in the comments below!
Grab forum thread here: www.practicalm...
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Ian Sandusky
Lakewood Machine and Tool
lakewoodmachin...
sales@lakewoodmachine.com
(905) 853-6194
LinkedIn: / ian-sandusky-3a223227
Instagram: / lakewoodmachine
I've done that and as someone who left a shop and gone back I would have liked for my employer to ask me why I left and to see what would make me happy at my current shop.
This is why i left:
At my 1 year review I was recognized by my supervisor for being an excelling employee, at 1 year I learned the machines, learned to make edits on a new programming language, do good set ups in half the time as other more seasoned workers. I was promoted to a lead position and so I was expecting a raise that reflected that but I was told that unfortunately I couldnt get a raise because other workers who in my opinion(not trying to be full of myself) contributed less to the company were getting paid less. I felt unappreciated and taken for granted. Since coming back to the job I've only been giving it about 60% off my effort because they dont care if I go above and beyond. I'm not slacking off but I got to make sure that my hard work is appreciated.
We have rehired previous employees, mostly with good success. Don't burn any bridges, you never know what the future holds. Bringing back people that are trained to our standards is definitely a plus.
I’m a retired firefighter. I watch machinist videos because they’re interesting to me. I don’t know diddly about machining. I do, however, know some things about organizations. One of the key points is that if your organization is dependent upon a certain single individual showing up to work, you have an unhealthy organization.
As far as leaving and coming back, loyalty goes both ways, and limits to loyalty goes both ways. I am *employed* by my employer; it’s not a religion. There’s a limit to what my employer can get me to do (before I retired, anyway), but there’s also a limit to what I should expect from my employer.
it all depends on the person , we have had a guy leave 4 times in a short period ,in the 1st 2 years with us , but he is a fantastic 5 axis machinist the best one i ever seen , every time my boss asked me if we should have him back i said , stupid question , he does parts we couldn't if he wasn't with us , have had guys leave who thought they are better than they are because they do all the work they are given no problem , umm i give the work out to the skill level , not many i have worked with who can do everything .
This is very true! There are guys I would bring back in an instant, and some that I might hesitate a bit before pulling the trigger - there are many variables at play!
Same as for most HR issues - always depends on each individual and each situation.
I work for a company that has some re-hire process that is streamlined for people who want to come back. They do track whether the person left on good terms etc, but there's some "if they're good, try some other things, and decide that here is the best fit, that's great and they'll be up to speed faster than a general hire".
I think having a streamlined process like this is a very good idea - it would take a lot of the uncertainty out of it.
Rehire.
Will the shop be more profitable with or without him.
Will the shop run smoother with or without him.
Not a machine shop but as new business owners in a new to us town we leaned far too heavily on new local employees. As time went by we found that one employee was telling everyone that he really ran the shop. Eventually we canned his ass, there was theft involved, and he had us convinced our business would fail. Long story short, our customer count and sales increased. Turns out customers were really put off when he was there. The important lesson for us, any new equipment that comes in, the owner needs to be trained first. It greatly reduces the stress among our frontline staff if everyone is treated as equals. Sometimes owners get so busy that they get lost in the weeds .
This is a very solid strategy, even if it was a bit of a painful lesson to learn!
I left one job for a "better" job. This was all my fault. I did not investigate. I got to the shop. It was below zero in Wisconsin and all the doors were open and the shop had no heat. Hands wet with coolant. Everybody in winter coats. And hour into the day I looked over at another new employee and he said across the aisle "what a s&^thole huh?" I knew I would hate it. The stock was mostly outside frozen in snow and ice. My bad.
First shop I worked at boss was a cheapskate, he told me he didn’t do rehires because they would ask for more money, didn’t matter if they left on good or bad terms. Messed up part was he didn’t try to replace them with a new hire so me and my co worker got stacked with so much work that it drove us away after years of it
I can believe it - too often when people leave, managers / shop owners try to do more or the same with less, and all it does is compound the burnout!
Yes I would and have rehired many times
If I was an employer I would always re-hire. This is the nature of capitalism from both sides, employer and employee, Not only employers have the right to capitalize on the highest/lowest bid but employee do to. Everyone benefits. When you hire on an experienced man you get all the money/investment of what past employers put into that person. What you loose with someone leaving you can gain with an experienced hire. Plus you gain a good reputation for being a kind employer, a good place to work. And re-hiring harmonizes with biblical principles of forgiveness and reconciliation. Also, you may not need to train that person because he worked here before. And there is a lot to say about already knowing the person you re-hired.
Awesome comment! I totally agree.
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it was meant to be..
if it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.
Its all comes down to communication. If a guy wants to try out a shop and see if it's a better fit for him or her that's fine. But I would put in a note in this employee file if he would be eligible for rehire. Communicate that during the exit interview. Yes do an exit interview. Ask questions. Communication.
Exit interviews are crucial. I think a lot of shop owners / managers get a bit icky and weird when a guy decides he wants to leave, and kind of hope if they ignore it, it will all go away. Because of that, they're missing out on a critical information gathering opportunity to see what's working and what isn't at their shop.
As an owner/manager, it's your job to prepare for that contingency. There should be two or three people properly vetted to replace the person on the day they leave. New hires are always a risk, but there's no point in losing jobs while you search for a replacement. It's much better to consider rehiring if circumstances are favorable regarding operation and production instead of filling a gap caused by the employee's absence.
Absolutely, I think you're spot on here!
Yeah, but......
we've been looking for an inspector for 2 years. This is a really good place to work, the owners/bosses have the correct attitude, the crew all gets along well and works well together, pay is good, bonuses are out-fucking-standing. They've had 3 people accept the job, then not show up. So it's easy to say, keep 2 or 3 waiting in the wings for someone leaving, but what of there is nobody?
Rehire, however rehires don't seem to bust it as much as when they were there the first time they were there. Just something I've seen with multiple hires that come back and then leave again.
I've seen this as well - it's certainly a 'known quantity' at least!
My issue as an employee has always been that for me this is a career, I want to advance. That could mean skills, positions, wages. I will learn whatever my employer wants me to learn but if they want me to have a skill set I don’t have they need to train.
I could absolutely love my employer but if I don’t see the job going where I want it to go for my career, and I’m not slacking off then what incentive would I have to stay.
Your incentive not to leave is not really the question, but instead what incentive you would have to come back and that is very relevant to your employers incentive to take you back. Your post pretty much said - it is all about me, and when running a company it is always a hiraki of company and all its employees first.
Kinda hard to be mad at someone for trying to better their self. Worked for a guy like that. To thos day he won't talk to me because I left for a job that payed 3 times he did. Not to mention I'd work 12 hours each day for him and get payed for 8. They don't pay for driving. Well the company I left and went to did.
If they left honorably definitely YES if they burned the bridge then absolutely NO
This is my take in a lot of cases as well!
How about starting a used machine tool hidden suppliers list by zip code.
You get heel lock in becoming a machinist. Always looking for better of everything. The hobo machinist riding the rails.
Yep, depends on the guy. it's hard to find a competent machinist that shows up every day. Then there's the assholes, bad attitudes. If the gut has the right attitude and can make you money, what's the problem?
Type of business doesn’t matter. Never rehire. Employer should have “lessons learned”; adjust environment to help keep good people. Wish departing employees well.
How does that help anyone?