Badger Boomerangs

We value all our team members at BADGE, and we’re sad to see people leave us. But we love it when they want to come back!

Returning employees – or Badger Boomerangs, as we like to call them – play a vital role in our organisation. They can positively impact on our culture and the development of our people, by sharing their experiences and the lessons they’ve learnt while away.

We understand people want to have new experiences. Sometimes that means working in a different sector, or getting involved with types of projects other than the ones we work on here. To make that happen, the reality may be that an employee needs to leave us. However, when there is an opportunity for them to return, we strongly believe that welcoming them back makes good sense and brings a lot of benefits to our organisation.

Over the past 12 months we have had 11 past employees re-join our Group, bringing the total number of current Badger Boomerangs to 18.

‘Goodbye’ vs ‘see you soon!’
How do Badger Boomerangs come to be? Well, the first step is encouraging all departing staff to keep in touch. In exit interviews, we ask our people whether they’d consider returning to BADGE, and over the past 12 months we’ve had a 100% positive response!

Part of the great culture at BADGE is the way that friendships and connections among our people extend well beyond being ‘just colleagues’ in the workplace. When my HR team starts a recruitment process, we make a point of encouraging current staff to share the opportunity with well-suited people in their network – which we know is likely to include previous BADGE staff.

Another advantage of our great culture is that it’s common for former Badgers to reach out directly to us to express interest in coming back. We love to see that because it’s more proof that we stand out in the market as a desirable place to work – and also because we save dramatically on the recruitment costs of advertising and placement fees!

It’s nice to be back
Returning employees are typically able to make an immediate impact and have an instant rapport with their former colleagues and managers. They know our culture, they are familiar with some (if not all) of our systems and processes, and they add to that with the new knowledge and experience they’ve gained – especially through the exposure they’ve had to different procedures and operations elsewhere. We also celebrate their return with the Boomerang Award, given to all staff who rejoin us after time away.

When I ask Badger Boomerangs to comment on their motivation to return, I always enjoy taking in the answers. Some mention leaders with an inspiring sense of direction – for example:

“When the opportunity to rejoin the company presented, I grabbed it with both hands… there is a focus on good management and clear business strategy, with a progressive procurement outlook that promotes efficiency and productivity strategies.”

Others reference the strong camaraderie:

“To come back was a no brainer… the culture in the company is one of friendship and helpfulness, and the joy in the people’s faces shines when you come back to work. That has been my experience. It is like coming home to family after a holiday, it is so uplifting. To me this is family and I missed it.”

We want everyone here to grow, develop, and have successful careers with us, so we work hard to maintain a culture that constantly raises the bar and sets us apart from our competitors. If any of our people decide to try something new elsewhere, they should leave with very good reason to one day come back – and bring with them invaluable new perspectives and skills on top of all the things that made them an excellent employee in the first place.

So a Badger Boomerang is good news all round… and just like a boomerang, we love it when they come back!