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If youre having a farewell party for a beloved colleague, dont cry too hard into your cake. Theres a decent chance theyll be back. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 28% of new hires were boomerang hires, the term for someone whod resigned within the last three years only to return. Mindi Cox, chief people officer for O.C. Tanner, provider of employee recognition and reward solutions, falls into the boomerang employee category herself. As a hiring manager, shes also done her fair share of hiring former employees, too. People often leave a job because there’s an opportunity that’s too good to turn down, or they have a life season, like I had, and need to step away from work, she says. The same employees might become homesick for a culture that they’ve left and have discovered that maybe the grass wasn’t as green as they thought. Or that the priority of the pay, or the title, or the opportunity they were chasing didn’t outweigh their coworker relationships or the care that they felt in a previous workplace. There’s all kinds of reasons people move around and return, but I think [boomerang employees] are an overlooked workforce. What boomerangs bring back Having an employee boomerang is a good sign for the company, says Angela Jackson, author of The Win-Win Workplace: How Thriving Employees Drive Bottom-Line Success. Sometimes, the right people step off for a while to grow, gain new skills, and return even stronger, bringing fresh perspectives, external best practices, and a renewed commitment to the companys mission, she says. Their return signals to current employees that the company is a place worth coming back to, reinforcing a culture of mutual respect and growth. Returning can bring benefits to the company, the first of which is much simpler onboarding, says Carolyn Walker, global HR director at Tenth Revolution Group, a tech talent provider. Someone familiar with the business is far more likely to hit the ground running and know the nuances and quirks that can otherwise take time to get up to speed with, she says. Plus, in those vital first few months where a new recruit is forming an opinion, good or bad, about you, a boomerang employee is far less likely to form a negative impression. Boomerang employees also return with fresh perspectives, says Nathaalie Carey, chief human resources officer at the logistics real estate company Prologis. Having gained new skills and experiences elsewhere can strengthen your teams, she says. And boomerangs send an encouraging message to employees. We have a client that welcomes boomerangs back with a special pin that goes on their badge, says Cox. It can break the ice for someone who may not know their career story. They might say, I see that you left and came back. Tell me about that. Sometimes boomerangs are your best evangelists about all the reasons to stay. Leaving and returning also means they solved the “what ifs about leaving, adds Cox. We never want to say, Don’t talk about your experience, she says. Theyre back, which means your company is the better spot for them. Leaving the Door Open Since boomerangs can bring value back to your organization, its important to stay in touch. Depending on how closely you may have worked with them, Carey recommends touchpoints by personal email or text or through professional networking, such as trade organizations or digital tools like LinkedIn. Many times, employees who leave tend to stay in the same industry, meaning there are plenty of opportunities to stay connected and provide value to one another, whether its for knowledge sharing, forging partnerships, or working together, she says. Companies can also maintain formal alumni networks, such as creating a LinkedIn group. Jackson says a great example is the consulting firm McKinsey, with thousands of members worldwide. They actively stay connected with former employees through the McKinsey Alumni Center, which offers networking events, job boards, thought leadership content, and even investment opportunities in alumni-led startups, she says. Exit interviews are an important tool for nurturing a boomerang employee. Cox asks her recruiters to be mindful of people they were sad to see go. If there is an open position, they reach out, saying We have this position and immediately thought of you. It may be something you wish was in your growth path but just wasn’t open at the time. Before we hire for this, we want to put it on your radar. Always be supportive of an employee who leaves to further their career, says Cox. Too often employees will say, I thought you’d be upset with me, she says. People want to know that they’re cheered on as people. […] We want them to know that we’re interested in them as individuals. Beware of the Drawbacks Rehiring isnt always a win-win, says Jackson. Just because someone was a great fit in the past doesnt mean theyre the right fit for the future, she says. Nostalgia can cloud judgment. Companies should focus on whether a returning employee adds new value, not just whether they were once successful in the role. Theres also a risk of perceived unfairness. If a boomerang hire comes back at a higher salary or with special treatment, it can send the message that loyalty is undervalued, says Jackson. The best boomerang employee hiring strategies focus on mutualistic relationships where the benefits for both sides are clear, says Jackson. Companies should be clear about how their culture, expectations, and priorities have changed. And returning employees should bring fresh insights, not just familiarity. A great rehire isnt just picking up where they left off; theyre leveling up. The main thing for employers to do is to have a culture that people will get homesick for, says Cox. Invite them to decide,this is the best place for me, she says. If they don’t stay, at least be somewhere that they’ll miss that will bring them back.
Category:
E-Commerce
Kai Cenat is launching a streaming university. Cenat announced his plans during a February 13 stream, explaining how he wants to help streamers both big and small learn from his success. Im going to rent out a university over a course of a weekend. It will be streaming university. Okay? Im going to rent it out, Cenat said during his Twitch stream. Im going to put out enrolls and applications of people to enroll into the university, no matter if youre big, no matter if youre a small streamer, you can stream the entire weekend. Cenat will install himself as school principal. Just like a real university, there will be dorms; unlike a real university, there are plans for major influencers to act as instructors. Cenat said during his February 13 stream that wants the likes of MrBeast and Mark Rober involved. In terms of the classes and sh*t, for example, I would love to do some sh*t where, science, Mark Rober is the professor for that day, and hes doing crazy experiments for everybodys stream, he said. Say there is a financial class, MrBeast in that motherf**ker. While anyone is welcome to apply, that doesnt mean admission is guaranteed. But those denied the first time round are welcome to re-enroll for next semester, Cenat said. While some online commenters were excited for the chance to learn from one of the most-followed Twitch streamers, others were dubious. Two-day crash course on how to break the internet and your sleep schedule.. . . . one person posted on X. So just a more expensive clown college? wrote another. Over the last few years, Cenat has become renowned for his record-breaking streams on Twitch and YouTube that reach millions of viewers. Cenat The 23-year-old ranked No. 24 on Forbess list of the top-earning creators in 2024, with estimated earnings of $8.5 million. The live-streaming space has been seeing significant growth in recent years, both in the format itself and the number of people tuning in. In the last quarter of 2024, live-streaming viewership reached 8.5 billion hours watched, a 12% year-over-year increase, as reported by marketing firm Stream Hatchet. Who needs four years of college and tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt?
Category:
E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. When you factor in home, school, work, and other public spaces, the average person spends 90% of their time indoors. Given this, its probably no surprise that the built environment is responsible for 42% of the worlds carbon (CO2) emissions. This number is too big and the likelihood of it increasing is high when you consider aging buildings, extreme weather, a rising number of powered devices, and the energy demands of AI and high-performance computers. One way for workplaces to lower it is to go back to school and take a page from todays campus IT leaders and administrators. In addition to monitoring energy consumption, shifting high demand processing needs to off-peak times, and taking advantage of government incentives including energy tax credits and grants, campus leaders have uncovered a new way to get a better handle on energy consumption. One that can potentially lower their buildings carbon emissions and be replicated in the workplace. The problem with estimating energy needs Energy consumption and distribution are often based on assumptions. For example, an ad hoc observation could tell you that sections of the library have fewer people on Saturday night versus Monday night. And that student projects and hackathons bring together clusters of people hovering over a table or in a lab. You can also assume energy consumption is higher in dorms on weekday mornings as students get ready for classes while administration buildings are still dark, therefore requiring less power in the administration buildings. Also, for university administrators, budgeting meetings require a larger conference room while one-on-one conversations are in private offices. For these different activities, energy needs vary. These assumptions may be helpful but are not entirely accurate; otherwise CO2 emissions would be decreasing. The HVAC and IT teams have likely already factored the ebb and flow of foot traffic and occupancy into buildings for heating and cooling systems. However, they cant know the frequency and timing of ad hoc meetings. Meanwhile, the time and cost of powering up an area for a short meeting can be untenable, which explains why a space is often set to a consistent room temperature regardless of usage. Our buildings today dont understand what users need or intend. Im sure you remember evenings when you were studying or working alone in a classroom or office, only to have the lights suddenly shut offforcing you to do a little dance to turn them back on. The situation is similar with HVAC systems. In many buildings, a single rooftop unit cools the entire space, so if one person feels hot in a room and sets the thermostat to “low,” the system might crank up the AC dramatically, wasting a lot of energy. These reactive responses are inefficient for building systems. The future lies in leveraging spatial intelligence to understand how users interact with space and to predict future needs and trends. Use AI to replace assumptions with actual data Little is known about understanding how humans use campus buildings and the office, yet that is changing. Instead of assumption-based decisions, campuses are tuning in to how students and staff use the buildings. For a while, the benefits of occupancy trackers, productivity tools, and cameras were touted, but those are incomplete at best and invasive at worst. This is why higher education institutions are tapping into newer technologies that combine AI and body heat sensing technology with anonymity to better understand how humans use indoor space. In addition to providing insight into foot traffic and occupancy, human movements can tell you the frequency of ad hoc meetings and the need for collaborative versus individual space based on how humans interact on a regular basis. The institutions and organizations using these newer technologies arent interested in who is in the space, nor are they capturing that data; they are focused on how the space is being used. Campus insights are transferable to the workplace Campus energy demands are not unlike workplace energy demands. In many instances, both have a mix of older and newer buildings, fluctuating needs for individual work and group collaboration, and fluid foot traffic and occupancy due to shifts in return to office policies. Additionally, each campus and company have distinct corporate cultures. When we have a complete and accurate picture of how indoor space is used by humans, it leads to a better distribution of heating and cooling systems to meet the needs of the people in them. As a result, we see: Fewer blackouts: Despite older infrastructures being retrofitted, the number of blackouts is steadily increasing. Data from Climate Central reports that the U.S. has experienced a 58% increase in weather-related power outages over the past decade compared to the 2000s. A better understanding of energy consumption and needs can help lower the likelihood of blackouts. Higher value from investments in retrofits: According to Professor Kent Larson, director of the City Science research group at the MIT Media Lab, one can lower a buildings carbon footprint by using deep energy retrofit with newer technologies in HVAC/building materials and building sensory systems, including heat sensing technology to understand the effects of movements in a space. More productive workspaces: Instead of expensive or one-size-fits-all campus and office designs, interiors can reflect the distinct culture of the institution or organization. Spaces that accommodate the people in them result in more productive, collaborative, and meaningful environments. These types of insights flow into cost savings on energy and maintenance, lower carbon footprints, greater return on technology investments, and higher retention. In the workplace, its clear that employees are now in the office more regularly. In a January 2025 report, JLL cites rental rates are trending upwards and leasing has cemented post-pandemic highs in the last three consecutive quarters. Whats more, Q4 volume was at least 92% of pre-pandemic averages. As organizations try to make the office a place employees want to be, it is worth taking a closer look at innovations on campuses that can make a difference in the well-being of employees and the planet. Honghao Deng is the CEO and cofounder of Butlr, an MIT Media Lab spinout.
Category:
E-Commerce
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