Savings for HR results in a reduced need for background checks. The alumni employee has already been researched. Or, the time period between termination and rehire was so short a new background check is duplicative. There may be no referrals to call because the alumni’s tenure with the company speaks for itself.  Fewer man-hours are spent on a recruiter’s full-life-cycle of tasks normally required.

The cost of training is minimized, unless the alumnus has missed major changes to policies, markets, products or services.  Many rehires can simply pick up where they were.  Unless the alumnus is placed in a new job or department, there is no need to re-train them on most corporate policies or techniques.  The IT department minimizes overhead costs by reactivating e-mail addresses, access to servers or employee portal, or previous permissions for tasking.

When alumni employees return, whether for an old job or a different position (new department or geographic area), initial expectations may be everything will be the status quo.  If the rehire has been gone more than a month, changes may have occurred as part of a company’s cost-cutting and streamlining, of which the alumni needs to be aware before they sign the re-hire offer of employment.  It is vital Human Resources (HR) or the rehiring manager communicate changes, expectations, and any variation of benefits to the rehire, either during the final interview for a rehire, or within the rehire offer letter.

Offer letters have an annual salary noted, but many companies don’t detail benefits, except to note entitlements to benefits provided to all full-time (and/or designated benefits for part-time) workers.  If there has been an open enrollment period, then co-payments, premium costs, co-payments, or provided benefits may have changed and need to be communicated. Rehired employees usually slip through the communication cracks in the HR department, so alumni has the onus to inquire.

If the employee has been absent for less than 30 days, the employer might be able to re-instate the alumnus or ‘make whole’ without a lot of paperwork.  The insurance vendor might not yet have been notified the employee has left.  If the employee has been gone for over 30 days and enrolled for COBRA, they should have received information about changes in the benefits coverage. If there is no break in insurance, there should be 100% coverage when they re-convert the employee back to the same plan. If the rehire did not elect COBRA benefits and there is a gap of coverage over 30 days, they will be considered a new employee and will most likely have to make elections as a new hire.  This might be to the benefit of the rehire if they don’t have to worry about pre-existing conditions, but may result in a waiting period if there are pre-existing conditions not covered by the recent health care act.

Rehired alumni may be able to negotiate a higher baseline salary; but the company could offer the same salary because they are still struggling. If an alumnus is offered a lower salary, they should remind the employer the cost of a rehire will be drastically reduced compared to a new hire, based on less orientation, retraining, and background checks needed by a recruiter.  This provides a modicum of power to negotiate a higher salary or reinstatement to the status quo.

The employer may wish to consider offering stock options and vesting stock. They may not be able to offer a higher salary, but may have the ability to future incentives via investment. The stock may eventually exceed the ‘lost’ value of the higher or status quo salary.  The alumni takes the gamble the company’s worth will increase when the economy gets better, there is a gain in sales for a new product or service, or even a back-burner R&D project starts to produce. The bet might even revolve around the alumnus’ ability to increase sales.

Employees expect vacation (Paid Time Off [PTO]) and possibly sick leave (if separate from PTO accrual) as part of their benefits rehire package. Employees absent for a short-term period will want their accrual rate reinstated – especially if it was at a higher rate than new hires.  Employees earning three, four, or five weeks of vacation annually will want that reinstated (or grandfathered).  This should be discussed in the final interview, and written into the offer of rehire, so there is no misinterpretation.  If the company is struggling financially, or the alumnus has been gone for several years, HR may insist the rehire restart the PTO accrual rate from the baseline.

Employees love extra benefits offered by employers such as tuition reimbursement or training cost reimbursement.  The company may have tenure restrictions for these benefits, so the alumnus needs to ask for any restrictions to be lifted as part of the rehire offer.  This will ‘make whole’ benefits attained before the employee left.

Many rehired employees have the capacity to negotiate from a point of strength with employers who wish to rehire them.  Smart job seekers can regain benefits, higher salaries, and other tenured perks, if the company has the financial capacity.  No company is legally obligated to provide the grandfathering of benefits, privileges, or perks. But offering these in small or incremental amounts could be a deciding factor to hiring back a special skills or unique employee that can give the company an edge against the competition.  Alumnus should get everything negotiated in the final interview for an offer of (rehire) employment letter so there is no misunderstanding once onboard.

Dawn Boyer is the owner of D. Boyer Consulting (http://dboyerconsulting.com), a human resources consulting firm for small business and 8(a) government contracting companies.  She can be reached at Dawn.Boyer@me.com.

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The Hensley, Ivens, Lindseay, Ghorley Facebook page is now official and I can’t wait for family members to post photos, reminisces, and other stories for all the family members to enjoy!

Come visit our page on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/Hensley.Ivens.Lindsey.Ghorley.Family

Hypothetical Elderly Parent Options for Last Years -

What would YOU do?

Hypothetical question about elderly parent – answer ONLY based on info provided:

1) Elderly parent living alone, but doing well in retirement, pension & social security $; healthy nest egg, no $ worries
2) Health is good for octagenarian – no maintenance prescriptions
3) Children pop in weekly or bi-weekly to run errands, visit, take care of home/business, but unfortunately live ‘out-of-town’
4) Slight dementia w/ short-term memory lapses
5) Walks 3-4 times a week; drives to church, drug, and grocery store as needed
6) Lives alone, complains about being ‘lonely’
7) 100% relies on others to do everything, but refuses to have ‘strangers’ come into home
Lives in neighborhood where houses sold in $300k, now 1/2 to 3/4 value after ‘bust’

Retired octegenarian now wants to sell a home with NO mortgage & move an hour away into a home 2 x as big (& 2 X as expensive) so child #1 (who is single) can live with retiree so retiree won’t be lonely anymore.

Child # 1 advised retiree to sell current (100% equity) home to children, one child sells 50% share to other, & child #1 w/ cash purchases home in their name only – retired parent lives with in home purchased. Child lives in ‘boonies’ & works full-time as a health care provider for a local tiny hospital (basic care, no specialties or trauma unit). Child # 1 predicts current house will sell for more than Zillow.com value.

2nd child has-offered to create a parent-in-law suite in child’s home, with private entrance, private bath, with parent’s investment of about $15-20K, so parent can keep original home (and rent for additional income). 2nd child lives in ‘bustling’ metropolitan area, but quiet ‘bedroom community.’ Predicts current house sells for 20% below Zillow.com value, losing up to $70K in value if wait for 2-3 more years to sell.

What would YOU DO if you were children?

To answer this question, go to:

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/personal-finance/personal-real-estate/PFI_RES/851668-3621587?browseIdx=0&sik=1308121420122&goback=%2Eamq

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day.

He inquired, “Where have you been?”

God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, “Look, Michael. Look what I’ve made.”

Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, “What is it?”

“It’s a planet,” replied God, and I’ve put life on it.

I’m going to call it Earth and it’s going to be a place to test Balance.”

“Balance?” inquired Michael, “I’m still confused.”

God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth.

“For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor.

Over here I’ve placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people.

Balance in all things.”

God continued pointing to different countries.

“This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice.”

The Archangel, impressed by God’s work, then pointed to a land area and said, “What’s that one?”

“That’s Virginia, the most glorious place on earth.

There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, and plains.

The people from Virginia are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to travel the world.

They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, carriers of peace, and producers of good things”

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked, “But what about balance, God? You said there would be balance.”

God smiled, “Right next to Virginia is Washington, D.C.  Wait till you see the idiots I put there.”