Comments on: Avoid the recruiting boomerang.

By: Mark Lewis

Mark Lewis — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 05:12:37 +0000

Thomas is spot on, the issue here is why are employees looking to leave. What if it had been a competitor hiring him away? Who would the CEO blame then? Ungrateful employee? The CEO has larger issues internally and needs to admit that rather than trying to play a blame game when people are looking to leave.

By: Dave Berkus

Dave Berkus — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:01:22 +0000

Oli is right in his guess. The employee was not ever hired. But the customer’s CEO didn’t care. It was the break in trust, as Oli guessed, that caused that CEO to sever ties with the vendor – even after the vendor’s CEO did all he could to personally apologize and make amends. – Dave

By: Oli Thordarson

Oli Thordarson — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:45:51 +0000

I disagree Thomas. The story does not say one thing about the clerk getting hired. It appears that the hiring did not even take place. The transgression was the break in trust by the making of an inappropriate offer.

By: Mark Wayman

Mark Wayman — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 22:11:49 +0000

Amen to that! I have a very clear “no poaching” policy. If you are a client, you are safe. If not, it’s game on. I tell employees of client companies, “when/if you are off their payroll, call me.”

By: Thomas

Thomas — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:49:44 +0000

The “problem” here is completely missed. The issue for the “founder” isn’t someone hiring away his employee, but why did they leave? Workers won;t jump ship for a few thousand dollars if they are happy and feel secure, especially in a bad economy. He needs to look INTERNALLY rather than spewing vemon externally. His first call should be to the HR VP or the person manager to see why were they unhappy.

Thomas

By: advancedflier241

advancedflier241 — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:47:00 +0000

Great article. I’m a CEO and specialize in whitesheet product startups and have dealt with this twice at one startup – huge distraction and energy suck for all busibesses – but the reverse boomerang is also a risk and especially so for cash strapped small and early stage companies…