Make Your Benefits Strategy a Slam Dunk

Even the most casual basketball fan can recall the night in 2010 when superstar LeBron James said on national TV that he was leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. While “The Decision” still holds a place in our pop culture history, that’s not the part of LeBron’s story I prefer to focus on.

Rather, I think of the much quieter decision four years later, when he announced his return to the Cavaliers – and then a year after that led the Cavs to its first NBA title in a half-century.What made LeBron go back to Cleveland? He’d already won two championships in Miami, was beloved by his teammates and fans, and had plenty of money and fame.

But he had connections in Cleveland – family, friends, roots, community, memories. He’s proof that money isn’t everything, that the grass isn’t always greener, and that you can go home again. LeBron is the ultimate “boomerang” employee, someone who leaves an organization, then returns. His experience – and the 40% of Americans who would consider boomerang employment – is a major industry trend that we see every day.

With persistent skilled labor shortages and U.S. unemployment is at 4.3% (its lowest point in 16 years), employers are increasingly open to considering boomerang employees to fill the more than 6 million current U.S. job openings.

These growing trends mean an effective offboarding strategy is just as important to a company’s success as onboarding, yet only 29% of organizations have a formal offboarding strategy. In today’s Glassdoor culture, sending employees out the door on a positive note means organizations could gain an ambassador, and encourage former employees to “boomerang” back with a positive attitude, which can drive company morale and reduce retraining costs.

This ongoing market trend is the reason Businessolver has created MyChoice Market, an industry-first, mobile technology solution that allows employers to enable seamless benefits transition when offboarding employees. It’s a marketplace that gives employers a strategic advantage on this growing trend and gives former employees a secure, easy-to-use way to shop, select and pay for a mix of core and voluntary benefits right from the MyChoice Mobile App.

I can’t promise your top employees won’t ever test the job market. However, a solid offboarding strategy can help you create powerful brand ambassadors, keep employee alumni engaged, and potentially lead boomerang employees back to your door.