Tech companies are considering rehiring fired workers due to severe skills shortage

According to Randstad UK research, nine out of every twenty tech managers in the UK (45%) would rehire an employee they had previously fired.

The numbers, according to Randstad UK, reflect the pressure on firms facing Covid-driven labor shortages and the Great Resignation’s severe employee attrition. Randstad UK’s senior director of operations, Adrian Smith, said:

“This shows just how severe the labour shortage is at present – and how desperate employers are getting in the face of such a dearth of skills.  By hiring someone you have fired, rather than someone who has just left the organisation, not only are there the obvious problems associated with trying to operate alongside  someone who didn’t work-out the first time round, there’s the added risk of annoying ambitious people who have stayed with you – nudging them to leave in protest.”

“Employers are considering such drastic action because of the explosion in Corona-virus quits – the Great Resignation. Very few tech professionals moved jobs during the first stage of the pandemic.   Another factor is burnout.  Some teams have been running too hot for too long.   And Covid has changed how some people think about life, work, and what they want out of both.  It’s made people step back and rethink their lives, reminding them that life is too short.  The number of vacancies out there means that not only do they now want to change one of the key aspects of their life – their jobs – they can.”

“Employers are also under pressure because of staff absences.  While the self-isolation period for Covid cases has finally been cut to five days, this isn’t looking like a huge boost for tech businesses as we thought.  First, those are ‘five full days’, so really employers are only looking at getting workers back one day sooner than they were.  Second, the tech sector has been ahead of the curve on remote working which means self-isolation hasn’t been quite as serious for the industry as it has been in, say, healthcare.
“Despite all this, employers needn’t despair or, indeed, compromise so far as to recruit people they have fired in the past.  The talent is out there – it’s just harder to find.”

When Randstad surveyed tech workers who had changed jobs in the previous 12 months if they would feel confident about going to a new job now, 75% said they would feel confident or extremely confident.

Adrian Smith said, “One of the unwritten rules of taking a new job is keeping it for at least a year – even if you hate it. The thinking goes even if the environment is tough, you need to show professional commitment and stickability before moving on.  People used to be worried about what future employers would think as an employee who stays at least a year is a better investment than one who doesn’t.  Well, I can tell you tech professionals aren’t worried about that in the slightest now. If a job isn’t to their satisfaction, they know they can walk straight into another one.”