Three quarters of professionals (75%) in Singapore have stated that they are open to returning to their previous employer. They are likely to be considered, with 80% of employers who are currently hiring willing to do so without any hesitation or caution.
The poll also revealed that 40% of workers in Singapore who had left their job in the past two years did so for better pay and benefits – with a further 28% leaving for a better workplace culture or aligned corporate values.
78% of those surveyed admitted to staying in some form of contact with a previous manager – with a quarter stating that this was for the primary purpose of keeping the door open for future job opportunities (25%).
In fact – 27% of local professionals have admitted to reaching out to a previous employer in the past two years regarding job opportunities, with a further 20% stating that they have not done it yet but intend to do so.
Singapore professionals see the highest proportion of respondents who no longer keep in touch with their ex-companies, compared to their counterparts in other markets in the region. One in 5 (22%) Singapore professionals do not remain in contact with their ex-employers (compared to the SEA average of 13%).
Our findings show that managers in Singapore are the most open to consider rehiring their ex-employees. Yet on the employees’ front, we have the highest rate of employees who may have missed potential future job opportunities, by not keeping in touch with their ex-employers. It could be due to various reasons, such as a misperception that returning to an ex-employer could be perceived negatively. Employees may be encouraged to know that their ex-employers will be willing to consider them fairly, especially if they had proven themselves to be star performers in the company,” Country Manager at Robert Walters Singapore, Monty Sujanani said.
In a statement, Toby Fowlston, CEO of Robert Walters, the candidate shortages are still continuing, and having a pool of talent willing to rejoin the company is a good thing.
“Not only that but this is talent that can hit the ground running – they have already been inducted into your business, they will be familiar with processes, and have a previous vested interest in the brand – all qualities which can take years to instil in a new employee,” he stated.
