According to a recent article by Carol Fishman Cohen for Harvard Business Review, the COVID-19 crisis has created an urgent demand for medical and technology professionals to return to work from retirement or a career break. Carol says returning physicians and nurses, along with technologists proficient in the “ancient” COBOL coding language that many states still use in processing unemployment claims, are helping society — and this has put these “relaunching” professionals in the spotlight.
Traditionally, there have been few resources to support those returning to an established career after a long absence. As a result, many talented professionals have struggled to make up lost time and refresh their skills.
Progressive organizations are stepping up to this challenge, recognizing an incredible opportunity—not only to support returning workers, but also to reverse the talent drain, strengthen employer brand, and positively impact their cultures and bottom lines.
Their response is to leverage returnships—formal workplace re-entry programs.
What is a returnship? In a nutshell, it is a structured, company-sponsored program to guide cohorts of returning workers back into the workforce. Workers are able to adapt their skill sets, orient around new technology, and more quickly step back into a paused career. These re-entry programs are able to set the stage for quick re-assimilation and success.
How? A returnship offers a safe and structured place to develop new skills or adapt ones that have evolved during an extended absence from the workforce. The experience balances resume gaps and helps build confidence by dispelling perceived obstacles. The cohort model also helps returners develop a new network of peers, mentors, and champions.
Employers benefit even more. They gain continuous access to a talent pool of highly-skilled, experienced, and loyal workers—whom they could never reach through more traditional recruitment efforts. The programs have been shown to create a positive return-to-work culture that elevates the employer brand and drives up engagement and retention across the organization. These programs also mitigate the loss of talent due to care giving and can be the catalyst to accelerate more women directly back into leadership roles.
Are you stepping up the onboarding of returning colleagues through returnships in your organization? Would you like to start? I would love to hear your thoughts on these programs. What is working for you? What are the benefits and successes you are seeing? What is holding you back?