“As automation progresses, you want your talent to be skilled, highly engaged and loyal, and to form high-performing teams. Each of these, you’re going to get from career returners”
Context
At our Career Returners Employer Insight Event in October 2025, we explored how returner talent can drive performance, diversity of thought, and long-term value – all especially important in today’s volatile markets
Our expert panel – Tace Heuston, Julie Mimnagh, and Claire Holness – shared real world-world insights for private and public sector employers, with illustrations from the global JPMorganChase ReEntry Program and the Enfield Council Career Returners Programme. Their stories showcased the impact of returner programmes on productivity, cognitive diversity, engagement and retention.
Key Themes from the Discussion
Returner hiring is strategic
- With high engagement, loyalty and a wealth of experience, returners strengthen teams and build a pool of high calibre individuals who go on to be successful long-term managers and leaders.
- Returners help organisations better mirror their clients in terms of gender/age/ethnic diversity and attract younger talent looking for social value employers.
Returner hiring is particularly important now
- The people skills, maturity and experience of returners is particularly valuable in uncertain times.
- Returners risk becoming more disadvantaged. In times of falling headcount, recruitment becomes more risk averse. 94% of returners are finding re-entry challenging, up from 92% in 2024, with recruitment bias seen as the biggest barrier.
Internal barriers to hiring returners can be overcome
- Find one or two supportive business leaders who will champion the hiring, and pilot it within their teams
- Julie shared how Enfield Council filled hard-to-recruit roles while reducing reliance on expensive agency staff, leading to a cost-neutral programme.
- With the rise of AI, there is a greater need for people and professional skills within tech teams. With the pace of change, returners only need to get up-to-speed on current tech, not to fill the gap. And 70% of returners have upskilled prior to returning.
Structure is critical
- Line manager training is essential to help managers to supportively integrate returners into their teams.
- Returners are set up for success with structured transition coaching and mentoring support.
Move to action
- Don’t wait for the perfect time to launch a programme. Pilot a returner programme with small numbers in the most receptive team(s), then test and learn. This builds case studies, demonstrating the business rationale to the broader business.
For more information on how to design and implement supportive returner hiring, contact employers@careerreturners.com
