October 24, 2008
‘Returnships’ Bring Workers Back into Corporate World
Brenda Barnes, chief executive officer of Sara Lee Corp., has created a program designed to enable parents who have left the workforce to return and restart their climb up the corporate ladder.
Sara Lee announced that it is starting “returnships,” a program that offers mid-career professionals paid four- to six-month internships at the company.
Ms. Barnes, who left her job as Pepsico’s president in 1997 to spend time with her kids, knows what it is like to leave the workforce and then attempt to step back in.
“I haven’t seen anything like this (before), and it’s a great idea,” Robert Wilson, president of Employco Group Ltd., told Crain’s Chicago Business. “It’s a great opportunity for someone re-entering the workforce.”
Sara Lee is seeking professionals across a wide variety of career disciplines including brand management, finance, human resources, marketing, product innovation, and sales.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the idea behind Sara Lee’s “returnship” program? Will this be something taken up by other companies?
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It’s an old idea with a new twist and well worth the effort. If you have benefits and no one knows about it, does it really exist?
The best source of proven great employees are those great employees who have left you for some reason. This is another spin on what some people call the boomerang program. Getting great people who have left you to come back.
As a side note, most of us give our best ex-employees away. When the competition calls to check references we should know that this person is out in the market looking for a job and we should call them to see if we can get them to come back to work for us. We already know the quality of their work.
Sounds like someone is thinking here! Why don’t they also look at retirees and others over 55 who have been displaced by “progress,” downsizing or consolidation?
It is so rare to encounter a wonderful new employment idea with merit, but this may be one of those times. Scripture tells us there is nothing new under the sun, so a precedent must exist somewhere. But for now, I’m extremely impressed with this unusual recipe combining intelligent corporate strategy with a healthy dash of humanitarianism. I predict that as the workforce grows older, “returnship” will become part of the fabric of corporate productivity. Who do you want to employ, a kid who is the product of a flawed educational system and feels entitled, or a trained veteran who knows how to get the job done?
This sounds interesting but I’d like to know more details before committing to wild enthusiasm. The short 4 to 6 month window concerns me because, in my experience, it is the rare project that happens in such a short timeframe in the corporate world. I’d like to know what happens to the intern after the 4-6 month period and what kind of productivity can realistically be attributed to someone working within such a short time frame. So, I’m a definite “maybe.”
Sounds like flex time being repackaged. Also, the four to six month internship will probably save Sara Lee money. The employees internship will be over before benefits kick in. Smart move by Sara Lee. Get qualified execs but not be on the hook for benefits. A lot of companies already do this but instead of calling them interns, they are called outside contract workers.
Kudos, kudos, kudos! I’m lucky, as I run a business from my home…but I often look at my infant and can’t imagine getting up at the crack of dawn to take her to daycare every day. Thousands of women AND men are in this situation. So they leave the workforce temporarily to man the ship at home and veer off their career path at the cost of their career.
Why does it have to be this way? Because of old school HR dogma. I hope this points to a new trend that many others find inspiration from. It’s a new day out there after all.
Of course this is a great idea yet it is really nothing new, only new in terms of corporate America embracing the concept. For example, look at Mom Corps – http://www.momcorps.com–this is exactly what they do.
We have had great experience doing this ourselves and have also seen “Mom” or “Household CEO” on more and more resumes from candidates who have great experience.
If employers are flexible and open-minded, they will find that some of these people will be among their most productive, valuable and loyal.
I worked for Sara Lee (apparel division) for just under two years in the mid 90s, and left for family reasons, as did many of my smart female colleagues. I think the returnship idea is great, but I would caution that the corporate world has to adjust a little as well.
I returned to the agency space, and actually spent a few years working only until 3:00 PM most days to allow me to cover being not only a taxi and sports fan for my three kids, but to have time to influence their activities in that “after school” gap time that allows pre-teens to get involved in all the wrong activities, or be glued to TV or video games. Corporate returnship should allow some flexibility for returning parents to keep the right level of involvement with the pre-teens and teens.
Terrific, and much needed, outside of the box thinking! So many of our clients struggle with finding talented, qualified staff at all levels of the operation. Yet, most every time they take the leap into this underused talent pool of workers it turns out well.
Retailers have done a decent job in using alternative hiring pools in recent years, and this is just another good example.
Well done.
Finally! Much has been made of the “Mommy Track” and on-ramping and off-ramping careers. The reality is the off-ramping is easier than on-ramping. Getting back to one’s pre-baby salary and career tracking is notoriously difficult for women who have left the workforce for a period of time (vs. coming immediately back to work).
Great Leadership, Sara Lee.
From an HR standpoint, this is an excellent way to attract top talent. I’m sure anyone who has left work for maternal reasons always has some worry about returning to the work force. I showed this article to my wife and she beamed over it. Considering how behind North America is in maternal benefits, this is a great step to improving the current situation.
What an excellent idea. And what great timing, in light of the current economic conditions. There are many people who, for one reason or another, left the workforce. Giving them an opportunity to restart their careers makes sense for employers and employees. It benefits companies by offering a new pool of experienced, talented workers. And it benefits potential employees by not pigeonholing them in low-level, low-paying jobs. Ms. Barnes is the poster child of the positive effect of these efforts.
Great idea! It’s going to take creative ideas such as this for corporations to get quality leadership and mentorship for the new millenials. With a record number of baby boomers preparing for retirement on the horizon (although delayed with the current economic crisis), companies will need to focus on succession plans, mentorship and revamping their current models to support lots of different creative job structures.
Such stories as a financial institution hiring a 72 year old retired businessman to be a loan officer will start to surface; he had been retired for 20 years.
Sara Lee’s “returnship” is a great way to “try before you buy.” In other companies, many positions are offered “temp to perm”: if the candidate performs well as a temp, after a while the job may become “permanent.” (Of course, no job is truly “permanent.”)
I just want to make a quick response to M. Jericho Banks.
While this returnship is a great idea–please don’t totally trash the new young workers in the process. Not all are from a flawed education system and feel entitled. I have worked with many that also can jump right in and with the proper training, teach some us some new tricks. Every organization needs a mix of talent. The recent grads are being put down due to lack of experience but hey, we all have to get experience somewhere from someone who gives us a chance.
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It’s an old idea with a new twist and well worth the effort. If you have benefits and no one knows about it, does it really exist?
The best source of proven great employees are those great employees who have left you for some reason. This is another spin on what some people call the boomerang program. Getting great people who have left you to come back.
As a side note, most of us give our best ex-employees away. When the competition calls to check references we should know that this person is out in the market looking for a job and we should call them to see if we can get them to come back to work for us. We already know the quality of their work.
Sounds like someone is thinking here! Why don’t they also look at retirees and others over 55 who have been displaced by “progress,” downsizing or consolidation?
It is so rare to encounter a wonderful new employment idea with merit, but this may be one of those times. Scripture tells us there is nothing new under the sun, so a precedent must exist somewhere. But for now, I’m extremely impressed with this unusual recipe combining intelligent corporate strategy with a healthy dash of humanitarianism. I predict that as the workforce grows older, “returnship” will become part of the fabric of corporate productivity. Who do you want to employ, a kid who is the product of a flawed educational system and feels entitled, or a trained veteran who knows how to get the job done?
This sounds interesting but I’d like to know more details before committing to wild enthusiasm. The short 4 to 6 month window concerns me because, in my experience, it is the rare project that happens in such a short timeframe in the corporate world. I’d like to know what happens to the intern after the 4-6 month period and what kind of productivity can realistically be attributed to someone working within such a short time frame. So, I’m a definite “maybe.”
Sounds like flex time being repackaged. Also, the four to six month internship will probably save Sara Lee money. The employees internship will be over before benefits kick in. Smart move by Sara Lee. Get qualified execs but not be on the hook for benefits. A lot of companies already do this but instead of calling them interns, they are called outside contract workers.
Kudos, kudos, kudos! I’m lucky, as I run a business from my home…but I often look at my infant and can’t imagine getting up at the crack of dawn to take her to daycare every day. Thousands of women AND men are in this situation. So they leave the workforce temporarily to man the ship at home and veer off their career path at the cost of their career.
Why does it have to be this way? Because of old school HR dogma. I hope this points to a new trend that many others find inspiration from. It’s a new day out there after all.
Of course this is a great idea yet it is really nothing new, only new in terms of corporate America embracing the concept. For example, look at Mom Corps – http://www.momcorps.com–this is exactly what they do.
We have had great experience doing this ourselves and have also seen “Mom” or “Household CEO” on more and more resumes from candidates who have great experience.
If employers are flexible and open-minded, they will find that some of these people will be among their most productive, valuable and loyal.
I worked for Sara Lee (apparel division) for just under two years in the mid 90s, and left for family reasons, as did many of my smart female colleagues. I think the returnship idea is great, but I would caution that the corporate world has to adjust a little as well.
I returned to the agency space, and actually spent a few years working only until 3:00 PM most days to allow me to cover being not only a taxi and sports fan for my three kids, but to have time to influence their activities in that “after school” gap time that allows pre-teens to get involved in all the wrong activities, or be glued to TV or video games. Corporate returnship should allow some flexibility for returning parents to keep the right level of involvement with the pre-teens and teens.
Terrific, and much needed, outside of the box thinking! So many of our clients struggle with finding talented, qualified staff at all levels of the operation. Yet, most every time they take the leap into this underused talent pool of workers it turns out well.
Retailers have done a decent job in using alternative hiring pools in recent years, and this is just another good example.
Well done.
Finally! Much has been made of the “Mommy Track” and on-ramping and off-ramping careers. The reality is the off-ramping is easier than on-ramping. Getting back to one’s pre-baby salary and career tracking is notoriously difficult for women who have left the workforce for a period of time (vs. coming immediately back to work).
Great Leadership, Sara Lee.
From an HR standpoint, this is an excellent way to attract top talent. I’m sure anyone who has left work for maternal reasons always has some worry about returning to the work force. I showed this article to my wife and she beamed over it. Considering how behind North America is in maternal benefits, this is a great step to improving the current situation.
What an excellent idea. And what great timing, in light of the current economic conditions. There are many people who, for one reason or another, left the workforce. Giving them an opportunity to restart their careers makes sense for employers and employees. It benefits companies by offering a new pool of experienced, talented workers. And it benefits potential employees by not pigeonholing them in low-level, low-paying jobs. Ms. Barnes is the poster child of the positive effect of these efforts.
Great idea! It’s going to take creative ideas such as this for corporations to get quality leadership and mentorship for the new millenials. With a record number of baby boomers preparing for retirement on the horizon (although delayed with the current economic crisis), companies will need to focus on succession plans, mentorship and revamping their current models to support lots of different creative job structures.
Such stories as a financial institution hiring a 72 year old retired businessman to be a loan officer will start to surface; he had been retired for 20 years.
Sara Lee’s “returnship” is a great way to “try before you buy.” In other companies, many positions are offered “temp to perm”: if the candidate performs well as a temp, after a while the job may become “permanent.” (Of course, no job is truly “permanent.”)
I just want to make a quick response to M. Jericho Banks.
While this returnship is a great idea–please don’t totally trash the new young workers in the process. Not all are from a flawed education system and feel entitled. I have worked with many that also can jump right in and with the proper training, teach some us some new tricks. Every organization needs a mix of talent. The recent grads are being put down due to lack of experience but hey, we all have to get experience somewhere from someone who gives us a chance.