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This story is part of our 360 package for October 2022, to view more stories, click here.

Pictured above: Ben Blevins, Katie Hewitt and Kurt Svoboda pictured during the 2019 Men's College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Blevins has worked with Kurt at Saint Anselm, Stanford and Michigan, and now works at Bally Sports in Atlanta, Ga. Hewitt has worked with Kurt at Michigan over two stints.

Welcome them back: Change your department's mindset from 'retread' to 'reinvest'

Michigan’s Kurt Svoboda says it’s time to embrace former staff, and use DEI to help draw them, and new talent, to your institution.

by Alex Jewell – Eastern Michigan, Director of Athletic Media Relations  @AlexJewell_EMU

“We celebrate the former student-athletes who come back to work for us, so why wouldn’t we do the exact same thing for people who are growing up on our staffs.”

When you read the word “retread,” what does it make you think of? If your mind goes towards the literal use of the term, you’re probably thinking about an old, worn-out tire getting a second life. Acceptable? Sure. Desirable? Maybe not.

Whether you’re an automobile enthusiast or just enthused that you have an automobile to get you to work, you will likely agree, the term “retread” has a negative connotation.

 

The same term is often used in the workplace. Retread, meaning something, or in this case, someone, old, familiar, perhaps that has done the job before. Acceptable? Sure. Desirable? Maybe not.

But why?

Think about your hiring practices. Are you, or is your department open to “retread” candidates? Would you give a fair shake to someone who has already worked in your department?

The University of Michigan’s Associate Athletic Director for External Communications and Public Relations, Kurt Svoboda, says that the answer is a resounding yes, and that the benefits are vast.

He joined Eastern Michigan University Director of Athletic Media Relations Alex Jewell as the two set aside their normal cross-county rivalry to discuss the topic.

Jewell: Do you agree there has been a negative connotation within intercollegiate athletics about re-hiring former employees?

Svoboda: Yes, and it’s a curious thing. I have definitely experienced that and heard that at different places. To me, if there is someone that is interested in returning to a workplace, and it is going to be a good fit for us (the institution), and for them and their life’s journey, I would literally ask the question to your administration ‘why wouldn’t we consider bringing them back?’

Jewell: How do you balance having a great personal relationship with someone and wanting to bring them back with your obligation to hire the right person for the job, team and university?

Svoboda: One of the most important aspects of my job is to bring the best, most diverse candidate pool for final consideration. If I am hiring a position and a former employee is coming back, I am going to have a candid conversation with them, and also let them know that I am also doing my search on behalf of the university, and that I am going to be considering other candidates as well. I always want to guard against keeping the candidate pool “circle” too tight, or just made up of people I know or who I have had recommended to me. The best way to find the right person is to also ensure that in every pool I put together, I interview multiple people who I do not know, and who have no connection to my network whatsoever. I want to continue to meet new people and diverse candidates that I otherwise may not have come across if they hadn’t applied. 

Jewell: With that said, have you found that there can be a natural benefit to candidates that are already familiar with an institution?

Svoboda: There truly is. Every time you bring on a new employee, there is an onboarding period. That can be for things as simple as learning where buildings on campus are. It can be very attractive for schools, especially with small departments, to bring somebody in who needs much less of that transition period – but only if they are truly the best candidate. It’s not just about them knowing the job, it’s about the benefit they bring because they already know the ecosystem and the climate of the department.

 

Jewell: What’s your answer if I say the following: When someone leaves, it shows that they are not loyal. How could you bring them back?

Svoboda: We have to be people first. We have to understand that where someone is today may not be where they need to be tomorrow. If there is something in an employee’s life journey that changes, I want to be their advocate. In making that clear and developing that trust with people, it becomes a lot easier for that person to pick up the phone, check in, and then feel comfortable if there is ever a mutually beneficial opportunity for them to return.

And in my experience, sometimes the absolute best thing for someone to do is leave, and grow somewhere else. Every single time, they come back more experienced, more educated, with more perspective, and with more to offer our department. I would argue that the only right thing to do, in some cases, is help them find that next role.

Jewell: Should you consider bringing someone back in a different role than the one they previously held with you?

Svoboda: Absolutely 100%. People who do great work in the job they are in should be provided the opportunity to grow and evolve in other areas. There are people on my staff who I know would be phenomenal compliance officers – and if they are hoping for that opportunity, I would be the first person to advocate for them. It is important to have that mindset and also share it consistently. Every time we have a position open, I announce it to the staff and ask everyone to please provide feedback and thoughts. Maybe they want the job. Maybe they have new ideas about the role. Let them express those ideas. When they know you trust them to share those thoughts, and perhaps even help them reshape their role, it leads to incredible work.

Just as crucial as the need for institutions to be open to re-hiring former employees, is the need for former employees to want to come back. Need a classic SID fact to back that up? About 46% of jobseekers cite workplace culture as an important factor during their search, according to a 2021 study by TeamStage.

Svoboda agrees. And he believes one of the best ways to get there is through the embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Jewell: Diversity in our field is a noted problem. Have you found that building a people-first, culture-centric office has led to increased diversity in your candidate pools

Svoboda: I would certainly hope so. But I also know that it is not enough. Hiring managers have to be intentional. You can’t be successful in attracting a diverse group if you are only thinking about it during the hiring process. It has to start with a 365-day-a-year approach, and I truly believe that starts with having a people-first mindset. And just as importantly, hiring managers have an obligation, in my view, to challenge themselves to interact, network, and grow their web with new, diverse individuals, in every aspect of their job.

I am 25 years in – the easy thing for me to say is “here’s my network,” but I would be failing my institution and my staff if I wasn’t doing everything I can to meet the next wave, the next generation, of great, diverse talent. And by the way, when you do that, you make your current staff so much better. New ideas, new people. New perspective. It matters.

I think it also needs to start internally as well. For me, it starts small. How about admitting to myself that maybe a mid-40’s, white male may not be the best person to develop our TikTok strategy. You have to think about all of those aspects, big and small, intentionally. To use a baseball term, you can’t bring in all power-hitters to build your team, even if that is what you’re comfortable with. You’ll strike out way too much.

Jewell: Is there any easy ‘gauge’ to start with?

Svoboda: Well I certainly think it is easy to look at your student body. If our staff doesn’t represent the student body, at least to some extent, then that is something we know we can certainly get better at.

Jewell: Is there anything else specific that the University of Michigan has implemented under the scope of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that has helped to build a better culture and draw former employees, and new, diverse employees, to you?

Svoboda: Oh sure, and I think to be fair, a lot of universities are starting to take this more seriously. Michigan has been a leader in that area, and we have built not just a DEI committee, but a very diverse department. When you can show candidates that your hiring and practices legitimately reflect what you preach, it is a great thing.

I think the next step is reminding people, and breaking the thought process that the DEI committees and initiatives are just for the underrepresented communities. To be frank, we need white people to stand up and be part of this as well.

On my staff specifically, I preach, again, the idea of relentless networking. I go to as many workshops as I can, I watch job boards, and I just search websites, and I come out of it every time with one or two people that make me say “I need to stay in contact with them.” That is an easy, resource-friendly way to find a diverse set of future candidates. Why not be intentional with communicating with them and building a relationship?

And I would add that if you are a young person in this field, I certainly don’t think I so unique in that aspect. Bring your best version of yourself every day, treat people well, and if the right circumstance exists, I really believe that the opportunity will present itself and will find you.

Being open to “retread,” employees, however, is not enough. Nor is having a good culture. Turning “retread,” into “reinvest” starts long before an employee ever returns to an institution – it involves having a plan to bring employees back, and maintaining a strong relationship.

This may seem obvious, but Kronos reports that 80 percent of employees say their former employer lacks any strategy to encourage them to return, while 64 percent say there is no strategy for maintaining a post-work relationship.

If you want to be successful in bringing employees back, this is a critical third area that you must take advantage of.

Jewell: Many people leave the workplace and feel there is no relationships maintained. Do you suggest that managers have active conversations during exit meetings about the opportunity to return in the future?

Svoboda: I think it is an absolute necessity to have those conversations. Those conversations can happen very authentically if there is truly a people-centered environment. I talked to my staff all the time and I ask them to be upfront and honest about where they want to go in life, because I want to help them get there. When that environment exists and that trust exists, I feel like I can have a lifelong relationship with those people, and then yes, when an opportunity to return presents itself down the road, it is a lot less awkward to have that discussion because you have not gone two years without speaking.

 

Jewell: For a leader that feels they need to be better about reconnecting with former staff, should they be intimidated by it?

Svoboda: There is never the wrong day, time or circumstance to start reaching out, or back out, to the people who you think about or care about. I am not perfect at it. The aspect you have to figure out is what is the best medium to keep a relationship going. Is it text? Email? Phone calls? It will probably look very different for different people, and that is okay. There is no time like the present to just do that.

It’s not what you say, it’s that you thought of them. That is a powerful thing. For me, I schedule it on my calendar, I make it very rhythmic, and that does not make it inauthentic. For me, it’s a great way to remind myself to do something that I absolutely should be doing.

For those wondering if Svoboda has put his money where his mouth is, the answer is again, a yes. Svoboda’s current Director of Digital Content, Katie Gwinn Hewitt, left her previous role at the institution for a role at Temple before he welcomed her back without hesitation. How about Kyler Ludlow, a former two-stint assistant director under Svoboda that recently resigned only to be welcomed back in a part-time broadcasting role at the university? Svoboda’s list of examples throughout his 25-year career is certainly even more vast.

As the discussion wound down, mainly because the two had each run out of banana pudding following lunch, Jewell asked Svoboda one final question. His answer is, perhaps, the most powerful of all.

Jewell: For the future of our business, how important is it that departments embrace not casting off the “retreads,” but investing in them?

Svoboda: It is incredibly important. The core of what we’re doing is education. We’re developing young people and we want them to be successful and we want to launch them into their life, and then we want them to come back so we can celebrate them and their success. We celebrate the former student-athletes who come back to work for us, so why wouldn’t we do the exact same thing for people who are growing up on our staffs. If they have an opportunity to come back, we should be celebrating them in the exact same way. 

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