Is it possible to re-integrate a former team member into a software project?
We have a product with a looming customer deadline and we don’t have enough hours to get it done! We have a former employee who left on excellent terms and wants to come back. They are familiar with the codebase and architecture (which has not changed significantly since they left).
Can we use this situation to avoid Brooks Law?
It seems like an ideal situation, team member up to speed with processes, tools, etc. What do we need to be careful of? Are there any dragons in the water? Or should we expect smooth sailing?
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Yes, it is possible to do this smoothly. There are several factors that could affect how smoothly it goes, however.
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Is the returning employee just coming in as a temporary contractor? If so, it should be smooth. If not, territoriality issues could surface unless territories are made clear at time of rehire.
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Is the returning employee becoming a manager or just a contributor? If just a contributor, again, it should be smooth, especially if the employee has his/her own area to focus in, or is playing the role of a mentor. If a manager, then he/she might be dissatisfied with the people supervised, which could create resentment in both directions (up and down). If the former employee hired those people, then it is probably less of an issue.
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Will the employee be compensated better than before? If not, there might be resentment unless the employee has been somehow humbled by the outside world and is returning home.
This happens all the time, and generally goes well. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. And @RobertHarvey makes an excellent point that if the existing team approves of the move, then so much the better.
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If you’re worried about other team members resenting the return of this person (you mentioned that in a comment), what alternatives have they offered? Does everyone agree that you are not going to make your deadline unless you do something? At this point, I’m not sure I could tollerate complainers.
How affective this person is depends on how long they were away from the project. Technically they left the company, but leaving for one month is just a lengthy vacation.
Make sure the new person is informed about changes you made since they were there last. Maybe he favored using framework X and you switched to Y. This person needs to understand that you need to meet a deadline, so there is no time for a lot of debate. Like everyone else, he needs to focus on the task at hand and not lament over how much easier this project would be if he could only use X.
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