The Tatari Boomerang Effect: Why Employees Return

Careers aren’t as linear as they once were. Today’s workforce is more mobile, more curious, and more willing to take calculated risks. In that environment, a growing number of professionals are becoming what HR leaders call “boomerang employees” - people who leave a company but choose to return.

The trend is growing. According to recent payroll data from ADP, boomerang employees made up 35% of all new hires. 

Leaving a company isn’t always about dissatisfaction. Often, it’s about exploration. And when people do leave on good terms, they gain something valuable: perspective.

The best companies understand this, and Tatari definitely fits in this bucket. We consider our relationship with employees to be long term, and the door is open when the right time comes around, again. In the last few years, several ex-Tatarians have “boomeranged” - whether they left to explore new industries and/or roles, they each have ultimately returned for different reasons.

Why Employees Come Back to Tatari

Career Growth

First, growth here is real. Tatari sits at the intersection of media and technology, which means employees aren’t confined to a single lane. People develop skills across product, data, performance marketing, and platform innovation. When they leave, they take that foundation with them. And when they return, they bring back new context and sharper perspective.

Rewarding Culture

Second, culture at Tatari is not performative. We live and breathe collaboration, ownership, and transparency. Tatarians are trusted to make decisions and ownership isn’t a buzzword. Leadership is accessible and transparent. Feedback flows in both directions. That combination of autonomy with accountability is harder to find than many realize. Often, it’s only after experiencing a different environment that the difference becomes clear.

Strong Relationships

Third, relationships here endure. When former employees reconnected with Tatari, it wasn’t a cold start. Many of the same teammates were still here. Trust hadn’t disappeared. The product had evolved. The company had matured. But the energy, the standards, and the shared ambition remained intact. Returning didn’t feel like starting over. It felt like continuing unfinished work.

For 3 recent boomerang employees who decided to return to Tatari, the decision was easy. While their paths may have been different, their conclusion was the same. Tatari was home.

Meet Tatari’s Boomerang Employees

Josh Roizman, Sales

“The Intersection of Media and Tech.”

Josh joined early in his career as Tatari was building out its supporting function in Client Development; even though early in his career, we could see Josh’s tenacity and persistence in everything he touched. Josh left Tatari to pursue higher education and explore other career paths and industries. We are happy to have him back in a full-force sales role where we know he will never take “no” for an answer!

Jeff Testerman, Engineering

“A Company I Believe In.”

Jeff was the first client partner hired at Tatari and really set a high bar for this role. I still clearly remember how many candidates we had to interview to finally narrow down the right “unicorn” hire with the right combination of TV and measurement knowledge. Jeff left Tatari to scratch his teaching itch and we are happy to have him back to mentor the Platform team and help scale our clients.

Fred Li, Engineering

“A Culture I Cultivated."

Fred was the first “stranger danger” hire at Tatari as a software engineer intern; everyone else prior were hired as a result of existing relationships or networks. With Tatari as his first real job, Fred left to explore other career paths and industries, and we’re happy to have him back as a strong contributor to our engineering team.

Thinking about the next chapter of your career?  Explore our open roles and discover why some careers at Tatari come full circle.