Qlik employees Patricia Acrich and Roy Horgan are two of the data analytics firm’s many “boomerangs,” people who’ve left the King of Prussia-based company, then returned, often in a new role. This year alone, Qlik has had 32 of them.

Acrich had been laid off, while Horgan left to pursue a position at another organization.

“I didn’t hold any grudges; I just took it as a business decision,” Acrich said of being let go as a Consulting Operations Analyst in July 2020 due to the economic effects of COVID-19. “With COVID, things changed, and my position was eliminated after I had been with the company for seven years.”

After being gone for two and a half months, Acrich heard from a former Qlik colleague about an accounting position in the banking division of the company. She went through the interview process, including a meeting with the Vice President of Finance, and was given the job on a consulting basis that October. It became a full-time position in January. 

“I was very happy to be back because I’ve never worked in a company that has such a great culture of collaboration and communication with leadership,” said Acrich. “They do a good job trying to hire people that fit into that culture, and I was happy to move into this new role with the banking team. The volume of work was definitely there because we do a lot of global banking, and I’m learning a lot.”

Horgan, a solicitor and native of Ireland, joined Qlik’s legal department in 2014 as Employment and Compliance Counsel. He later left to pursue an opportunity with a larger company.

“I left in 2020, and at that time, I had been with Qlik since January 2014,” Horgan said. “I loved my time at Qlik, and I always had fresh challenges. But as a solicitor, I wanted to see how some other organizations perform their legal services in-house as well, so I went to a much larger company. Still, I kept in touch with my old colleagues.”

During his absence, worldwide interest in Qlik’s cloud product, Qlik Cloud, grew, and the company needed a Global Protection Officer to help the business comply with the laws it is subject to.

Horgan learned about the opening from his former manager, and they discussed the role he could play in that position. He eventually returned to the company in April. 

“Not to be too cliché, but it was just like coming home,” said Horgan. “I was very keen for that position because I loved working at Qlik before, and this would be a new opportunity for me — working in a role that was critical to Qlik’s go-to-market strategy. And at Qlik, privacy and security are part of our DNA.”

In his new role as Senior Director, Privacy Counsel and Data Protection Officer in the London office, Horgan oversees the global privacy program, monitors for new legal changes coming down the pipeline, and puts in place mechanisms to continuously update and confirm Qlik’s compliance with privacy laws.

Along with the international aspect of the work, Horgan cited the challenging nature of his new role as a key factor in his return.

“Qlik is a place where there is great freedom in the company to grow if you have the appetite to take on responsibilities and challenges,” he said.

Like Acrich, Horgan also cited the culture of engagement and partnership throughout the organization as reasons why he’s happy to be back at Qlik.

Though their circumstances were different, both Acrich and Horgan consider themselves fortunate to have returned to the company as boomerang employees, with challenging new roles within a company culture they value.

“I have heard the term ‘boomerang’ before,” said Horgan, “but I’m hearing it more and more here at Qlik because the number has been quite high.”

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