Over the course of the next two decades, the baby boomer generation will be moving into its golden years, and millions of workers who were born right after World War II will be stepping out the door and into retirement. Even though this shift is inevitable and has been in the cards for decades, some companies and HR managers are still completely unprepared and have no clear succession plan or staffing strategy in mind that can help them deal with the loss of valued older workers. Is your company ready for this change? Here are a few moves that can help any organization manage the challenge of age-related turnover.
Preparing for a Wave of Boomer Retirements
1. Succession planning
How would you describe the existing pipeline for your most important upper level positions? Are you actively selecting and grooming future in-house candidates for these positions? If you aren’t, or if you haven’t even considered the long term future of 1.) your best and brightest young workers or 2.) the future of key desks and chairs that are currently occupied by your older workers, then it’s time to align the trajectory of these two things.
2. Training and cross training
As you prepare ambitious younger workers for a long term future with the company, put your trusted older workers at the helm of the training process. Younger employees should have access to advancement within their own departments, and older workers should have counterparts who are ready to step up and manage their various responsibilities as they gradually step down.
3. Retaining retired workers as consultants and temps
When an employee retires, this doesn’t have to mean that all of his or her ties with the company are abruptly and permanently severed. Find a way to keep their skills and expertise close if they’re willing and interested in maintaining contact.
4. Capturing institutional memory and organizational knowledge from older workers
After an employee has worked with a company for many years, he or she offers value that goes beyond clearly identifiable, transferable, and trainable skill sets. Organizations accumulate intangible knowledge and memories just as individuals do, and as individuals learn from their experiences, so do companies. But only if these lessons, archives, and volumes of intangible, unrecorded data are successfully transferred from one generation to the next. This happens when managers provide plenty of structured contact between older and younger employees. Make sure projects, teams, and departments are organized with age diversity in mind.
For specific guidance on preparing your company for a wave of retirements, arrange a consultation with the Texas HR pros at Expert Staffing.