In May 2013, the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM) released an eighty page Workplace Forecast
identifying the top HR trends between 2003 and 2013. Topping the chart, again for the eleventh
year in a row, was the high cost of health care coverage. The other nine contenders for first place are
nothing to laugh about. If you have had
your head in the sand, maybe 2014 is the year that will make or break your
business. (Or maybe you’ll retire
yourself!) The information age has allowed businesses to share stories of their
successes and failures and has created valuable resources for workplace
improvements and creative approaches to human resources concerns in business. If you
can’t come up with a novel idea on your own, steal someone else’s!
Every day I am confronted with business
operators who struggle with problems either created by or enhanced by
government legislation. From CEOs who
are trying to avoid unionization to Administrators who experience high labor
costs due to skilled worker shortages and even CFOs experiencing higher costs
and reduced revenues due to government budget cuts. Can’t a corporation catch a break once in a
while? I guess not in this day and
age.
Three
of the top ten trends involve the lack of a skilled workforce. Either caused by Baby Boomers retiring, lack
of new graduates in a specified field or increased global competition for
jobs. A Baby Boomer is a person who was born during the demographic
Post World War II baby boom (thank you Wikipedia!). Those years were 1946 through 1964. Basically
the youngest baby boomers are turning 50 this year and the oldest have been on
Medicare for three years now. Every day
8,000 baby boomers turn 65 years of age.
Only 33% of businesses have analyzed the effect that retirement of baby
boomers will have on their business.
The rest of you will be scrambling.
Some
of the best advice I found in researching this phenomena came from technology professional
organizations. I assume because if they
lose their best people, they might as well shut their doors. But
there are lessons that other industries can learn from them.
1. Use Succession
Planning to insure that as your older, more experienced staff begin to move out,
you maintain the same level of knowledge in your organization. Have your younger staff shadow your older
staff to learn what they know. Developing
proper training programs will result in transferring knowledge and information
from the retiree to his/her successor.
Waiting until the last few months of a retirees employment to educate
the younger staff is a futile effort. Plan ahead.
3. Implement
a formal education program for new graduates.
Investing in up-front education insures staff is knowledgeable and
trained in the idiosyncrasies of your specific business. Lower your experience requirements just a tad
and provide OJT.
4. Invest
in educational programs and tuition assistance for work related degrees. Insure that when a higher level position
becomes available due to a retirement, you have a qualified candidate in the
pipeline.
5. Consider
untraditional work arrangements for baby boomers. Offering baby boomers part time work,
telecommuting, or work on an “as needed” basis can supplement the retirement
income of boomers while allowing your company to benefit from their skills and
knowledge. Being flexible and open minded can be beneficial to both
parties. Let’s face it, baby boomers
aren’t retiring gracefully anymore, they are vacationing in Rome, rock climbing
in Brazil and skiing in the Alps.
As nearly 30% of the workforce prepares to depart, Human
Resources will need to assess demographics within their organization and plan
for future needs proactively. Don’t
wait until it’s too late.