From 2011 to 2030, approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 every day. For American businesses, this means a growing wave of employees leaving the workforce. What can your company do to stay ahead of this retirement trend?
How to Prepare for the Retirement of Baby Boomers
Keep Open Lines of Communication
Sixty-five is no longer the magical retirement age. In fact, a 2018 Gallup poll showed 41 percent of Americans plan to work past 65. This can be confusing for employers because they can’t predict when people will leave. To avoid finding yourself with unexpected and hard-to-fill open seats, keep in touch with your older workers. Ask about their intentions. And, when they are ready, assist them with their exit strategies. Just be careful not to cause unnecessary anxiety. Boomers who are afraid of being pushed out may purposely keep their retirement a secret until the last minute.
Start Succession Planning
Although the upcoming wave of retirements frightens many organizations, this is a perfect time to prepare for the future. Look at the positions you will need to fill in the next five to ten years. Do you have current employees who may be able to step into these roles? If so, begin training them now. However, don’t make your older workers feel like you have their replacement waiting outside their door. Instead, use creative and mutually beneficial strategies. For example, in reverse mentorship programs, Baby Boomers can show younger generations how to handle interpersonal relationships better, while younger generations can teach Baby Boomers about recent technological advances.
Offer Flexible Work Options
Traditional retirement isn’t what it used to be. Today’s retirees are active and want to continue being productive in some way. (CNBC, 2017) Smart companies will take advantage of this trend. Even though many Baby Boomers are looking to leave their full-time roles, they may be interested in part-time or consulting work. By creating non-traditional opportunities for these semi-retired workers, your organization can cover empty roles as well as benefit from a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Continue Building Your Talent Pool
In addition to succession planning, companies also must begin developing long-term and sustainable hiring and recruiting efforts. With recent low unemployment rates, this requires your organization to go beyond the traditional Help Wanted ads. To attract a larger and more diverse workforce, hiring expert Scott Wintrip recommends pulling candidates from eight different talent streams. These include 1) Advertising, 2) Automation or leveraging job boards and ATSs, 3) Candidate Mining in which you look back at past applicants, 4) Market Presence, 5) Networking, 6) Referrals, 7) Talent Manufacturing such as internships and on-the-job training and 8) Talent Scouts or staffing and recruiting firms.
What Is Your Manufacturing Organization Doing to Prepare for the Retirement of Baby Boomers?
If you know you’ll need to replace older workers in the next ten years, but you don’t know where to start, Connectology is here to help. Our recruiters and talent scouts specialize in making manufacturing placements throughout the upper Midwest. Learn more about the advantages of partnering with us today!
