Training and development key to retaining older employees, attracting younger employees
Today’s employers are trying to find a balancing act between keeping experienced and talented professionals, while hiring and grooming recent college graduates, entry-level employees and mid-career professionals to become the leaders of the future. Managing changing demographics is a priority and challenge many employers face.
“It’s extremely important to keep the more experienced and talented staff motivated and engaged,” says Alissa Henriksen a veteran business owner, recruiter and staffing firm specialist. “But at the same time, you always want to be on the lookout for the up-and-comer.”
But a recent Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) survey finds organizations are unprepared for an aging workforce. In fact, that survey shows a lack of preparedness for the anticipated increase in older workers in the labor force, with just over one-third of organizations examining policies and practices to address the demographic change. SHRM’s The Aging Workforce Survey found that an additional 20 percent of organizations had examined their workforce and determined that no changes in policies and practices were necessary.
But if you want to keep your demographics diverse, continue to bring in fresh training that keeps your more experienced employees engaged, up to date and open to new ideas, says Henriksen. At the same time the training and development your company provides will attract the talented rising star in your industry. Today’s workers, especially – and here comes that word again – The Millennial – crave employer-sponsored training and development.
Because technology is changing the world of work so fast – and not just for those in IT, forward-thinking employees are constantly seeking ways to stay on top of current industry trends and technologies. If your company can’t provide this training – the top employees will soon leave for the company that is providing that cutting-edge training and new, talented employees will never want to work for the company for fear of falling behind in this tech-driven workplace.
Developing your employer-brand cam be crucial to finding future stars to groom and develop along with an aging workforce. Become a company that people admire, that people want to work for. Be active in the areas where today’s younger generation hangs out – on social media such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn. Show that you are a place where people want to work. But don’t forget about those baby boomers and longtime employees – focusing on their tenure with the company is a positive. Use their experience to show todays younger that team members like the company, culture and work environment because they have stayed on the job for longer periods of time.
Use the experience of the boomer as a recruiting tool too – set up mentorship programs or highlight how staff industry expertise is key to long-term development. This will help engage the younger worker while keeping boomer involved as a trusted employee asked to represent the future of the company.
“You should always have a job posted for your company,” says Henriksen. “Even if you aren’t hiring, you need to keep your company at the forefront of the job seekers mind and this helps with your employment brand. You need a strong recruitment brand now more than ever.”
The SHRM survey of HR professionals, part of a three-year national Aging Workforce Initiative by SHRM and the SHRM Foundation and funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, comes at a time when members of the highly skilled and institutional-knowledge-rich Baby Boom generation are reaching retirement age. One-half of survey respondents said they track the percentage of their workers eligible to retire within the next one to two years, and they reported that 10 percent of employees would be eligible within two years.
“Competition is intense and companies are starting to change the way they look at recruiting and hiring,” says Henriksen. “So if you only post a position when you are in desperate need, you need to change your way of thinking.”
About one-half of HR professionals did not think the potential loss of talent during the next one to two years would have an impact on their industry or organization.
But one-third thought it would be a problem or a crisis for their industry and organization in the next six to 10 years.
A minority of HR professionals said their organization has analyzed the impact of older workers leaving the organization (17 percent), identified future workforce needs (21 percent) or identified potential skills gaps (20 percent) in the next six to 10 years.
“Because of the recession, some workers are staying in the workforce longer. But employers shouldn’t be fooled by that trend,” said Evren Esen, director of SHRM’s survey programs. “The demographic change already is becoming an issue in industries such as health care, higher education, and gas, oil and mining, and it’s not going away.”
“Workforce planning is important,” she added, “because it will help position organizations to take strategic advantage of their human capital, particularly in the context of an aging workforce.”
The SHRM survey also found:
Recruitment and Retention
- Two-fifths of respondents indicated the increasing age of their workforce has not prompted changes in retention (42 percent), recruiting (42 percent) or general management policy practices (41 percent).
- Two-thirds (66 percent) reported that their organization employed older workers who retired from other organizations or careers before joining their organization.
- Sixty-one percent of HR professionals indicated their organization had attempted to capitalize on and incorporate the experience of older workers in recruitment and retention strategies.
Basic and Applied Skills
- The top advantages of older workers were more work experience (cited by 77 percent of respondents), being more mature/professional (71 percent) and having a stronger work ethic (70 percent).
- The strongest basic skill held by older workers was writing in English, cited by 45 percent of respondents, and the strongest applied skill was professionalism/work ethic, cited by 58 percent.
- One-third of respondent organizations had not taken any steps to prepare for potential skills gaps as a result of the loss of older workers. For the organizations that had taken steps, the most common were increased training and cross-training (42 percent) and succession planning (33 percent).
- More than one-half (54 percent) had implemented training or cross-training programs to transfer knowledge from older to younger workers.
“Mixing generations is extremely important because then everyone is learning from one another and you are allowing your employees to keep an open mind with those that are hired,” says Henriksen. “Never turn your back on training and development. This is the key to keeping, hiring, and retaining the absolute best.”
