According to a recent census, 1 in 5 people are of retirement age as of 2018. Baby boomers aging out of the workforce will likely have a significant impact on many businesses across many industries – HR professionals and companies everywhere will need to prepare for this workplace exodus and the staff shortage that will come with it. Here’s how.
- Plan for openings: Identifying those who might be moving into retirement is the first step structuring a strategy to handle pending job openings. Looking at the people who have occupied these roles and identifying what has made them a strong, successful employee can help you with everything from writing job descriptions to recognizing what’s necessary for a replacement hire.
- Assess all positions: Are there any roles that can be or should be phased out of your organization? Any positions that can be combined with another to create a more streamlined, efficient workload? When a wave of retirement comes through, it’s a good time to analyze if there are any positions that can be eliminated or combined to save
- Think about training: Is there any way that a current employee looking to retire can contribute to the knowledge base of your business? Even if they can’t train their replacement, they may have useful project experience or other expertise that future employees or the business overall can benefit from. Asking retirees to complete a “legacy survey” or giving them another type of knowledge transfer opportunity can help grow to make the transition more successful.
- Pay attention to your pipeline: There may come a time when there are more open roles to fill than there are people applying to positions. Keeping records and resumes on file can help you find talented people faster so you have fewer disruptions of business.
The health of your organization depends on the people making decisions and doing the work of driving business. Having a plan in place to handle pending retirements is important is securing your continued success.
If you need help filling your upcoming openings or planning your hiring strategy, give us a call today.