The Baby Boom Crunch

Statistics Canada - as well as governments in most other developed nations, including the US and the EU - have long predicted that as Baby Boomers retire in increasing numbers, there will be more people aging out of the workforce than are entering it at the younger end.  (StatsCan has said that by 2015, there will be 315,000 more jobs in Canada than people to fill them.)

That's still true.  However, many people are finding that 'freedom 55' isn't what it used to be:  Today's average 55-year-old isn't ready for spending all their time gardening or lounging around in a condo in Florida, and they may still have kids at home.  At the same time, the 60+ crowd is starting to grow tired of 50-hour workweeks.

So we're starting to see a shift in goals and expectations:  While boomers aren't dashing for the retirement exit quite as dramatically as was predicted 10 years ago, they are looking for more flexibility and different opportunities.

What does this mean for businesses?

Get a handle on the demographics

Start by making a list of employees who are likely to be thinking about retirement in the next 5 years.  You'll need to make a careful review of your contractual commitments regarding pensions and benefits for retired workers and their spouses, and what this means for the organization.

Then it's time to start speaking to employees about their plans.  But tread carefully - employees need to understand that no one is being pushed out the door or being subject to age discrimination.  (It might be easiest to make this discussion part of a semi-annual review for all employees, not just potentially retiring ones.)

Remember that talking about retirement can be difficult for some people - it may make them feel old, or worried that they haven't planned sufficiently, or bring up health or familial issues.  Some experts say that the best approach is to position the discussion as a 'strategic planning' conversation, and making it clear that the employee is a valued partner in the business decisions of the company.

Expect the unexpected - and be prepared with some options

It's important not to make any assumptions.  That 55-year-old, highly engaged employee that you were certain would stick around for another 10 years may in fact be itching to retire, while that 63-year-old solid-but-not-stellar performer may be hoping to continue working indefinitely.  The 55-year-old may have made some great retirement investments and is looking forward to sailing around the world; the 63-year-old may have lost a spouse and is finding purpose through continuing to work.

So before you sit down with your employees, give some thought to different eventualities.  Would you consider offering the 55-year-old a contract, seasonal position?  A flexible role that would allow them to telecommute more than they can already?  Can you accommodate the 63-year-old, even if your company policy requires people to retire at a certain age because of your benefit plan or other restrictions?

Create a flexible succession plan

In most organizations, replacements for retiring employees are already within your ranks.  Identifying and grooming those replacements is in everybody's best interests, but it has to be done carefully.  This is where your discussions with employees about their long-term plans will stand you in good stead:  If you've involved older workers in the long-term plans, they'll be more positively engaged in helping to groom their successors, and you'll have less 'brain drain' and fewer transition hiccups.

Recruiters can be particularly valuable in this process.  They can help:

• Adapt onboarding programs for existing employees who are transitioning to a new role
• Create programs for outgoing employees
• Create training programs for employees who may be moving from a full-time role to a part-time or contract role
• Identify long-term gaps as a result of shifts in the demographics

Keep the lines of communication open

Employees who are thinking about retiring need to be able to discuss it with HR managers without worrying that it's going to impact their current career path - and the more honest they are with you, the more accurate you can be when doing long-term workforce planning.  Some tips:

• Foster a culture where all kinds of lifestyle planning - whether for sabbaticals, maternity/paternity leave, or retirement - is a perfectly acceptable topic to broach with managers or HR
• Educate employees about different employment options (telecommuting, contract work, etc.) and what they mean
• Make age a part of your organization's diversity training and conversation, to prevent creating an 'us' and 'them' environment between older and younger workers
• Involve employees in workforce planning and strategy as far as possible - or at least make sure that managers have a good understanding of their employees' long-term career goals