The return of the Baby Boomer

The return of the Baby Boomer – Why organisations are tapping into this booming resource.

It’s no secret that an aging population means that there are skill shortages becoming increasingly prevalent across most industries, with the community and health sectors the hardest hit. While there has been a demonstrated effort to recruit and train the next generation into these areas, it leaves a large gap in experience that needs to be filled right now.

The obvious answer to this shortage is to continue to hire and to keep older and more experienced staff on for longer. Organisations are starting to see the reward of attracting these older staff members who not only have their years of experience to offer, but also provide stability and maturity to a role.

The demographic balance of people coming into the workforce verses people reaching what is traditionally considered retirement age is shifting, and at a drastic rate. The amount of people just in Australia who are now in the over 65 bracket is growing by about 130,000 people a year, compared to an annual growth of 50,000 in the past 20 years. (Adelaide Now, Feb 2013)

Baby Boomers are the first generation who have a new “third age”, with a much longer and healthier life expectancy than ever before. They have worked tirelessly to generate a body of knowledge to continue to educate the younger generations, and although some may be ready to ease into retirement, there are plenty more out there who want to keep working, be it for financial reasons, or even just wanting to stay active and involved for longer.

Ian Yates, Chief Executive of the Council on the Aging (COTA), said, “The cultural mythology of workers and employers mutually agreeing to a retirement in their 60s should be abandoned. The employee doesn’t realise what they are giving up, and the employer doesn’t realise what they are going to miss as that experienced worker walks out that door”. (COTA, May 2013)

While employers may not be able to offer lucrative salaries, it is becoming clear that what the Baby Boomers really want is flexibility. Having dedicated their lives to their jobs for so long, they now want to spend some of their time with their family, their grandchildren, seeing the world – all the things they didn’t do before they began their careers.

“At present, too many well qualified people find it difficult to find or retain work as they get older. We’ll likely see this situation reverse in the coming years – with clever employers recruiting mature workers on a flexible hours basis to ensure they have the skilled workforce they need.” Ian Yates (COTA, Feb 2013)

So what can employers do to attract these staff that can already do the job while bringing a wealth of knowledge? The key to is offering flexible working hours, maybe that means finishing at 3pm so they can pick up their grandchildren from school, maybe it means offering the role in a part time capacity. If you can be flexible to the needs of this generation, you will be vastly rewarded with experience, maturity and loyalty.