Older Workers Hold the Key to the Future
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2007-06-22 10:56:00-04:00
As the baby-boom generation nears retirement age, the prospect of workers leaving the workforce has the potential to dramatically exacerbate trending workforce shortages. In the United States as baby boomers age, wide spread retirements portend serious questions. Could a nursing shortage have a major impact on our healthcare system? The issue is not just about developing recruitment strategies for increasing the number of nurses, but finding staff to teach nursing curriculum in the classroom.
On average, today's engineers are in their fifties. How many times will companies have to reinvent the wheel because a large number of their workers have exited the workforce with their knowledge and experience in tow?
A 2005 AARP survey of HR managers shows that 58 percent indicate is it more difficult today than it was five years ago to find qualified job applicants. More than half of the HR managers believe that their companies are likely to face a shortage of qualified workers within the next five years.
Are 50+ workers a possible solution to these challenges? An AARP study of employers' perceptions of this demographic shows continued misperceptions about their capabilities. Mature workers are inflexible, not up-to-speed with today's technology and most importantly, they're too expensive. But are they really?
The Business Case for Workers Age 50+: Planning for Tomorrow's Talent Needs in Today's Competitive Environment attempts to address the specific issue of cost. The study highlights the need for employers to consider costs with a broader lens and demonstrates that hiring 50+ workers is a solid and sound investment proposition.
The report shows that while there is a general perception that 50+ workers cost more than younger workers, any additional costs are minimal, at most. In the case of retention, the offsetting costs are related to turnover—replacing veteran employees with deep institutional knowledge and job-related know-how with new employees and the time and money it takes to train them. In the case of hiring, age-based compensation cost differences are negligible. Ninety-seven percent of average total compensation costs in large U.S. employers involve four components including cash compensation, health care benefits, retirement benefits and paid time off.
In today's competitive global market, can employers afford to ignore this demographic as a viable solution to labor force needs? Sixty nine percent of boomers surveyed in a recent AARP study indicated their plans to remain in the workforce past traditional retirement age—perhaps into their 70s or 80s. The modern work environment has transformed requiring more "brain" power than "brawn" power. This makes remaining in the workforce longer a more realistic proposition and good news for employers who will need to keep them. Given the many productive advantages of 50+ workers, they are more cost-effective than many employers suspect and a viable solution.
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