Preparing for the Upcoming Baby Boomer Employment Crisis

As the Baby Boom generation begins to retire, almost in every US industry statistics show that there will be a shortage of eligible workers. Many industries have assumed that they would always have a bountiful worker pool from which to draw, however, for the first time since world war two this will not be the case.

As Baby Boomers retire, certain industries will get a boost in growth. Companies in such areas as the medical, travel, and vacation industries should see marked growth and with this growth, the demand for qualified employees will increase. In addition, as this generation retires their many of their vacated positions will need new employees.

According to the US Census Bureau's the following aging of America is currently happening. In 2006, the oldest of the Baby Boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964, will turn 60 years old. The estimated number of Baby Boomers turning 60 years old by July 1 of 2005 will be 78.2 million. According to projections, 7,918 people will turn 60 each day in 2006. This amounts to 330 people every hour.

So how do progressive and far thinking companies prepare for the coming employment challenge? Here are a few ideas to implement, before the issue becomes a crisis.

1. Prepare an age and attrition study - You will not know if your company will have a drastic demand for new employees unless you define your current work force. Knowing what a numbers and percentage retiring staff you will have each year will help you formulate quality strategies in retaining key retirees and pipelining quality candidates.

2. Know your current Hiring Return of Investment Cost (HROI) - With a comprehensive HROI and a good attrition study you can project your future hiring costs. In addition, an HROI will allow your company to forecast what is and what is not working for your firm in terms of employment advertising, recruiting costs, and hiring staff. By getting an early picture of your teams hiring performance, you can make changes now that will help benefit you in the years to come.

3. Start your future employee pipeline today through a quality Summer Internship Program. As the employee shortage increases college graduates will in demand. Creating a long-term internship program with in coming freshman will help you pipeline quality candidates before the competition. As the Baby boomer generation retires, attracting young college graduates to your company will become a more competitive challenge.

4. Create a progressive and attractive work environment for retiring employees. - By creating a work environment that is attractive to retiring employees, this will help your company soft land into the upcoming employment shortage by allowing you more time to find key employees and to maintain a proper workforce. Benefits such as job share, extended vacations, and increased medical benefits can help keep seniors on the job longer.

According to all statistical data, the upcoming employment shortage is a reality, by making executives aware of it and preparing today, you can help your company defray some of the costs