|
 U.S.
businesses not prepared for aging workforce
Newswise — More than a quarter of U.S.
businesses have failed to plan for the effects of the aging American
workforce, according to the results of a new national survey by
researchers at Boston College.
Despite reports that the U.S. faces a shortage
of millions of workers within the coming decade as baby boomers
retire—taking with them years of experience, talent and expertise
and leaving fewer new workers available to take their place—The
National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development,
conducted by the Boston College Center on Aging and Work, found that
many U.S. businesses are unprepared for changing workforce
demographics.
"Even though organizations know that the
workforce is aging and understand that their own workers are looking
at retirement, many are not making plans for how business will
adjust to these changes," said Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, co-director
of the Boston College Center on Aging and Work.
"Companies that do not plan for
this aging workforce may find themselves suddenly
faced with a loss of labor, experience and expertise
that will be difficult to offset, given the
relatively small pool of new workers and the
competition for new talent likely to result from so
many companies facing the same problem," said Mick
Smyer, co-director of the Center.
The study results are based on responses from
578 organizations from across the United States. Among the economic
sectors represented were retail trade, manufacturing, healthcare and
social assistance.
Key findings include:
• Only 37% of employers had adopted strategies
to encourage late career workers to stay past the traditional
retirement age, despite the fact that late career employees "have
high levels of skills and strong professional and client networks, a
strong work ethic, low turnover and are loyal and reliable."
• 60% of the employers indicated that
recruiting competent job applicants is a significant HR challenge.
• 40% indicated that management skills are in
short supply in their organizations.
• Only 33% of employers reported that their
organization had made projections about retirement rates of their
workers to either a moderate (24.1 percent) or great (9.7 percent)
extent.
The researchers stress that flexibility
resonates particularly with older workers. "Most older workers who
say that they want to extend the number of years they remain in the
labor force also say that the typical 8-hour day/5-day week doesn't
work for them," said Pitt-Catsouphes. "Employers who fail to
consider flexible work options may be missing important
opportunities to enhance both their business performance and their
employees' engagement."
The Boston College researchers recommend that
employers and organizations that have not yet done so begin asking
themselves some critical questions, such as:
• Does the organization have enough information
about the age composition of specific departments and teams?
• Are some occupational groups more susceptible to changes in the
distribution of age groups than others?
• How might managers promote the sharing of knowledge among
employees at different career stages?
• Could the continued labor force participation of older workers
(and the postponement of full-time retirement) help the organization
to address some of its HR challenges?
• Has the organization developed a business case for flexible work
options?
• Do supervisors fully understand importance of flexible work
options both to the business itself and to employee engagement?
The full report/summary report can be found
online at
www.bc.edu/agingandwork. |
Now,
keep up to date with daily feeds of newly posted stories about America's
Seniors...click on the box to the left