VideoHenry tries to keep track of individuals who are considering retirement to ensure that they share their knowledge with others. The intention, she says, is to "replace employees in a thoughtful fashion."
Meanwhile, Miller is filling its talent pipeline on the other end with a college-age program to recruit and train younger workers. It's important to "bring people in right out of school," says Henry. "They earn money while they're learning the business, and it's a perfect opportunity to transfer specialized knowledge, especially in jobs where skills are scarce."
A tack Miller is not taking is motivating its older workers to stay in the workforce longer. Henry says it's tough to sell employees on postponing their retirements. "They tend to have a date in mind, and when they're ready to go, they're ready to go," she says. But Miller encourages older folks to act as mentors, coach younger workers, or return for short-term projects or consulting assignments during peak periods. Older workers are valued for their knowledge and abilities, and "in a sense, they can't be replaced," says Henry.
But that won't stop Miller from trying. Ultimately, the brewer hopes that its recruiting, retention, and retirement efforts will result in a multigenerational workforce that is insulated from future demographic ebbs and flows.
Sticking Around
Unlike Miller, some companies are trying to persuade older workers to stay on the job longer. In the health-care field, a sector already facing substantial labor shortages, the specter of a broad swath of professionals walking out the door is frightening. The industry is already working hard to find ways to hang on to older workers. In fact, when the AARP released its latest rankings of the 50 best companies for workers over 50, the health-care industry accounted for nearly half the firms cited.
Number two on AARP's list is San Diego–based Scripps Health. The health-care provider estimates that it will have to replace 40 percent of its 10,000 employees within the next five years. And in certain departments, such as imaging and outpatient diagnostics, that figure is closer to 70 percent. "With our average employee now over age 40 and more than a quarter over 50, we're going to see a staffing crisis in key revenue areas," says Vic Buzachero, senior vice president for human resources. "It makes good business sense to hold on to older workers until we get enough people coming in behind them trained and proficient."
To encourage older workers to stay on past retirement age, Scripps is doing everything from restructuring jobs to offering phased-retirement plans. In October 2004, for example, the company created the role of "clinical mentor," which allows experienced nurses to forgo some of the more physically demanding aspects of their jobs, such as moving and lifting patients, in favor of acting as expert resources to those with less experience. It also permits workers with 10 or more years of experience to reduce their work hours while retaining full benefits. And Scripps modified its retirement-plan rules in the spring of 2004 to let some older employees tap funds to supplement reduced work schedules. So far, the steps seem to be paying off. More than 16 percent of its 10,400 employees are over the age of 55.
HR and finance conduct monthly operating reviews to quantify the costs of such programs. "It's clear that keeping older workers is a savings for us," Buzachero says. "Every aspect of our retention strategy has a clear cost/benefit and ROI attached." Part of that equation, he says, is that highly skilled older workers tend to be more productive.
And keeping some workers from full retirement has an immediate benefit by lowering turnover. It costs Scripps as much as $50,000 to replace a nurse, says Buzachero. Another significant expense in this labor-challenged sector is per diem (contract) staff. Scripps's efforts to hang on to its own employees have allowed it to cut its per diem expenses by one-third, saving about $10 million.
In the near future, employers will have no choice but to court older workers. Employees over 55 now represent 14 percent of America's workforce, according to the AARP. In six years, that number is expected to jump to 19 percent, adding 10 million workers to the 55-and-over category. Home Depot, Verizon, and Walgreens are just a few employers actively recruiting older workers, according to the AARP.
Still, many companies remain idle. "Despite the demographic evidence, there's a general sense that the aging workforce is 'not going to affect us,'" says aging and employment specialist Helen Dennis of the University of Southern California's Andrus Gerontology Center. But unlike Y2K, which vanished from the national consciousness as soon as the clock struck midnight, the retirement of the baby boomers is an issue that companies will have to grapple with for years to come. Employers that wait too long might run out of time, warns Dennis. "At least go through the data and look at your own workforce. Then if you decide it's irrelevant, fine," she says.
With the first round of baby boomers turning 60 this year, the time to take action may be now.
Melissa Hennessy is a freelance writer in Grafton, Massachusetts.
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