The nation’s first baby boomer, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, a former teacher from New Jersey applied for Social Security Monday, the start of an avalanche of applications from the post-World War II generation. Casey-Kirschling was born one second after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, making her the first baby boomer — a generation of nearly 80 million born from 1946 to 1964.
In 2007 Baby Boomers represent nearly one- half of the U.S. work force. The number of workers 55 and older is growing four times faster that the work force as a whole. As the baby-boomer generation retires from the U.S. work force, companies will have to cope with the fact that Generation X’s, who were born between 1964 and 1982 and number only 44 million, will not be able to fill the talent gap.
What does all of this mean for you or the company you own or work for?
If you are an employee it means that there will be an increasing demand and opportunity for your skills. If you are a hiring manager or business owner it means you are going to find it more and more difficult to find and retain good employees.
What can you do to maximize the talent acquisition and minimize the talent drain:
• Implement extensive communication and relationship building skills training for the management team
• Institute a training program that helps employees further their technical, personal and communication skills
• Improve personal and communication skills among all employees
• Provide coaching and career path development opportunities for key employees
• Make work fun
• Provide a flexible work schedule
• Allow employees to work remotely or from home
• Learn what motivates each individual employee and provide proper motivation and management
The astute manager realizes their best customers are in fact their employees and how they treat these “internal customers” is how these internal customers will treat the external customers / buyers.