Age Lessons Predicts Bidding War as Companies Compete To Hire, Retain Experienced Older Workers Print
CHICAGO—“Expect the tables to turn in favor of older workers in the coming years as American corporations begin to connect the dots between unfilled jobs, the shrinking labor supply and the availability of experienced older workers,” predicts Laurel Kennedy, president of Age Lessons, the Boomer thinking firm. “Competition will heat up as companies try to outbid each other and attract that proven, known entity—the Boomer age worker.”

The hottest commodity in the predicted tight job market will be experienced older workers who consistently earn top ratings on critical dimensions such as work ethic [the Boomer turnover rate is 1/6 that of workers under 35], process skills, overall productivity, on-the-job effectiveness and customer relationships. “This is great news for Boomers who are planning for a working retirement. Whether they need to work for financial reasons, or simply want to work for psycho-social reasons, the opportunity for meaningful employment will be there when they need it,” stated Kennedy.

The first wave of Boomers will be eligible for retirement benefits like social security in less than two years, with the real impact hitting the labor markets around 2011, along with the traditional retirement age of 65. By some estimates, the 2011 shortage will range between 800,000 and 3.3 million jobs, a gap too wide to be bridged by short term solutions such as outsourcing and productivity gains, or longer term remedies such as changes in immigration laws for skilled workers.

Kennedy sees the labor markets at “an important inflection point. Proactive companies that strategically pursue older workers by offering engaging employment opportunities and re-designing benefit packages to coincide with Boomer lifestage needs will reap the benefits—first pick of the most productive employees on any company’s payroll.”

For more information about the bidding war for older employees and to learn more about Age Lessons working retirement solutions, contact Laurel Kennedy at 773.252.0123 or visit the company web site www.agelessons.com.

About Age Lessons: Age Lessons offers innovative solutions addressing the unique needs of the Baby Boomer cohort including “working retirement” programs to help companies retain and attract mature workers, as well as LifestAGES™ audits that evaluate advertising messages, packaging and product designs against Boomer normative benchmarks.