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Succession Planning as Baby Boomers Retire

Succession Planning as Baby Boomers Retire

As of 2018, nearly half of the baby boomer generation – those born between 1946 and 1960 – have reached the full retirement age of 66. Industries are still only starting to see the impact of this shift, and much more is on the way. Here are ways organizations can adapt to the evolving demographics.

Attract millennial talent

Millennials — the generation born between early 1980s and late 1990s — are defining the next generation of work. A study about Millennial Careers from Right Management found that Millennials are motivated by stimulation, recognition, flexible work arrangements, development opportunities and defined culture. The more meaningfully your employment brand addresses these needs and objectives of high-potential Millennial talent, the more successful you will be in attracting, engaging, and retaining tomorrow’s workforce.

Develop managers

A survey of leadership development trends from Right Management and The Conference Board collecting insights from 650+ executives worldwide found that despite the collective concern over the coming leadership vacuum as baby boomers retire, organizations may not be paying sufficient attention to building skills of their future business leaders – the mid-level managers. Now is the time to get a development program in order and make sure organizations have leaders for tomorrow.

Adapt to a multigenerational workforce

While boomers are retiring, they’re not gone completely. In fact, many are coming back after retirement as “boomerang workers.” This time of transition brings opportunities and challenges: This workforce is broad-ranging and knowledge transfer flows in all directions, while at the same time organizations need to tailor motivational techniques on an individual level and establish a culture that accommodates a variety of workstyle preferences. This represents the future: Diversity is becoming the norm, and the time to adapt to it for organizations is now.

While future can be hard to predict, one thing we do know with the passage of time is that workplace demographics are shifting. That requires planning today. To determine how your organization measures up, take this mini-survey to find out how your business leadership development compares with others.