I find it interesting when software vendors and services companies market themselves using FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) rather than by promoting the positive benefits of their applications or services. One good example is the looming baby boomer retirement “crisis”. The argument goes something like this: There are a huge number of workers aged 55+ in your organization and they’re all going to quit at once, taking all of that valuable intellectual capital with them. To save your business (and possibly human kind as we know it), you need to buy our software or several thousand consulting hours to identify and capture all of the knowledge in the heads of these people.
Along these lines, Forrester released a recent paper with the very reassuring title “The baby boomer crisis is a looming corporate threat.” Quick! Everyone grab a 60 year-old and shake all of that knowledge out of his head before he bolts for south Florida! Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy nor is it that big a deal, and I’ll tell you why. Baby boomers have redefined the norm for each age group they passed through (Google “flower children” if you don’t know what I’m talking about) and they’ll do it again for retirement. There was a recent poll in the Globe and Mail that asked people how long they thought they would work. While it was a non-scientific survey, I think the results are still valid given the 51000+ responses. A whopping 66% said “I foresee always working, but hope to move to part-time at some stage”. Add that to the 8% who said “I will work until they carry me out the door” and you’ve got an overwhelming majority of people who expect to work past traditional retirement age.
Maybe Canadians just work harder than everyone else (we do) but I think these results can be applied to most organizations grappling with the aging baby boomer “problem” regardless of geography. What it means is that organizations are going to have the opportunity to have experienced personnel mentor up and coming staff on a part-time basis. It’s a win-win; baby boomers get some flexibility but are still engaged in the workforce and organizations get the benefit of their knowledge paired with the fresh ideas of the next generation. The end result of this process is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for organizations to re-invent themselves and innovate like never before. Combining the wisdom of grey-haired veterans with the enthusiasm and innovative spirit of 30-somethings is a powerful formula.
Of course not every organization is going to embrace this new way of working. Many will still enforce mandatory retirement or will not be willing to adapt their work schedules or organizational structures. While I suggest our aging population is not a crisis, it will certainly be disruptive. But in disruption lies opportunity; the organizations that can adapt will thrive and those that cannot will be passed by.
To deal with this disruption ask yourself what your organization is doing to build knowledge-transfer into your work practices. Are you taking advantage of collaborative online workspaces to improve business efficiency while capturing valuable content? Are you working to break down traditional organizational silos by opening up content rather than locking it down? These changes themselves can be disruptive and aren’t easy to implement, but this disruption is certainly easier to deal with than the consequences of being overtaken by your competitors. And at the end of the day, isn’t that the point?
Excellent article! I like the way you are thinking about this. And it is so true !The energy and innovation of the youth needs the wisdom and mentorship of the baby boomers.
Comment by Pankaj Bhawnani — August 20, 2007 @ 9:11 pm