Baby boomers set to bail out rather than ride out the recession
Baby boomers facing the choice of either early retirement on good pension plans or struggling through a recession where they are not appreciated or valued by their younger bosses; are likely to take the initiative and leave employment now. Thus leaving a huge skills gap in an already unstable market, warns talent management specialists at Dynamic Transitions.
According to Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain, organisations are increasingly realising that younger managers lack the experience and skills to effectively guide their staff through a recession, causing disgruntled baby boomers, who don't see any benefit in working harder than they have to, opting to leave the workforce completely. Germain warns that this will leave a glaring hole in key positions across core business functions and predicts that many companies will now be facing the prospect of suddenly losing expertise and strategic direction at a time when it is needed the most.
"Younger managers and employees who face working in a recession for the first time can suffer from a lack of confidence and the key skills required to enable their employers to succeed. The reality is that this isn't likely to be a short recession and there will be ripple effect across the industry for several years at least. These managers may have been more than capable in good times but now the pressure is on, many are finding that they simply don't have the knowledge and experience to effectively manage and guide an increasingly unnerved workforce and experience shows that the best staff tend to be the first to jump ship if not managed effectively", says Germain.
Germain argues that the need for effective Talent Management is becoming the most critical requirement for companies who wish to remain in business during the recession, as the lack of short term financial rewards and benefits diminishes, placing a greater emphasis on job satisfaction and a feeling of value. Germain also believes that the implementation of longer-term reward packages would help retain senior talent, a view mirrored by CIPD president Vicky Wright at last week's CIPD Annual Conference.
"Companies need to invest in effective talent management programmes and leadership initiatives that are innovative and creative for the current times and encourage more experienced and senior staff to sign up for the long haul. Those that can achieve this are more likely to succeed and retain the key talent necessary to remain robust in these difficult times", says Germain.
