The Challenges of an Aging Workforce

Submitted by: John Julien, Partner

Public organizations are not sheltered from the challenges we face with filling the labor gap being created by the pending retirement of the Baby Boomer generation. Information from the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the workforce will lose 25,000,000 people in the next five years. Compounding the problem is a lack of younger workers to fill the void created by retiring Baby Boomers, and the challenges the public sector faces in competing with the private sector for this shrinking workforce.

It is not too early to develop a strategy to address this challenge. One part of the strategy has to deal with capturing the knowledge possessed by your retiring staff. That knowledge is more than the technical skills that are required. Over their years of experience, they've learned the other skills necessary to perform their jobs, such as how to deal with stakeholders, state and federal regulations, and working with elected officials who oversee their organizations.

The more that can be done to capture this knowledge, the better prepared your organization will be. You should start by documenting standard procedures. In addition, begin the process by establishing more formal training and mentoring programs.

Capturing as much knowledge as possible before it walks out the door is only part of the challenge. Your organization is competing with the private sector, as well as all public organizations for a shrinking workforce. You have to know what this new crop of employees is looking for in a career. As you would expect, surveys show that the younger workforce is interested in compensation which always puts the public sector at a disadvantage. But, the young worker today is looking for intangibles as well; things like job flexibility, opportunities to be challenged, and to develop additional skills. All these issues translate into a new approach that will be needed to attract and retain these new employees. As a result of these challenges, there will be additional employee costs that will contribute to the financial hurdles your organization already faces.