Better for longer. Beat the retirement boom.

Better for longer. Beat the retirement boom.

Over the next 5 years, the Baby Boomers will hit retirement age.  Did you know that about 25% of Australia’s population are Baby Boomers?  And they’re reaching retirement age fast.   

According to ABS data anywhere between 15% to 18% of the Australian workforce will be retiring over the next few years.

This will create a new set of pressures on Australian businesses.  The skills gap that we are facing over the next 10 years is well documented, and we’re not the only country dealing with this same issue. These experienced and seasoned workers are proven to be one of the most productive and reliable age groups at work.

Mature age workers are an often underestimated goldmine of productivity:

• Mature age workers are less likely to take days off due to illness or to care for others, and are less likely to experience work related injuries than other workers;
• workers aged over 55 are five times less likely to change jobs compared with workers aged 20–24;
• mature workers can deliver an average net benefit of up to $1956 per year to their employer compared to other workers due to high retention rates, lower rates of absenteeism, decreased recruitment costs and greater return on investment;
• experienced workers have built up knowledge and skills during their time in the workforce;
• A study by Australian Health Management which examined the daily work habits of 4000 employees found that workers aged 55 years and over performed at their best for approximately seven hours out of an eight-hour day—an achievement that other workers in the study were unable to match.

(Source: Experience + Make age an advantage: Investing in Experience Toolkit, 2012, www.deewr.gov.au/experience.)

Consider the exponential and untapped value that baby boomers have. Value that is only discovered once they have left and at times this is lost to the business.

So, the issue for your business is, how are you going to attract and retain these workers?  Do you have a strategy? Do you understand the age breakdown of your workforce, and know the retirement plans of these key employees?

Replacing mature age workers, who understand your business, your goals and do a great job for you every day, may be more costly that you realise.

Providing flexible working opportunities, attractive superannuation arrangements and ongoing training are some of the keys to keeping mature age workers in your business longer.

Other strategies to consider are around knowledge management in your business.  Make sure that your intellectual property and customer relationships don’t retire along with some of your most loyal employees.  Having long term “easing out” strategies in place can help to minimise the impact on customers and day to day productivity in your business when long term employees retire.

Deborah Wilson is a Thought Leader at Trevor Roberts.   She works with companies every day on their people strategies.  If you would like advice on career transition, including retirement, career development, leadership development or recruitment advice, call today for a confidential discussion.  p 1300 876 118