Preparing Your Organization for The Great Retirement: Optimizing Employee Retention Across Generations

Preparing Your Organization for The Great Retirement: Optimizing Employee Retention Across Generations
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The Great Retirement is here. As Baby Boomers retire in droves, HR executives are now tasked with navigating the complex task of optimizing employee retention across multiple generations. With the rise of the gig economy and an ever-changing job market, younger workers have new expectations when it comes to work styles and employer loyalty. This poses a challenge for organizations hoping to retain key talent, let alone attract new ones. In this blog post, we’ll explore how your organization can prepare for The Great Retirement by retaining your employees, taking a look at the work styles of different generations and how to best retain them.

What is The Great Retirement?

The Great Retirement is the phenomenon of Baby Boomers—the generation born between 1946 and 1964—who are aging out of the workforce. With this shift comes a change in the available talent pool, as well as an increase in competition to attract and retain top talent.

How Does It Impact Employee Retention?

This has made employee retention a top priority for HR executives, who must find ways to keep their best employees happy and engaged while meeting their organization’s needs. Organizations must find ways to maintain or improve employee satisfaction in the Boomer generation while keeping an eye on generation-centric retention strategies.

Engaging Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers are approaching retirement age but still have much to offer businesses that seek their wisdom and experience.

Organizations should focus on helping Boomers feel RESPECTED.

  • Flexibility by allowing them to choose shifts that fit into their lifestyle or offering part-time positions so they can transition out of full-time roles gradually if desired
  • Mentorship opportunities, since many enjoy teaching others what they know best—especially if it involves passing down knowledge from one generation of workers to another!

By leveraging this wealth of knowledge while showing appreciation for Baby Boomer contributions, organizations can keep these experienced professionals engaged even as they near retirement age.

Leveraging Gen X Talent

Gen Xers (born 1965-1980) tend to be more independent than other generations which can make them difficult to motivate at times. They also often feel overlooked in favor of younger generations who have more fresh ideas or up-to-date skillsets.

To better leverage Gen X talent, they must feel CHALLENGED.

  • Focus on providing autonomy while still offering support when needed
  • Recognize Gen Xers’ experience and achievements by giving them responsibility within your organization
  • Challenging them with exciting projects that will push them out of their comfort zone
  • Offering competitive salaries with incentives like bonus rewards

Retaining Millennial Employees

Millennials (born between 1981-1996) are now the largest generation in the workforce and have different expectations when it comes to employment than previous generations. They prioritize work-life balance, meaningful work, recognition from their employer, flexible working hours and other perks that go beyond just salary or benefits packages.

To effectively recruit and retain millennial employees, they must feel STIMULATED.

  • Focus on creating an engaging work environment
  • Provide opportunities for growth and development
  • Deliver feedback frequently and with empathy

Maintaining Successful Intergenerational Teamwork

Organizations today must be able to accommodate different generations working together in order to stay competitive in a changing job market—which is why technologies that enable collaboration across generational lines are key! Utilizing video conferencing tools or virtual training programs can help bridge gaps between workers who have different approaches due to varying levels of experience or technological prowess. Additionally, understanding generational differences is an important way of ensuring team members from all walks of life feel respected within your organization’s culture—and leveraging each group’s unique talents can create powerful results when managed correctly!

Need Help?

Need help understanding your intergenerational workforce? Our customized intergenerational engagement study might be the right fit for your organization. Go to www.whatworksconsultants.com and click on FREE CONSULTATION to learn more about how we can help your organization.

References

  1. The impact of Baby Boomer retirements on the workforce – https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/as-baby-boomers-head-into-retirement-americas-workforce-remains-dominated-by-millennials-and-gen-xers/
  2. The importance of employee retention across generations – https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2020/09/22/how-to-optimize-employee-retention-across-generations/?sh=5d0e9bde7f80
  3. Engaging Baby Boomers through flexibility and mentorship opportunities – https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/how-to-attract-and-retain-baby-boomer-workers.aspx
  4. Leveraging Gen X talent through autonomy, recognition, and exciting projects – https://hbr.org/2019/05/how-to-get-more-out-of-your-gen-x-employees
  5. Retaining Millennial employees through an engaging work environment, growth opportunities, and frequent feedback – https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/how-to-attract-and-retain-millennial-talent/
  6. The importance of intergenerational teamwork and collaboration in the workplace – https://hbr.org/sponsored/2019/10/generational-differences-in-the-workplace-how-to-leverage-strengths-and-overcome-challenges

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