The workplace is aging. Baby Boomers make up a substantial portion of the workforce, and the knowledge and expertise that often comes with years in the business is a valuable resource for many companies. Several new studies highlighting the desire to retain older workers and the strategies for doing so bring new light to the importance of keeping experienced employees in the workplace.
The new Workplace Benefits Report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch found that 94 percent of employers want to retain their older employees, and subsequently their talents and skills, for a longer period of time. The study, conducted by Market Strategies this past April, details the responses of 650 human resources and benefit plan leaders and C-level executives from a range of companies.
As the retirement age rises with life expectancies, workplaces need to adapt to the changing demographics. “Longer life expectancies and Baby Boomers’ desire or need to keep working are leading to an aging population of American employees that will require more age friendly workplaces and benefit plans designed to meet the unique needs of multiple generations,” Andy Sieg, head of Retirement Services for Bank of America Merrill Lynch explained. “HR leaders are playing more strategic roles within organizations seeking to harness the experience and intellectual capital of older employees in order to remain competitive, while adapting both physical and operational aspects of their businesses to accommodate them.”
According to the Deloitte study, “Talent Edge 2020: Building the Recovery Together—What Talent Expects and How Leaders Are Responding,” 48 percent of Baby Boomers surveyed planned on working past age 65. However, a quarter of Boomer respondents also indicated their dissatisfaction with their employer—a much higher percent than either Gen X or Millennial respondents—and indicated they may look for new employment in the coming year.
Employers are now faced with accommodating the needs of a changing workforce and motivating older workers or risk losing employees with a wealth of experience. According to the survey, some of the ways employers are accommodating their contingent of aging workers includes job flexibility and incentives to ensure that older members of the workforce continue to find jobs both manageable and rewarding. Of employers surveyed, 50 percent offer flexible or customized work schedules to accommodate the needs of aging workers and 22 percent also permit employees to work remotely. Additional incentives include offering expanded education on retirement planning and health care topics (33%) to help their older employees prepare for the future and providing continuing education and development opportunities (32%) in order to make sure that employees continue to grow in their careers.
Some programs tend to be more successful than others in terms of appealing to older members of a company. While more than 50 percent of the companies surveyed offer access to financial planning and feel a certain level of responsibility to preparing employees for their financial future, less than half of employees take advantage of this service. Some of the reasons offered by the employers as to why employees don’t use financial services and research include: the information was not relevant to employees and too complicated, or they were simply too busy. Some employers weren’t sure if their employees even knew that these resources existed.
Then what does it take to keep Baby Boomers satisfied?
The Deloitte study found that 50 percent of Boomers felt that job advancement and promotion was the most important retention incentive, while 43 percent wanted greater support and recognition from their managers and supervisors. A lack of appreciation or recognition for loyalty and hard work was found to be a large source of discontent for older employees who have remained with a company for several years. Other incentives that specifically appeal to the older generation include flexible work arrangements (38%), additional bonuses or financial incentives (29%), and additional compensation (27%).
Unfortunately, for the most part, studies show that employers have yet to fully adapt to the needs of the older generations, even though employers want the benefit of their skills and experience. As companies seek to retain older members of their workforce, they need to create an environment that is both accommodating and rewarding to ensure their valued employees actually feel appreciated and engaged.