Research & Writing

Your Aging Workforce: Creative Engagement or Silent Detachment?

If you become so reluctant to have rewarding conversations with people at any age, as to their values and contributions at work, then the cost will be there in lost productivity that is hard to measure at a fast glance.

Human Resource Executives will find this article in the 2005 - 4th quarter newsletter of Fulcrum Search Science a Toronto based Executive Search and Consultancy firm, operating throughout Canada and the United States. Fulcrum's mission is "to enhance your business by improving the quality of your talent." www.fulcrumsearchscience.com

How many sound bites have you heard lately on the subjects of aging demographics, retirement, the Baby Boomer’s “Top 50 Best Employer lists for 50 Plus Workers” and so on? How long have we been talking about this in the public domain? Does it make a difference?

At an HR Forum in Ottawa this June 2005, the CCHRA (Canadian Council of Human Resource Associations) put the aging workforce discussion on the table as one of three top business issues facing organizations over the next decade. As I took part in the conversations at the forum, it would appear that it does make a difference. Managing change around your aging workforce is part of the talent development spectrum.

But there are interesting things about this issue that are challenging while at the same time not difficult to deal with and not much more than common sense. What strikes me is that in some cases the HR leadership in organizations has not done a “generational audit” on their workforce.

In light of this aging workforce issue as focused by HR professionals, do you know what portion of your workforce is over 54 for example? If it’s 10% of a 1000 people, that cohort could be rather significant number in your audit.

Have you checked in with these people recently to get a sense of how they are looking at their work situation now, in the later-life phase of their career? Very often the inner motivation and work values are not the same as what a person openly projects. Taking the sample of 100 people, are you to assume that they are all at the same level of thinking?

Some people may be sleep walking through their career, a “silent detachment” as it were, while others may be simply looking for another challenge to stay as an active participant in your organization, but in a different way – more of a “creative engagement”.
In fact, even though younger generations may express it in another voice, what is valued in work is surprisingly the same. Meaningful work. Better designed work. Honest and speedier feedback. Opportunity to learn and be challenged. Flexible work arrangements. Quality life outside work. Fill in your list from here. These are cross-generational. Are these items on the list that risky for an organization to fulfil?

As some employment law specialists might tell you, what is risky is calling a meeting with people to find out about their retirement plans. There is an upcoming conference this November at Osgood Law School in Toronto on “Preparing for the End of Mandatory Retirement” that addresses several legal issues related to the aging workforce as identified in the CCHRA Forum mentioned above.

Here’s a question. What is the cost of avoidance? If you become so reluctant to have rewarding conversations with people at any age, as to their values and contributions at work, then the cost will be there in lost productivity that is hard to measure at a fast glance.

When it comes to that 10% cohort, the conversation doesn’t start with retirement. It has become a testy word these days. There will be those who declare that at a certain age they are moving on, but even with that mutual understanding there may be seven years ahead in their organizational career where the “creative engagement” drifts into that “silent detachment”.

In a recent discussion on a Talent Management Panel with the Human Capital Institute, I was asked - what should managers do to engage or re-engage employees? Response:

 Check in on a regular basis not just at performance review time.
 Be clear on expectations, be prompt on feedback.
 Don’t be afraid of uncomfortable conversations. Uncertainty opens to fear and fear drowns trust. Let people know the score and if you don’t have an answer, say so.
 Understand the motivators – what makes the individual, what makes the team tick!
 Encourage ideas and work them in where you can, don’t over promise

In this age-conscious world, have we lost that much sight of the basics? While the riggings of the business ship continue to tug and pull on deck, possibilities for people are still often hidden below deck. Creative engagement is what both workers and organizations are looking for.

With the changing attitudes of today’s workers moving more towards active aging, a person has more choices in how to work longer but “differently” than previous generations had with their version of retirement as a crisp end to work.

As you look at the issues on the talent management spectrum over the rest of this decade, remember this. In Canada, as with many countries in Europe (where the shifting demographics of an aging population are creating more analysis for policy makers and business leaders), “career longevity” has a new meaning. What you do about it will make a difference.