Baby boomers are leaving their lofty corporate positions and retiring to the Hamptons. They’re leaving their jobs to the millennials and Generation Z. But is your company ready for such a transition? Are you ready to lose employees who have been with you for the better part of the last two decades? Many companies are now in limbo. They aren’t exactly sure if the younger generations can fill in the shoes of the baby boomers.
But that’s just it. There’s nothing you can do but let these baby boomers go and live their lives. They’ve been on the receiving end of the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. They were the most vulnerable. Many of their friends and peers already succumbed to the virus. The past year was not a walk in the park for them. Somehow, they found themselves isolated from their grandkids and quarantined at home. They should’ve been traveling the world and enjoying the hard work of the past decades.
For companies, the challenges are even more immense. They find themselves without their pillars. Many of these baby boomers were responsible for the growth of the companies, treating them more like their own kids as the years passed. So, how can you prepare your company and help your retiring workforce transition?
Put Value on Their Retirement
What were the promises you made during the job contract signing all those years ago? Your retiring workforce is expecting to receive the benefits that you promised when they first signed up with you. One of the things that you can provide to help them transition into their retirements is the knowledge of what they should do with their pension.
If you are offering something similar to the AT&T pension program, you know that they provide financial planning and consultation to their retirees. The same program will benefit your retirees. They need to be guided throughout the transition process.
Encourage Them to Take Training and Workshops
Retirees don’t retire because they want to sleep all day and do nothing. They do it because they want to pursue different interests and passions. That’s what retirement is for. One way you can help your workforce is to encourage them to take up classes—gardening, knitting, and other crafts. You can provide a flexible working schedule months before they retire. This way, they can still be gainfully employed while also learning about things they could do when they are retired.
Provide Financial Advice
You wouldn’t want to see your retiring workforce looking for a job a year or two years after leaving your company, right? You want them to enjoy their retirement. That’s why you have to protect their finances. Talk to them about where they plan to put their pension fund. Do they plan to take a lump sum amount? Are they going to invest in the stock market? You can provide training and financial advice.
There is also a tax implication on retiring workers. Today’s accumulation tools give pensioners and retirees a chance to save on their taxes. They have to be aware of what tax bracket they fall under so they can plan accordingly. Letting your company accountant walk them through this process is a good start for their retirement.
Ask Them to Share Their Knowledge
The best transition for retiring employees is to teach younger employees how to deal with the work that will be left to them. While younger employees are driven much like their predecessors, they often lack the experience to deal with a crisis in the organization. Your company can avoid knowledge silos if the retiring workforce is willing to train the younger ones. There should be knowledge-sharing across departments. If possible, some of the retirees can do consultation jobs with you in the future.
Don’t Force Them to Retire
Sure, some of your workers are already in the retirement age. You think you need a younger workforce to compete with other organizations. However, don’t undervalue older workers. They have much to contribute to your company. If you think their skills are already lacking because of the modernity of your approaches, then re-train them. You can still keep part of your retiring workforce, especially for critical positions in the company.
A company needs to support its workforce—whether these are new hires or retiring ones. It’s one of the employee benefits that will encourage loyalty to the organization. If you want to keep your workforce happy, it should be by providing them the care and support they need, especially after a lifetime of service. Seeing you care for the older workforce will show the younger ones that they are right in choosing your organization.
