HOW ARE YOU RETAINING YOUR BOOMERS?

Boomers hold experience and business knowledge that is like ‘gold’ in the workplace issues facing today’s organizations. The smart organizations are figuring out plans to promote internal knowledge transfer and promote intergenerational learning. Many businesses are getting creative. Here are a few ideas used:

1. Mentoring programs have been found to be a beneficial tool for training and passing on the boomer gold. Mentoring programs will take a mature worker and match him/her with a small group of proteges’. They meet regularly to discuss business issues with the mature serving acting as a sounding board for the younger employees.

2. Increase retiree recruiting efforts to bring back as needed for projects.

3. Provide generational/people skills training to give managers the tools to increase retention of baby boomers. What I am hearing from the business organizations I speak to, that many of the mature workers are feeling ignored in the workplace. Rather than younger manager soliciting their wisdom, they look right past them – as if they have already retired and left –and carry on conversations with the other younger workers. The inexperience of management is recreating a ‘clique’ like scenario which rather than promotes boomer retentions, actually discourages it.

4. Increase the number of job share positions.


What can you add to this list? How do you recognize your boomer workers and their contributions? We would love to hear your comments.