Workforce 2015
I read a very interesting article in the Boston Globe over the weekend about what the workforce is going to look like as the baby boomers start to retire. Over the next 5 years the 45-54 year workforce is projected to drop by 10%, and that number will continue to decrease. 60% of employers surveyed already feel it is difficult recruiting competent workers. With the Gen Xers focused on self, and the companies focused on short term profits, how are we going to remain competitive? What are the kinds innovative talent management processes, systems and tools that must be embraced.
The most shocking new is that at some companies 30-40% of their workforce could retire over the next 10 years. We already know that there is a war on talent, but how devastating can this be to our economy let alone the potential dramatic impact on our competitiveness. Organizations have such a tendency to be short term focused, and only a small percentage of companies are even looking at this issue. We already know that the baby boomers (me included) haven’t saved enough for retirement. I am really curious what your thoughts are on how we can maintain our competitive edge and manage the balance between profitability and talent management.
Thanks, Nat (nat.boughton@synaptus.com)
March 20th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Although bleak from a personal/personnel standpoint, based on the current trends the direction that will ultimately be taken is quite clear - those rolls will be outsourced as the skill sets of the resources currently being used to perform more “menial tasks” are developed to encompass innovation, design, and the like.
I have been reading, “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, and have been a fan of Tom Peters for a while now. Both firmly believe that the natural progression will be from the outsourcing of services to that of knowledge-based work - it’s only a matter of time.
Companies will remain competitive through whatever means they choose to utilize as the environment dictates. If faced with an unreliable, incompetent workforce in the US with a highly reliable and motivated workforce in India and China – the decision becomes obvious (from a corporate survival perspective).
The question that both raise; how do we (and our children) remain competitive in a globalized environment?
Outsourcing, to me, makes “global warming” look like just another sunny day in the context of those global issues that are going to most impact our future generations.
Clunk – clunk (that’s me stepping off my soapbox).