Strategies for Retaining Retirees

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Author(s): Kevin Pallardy is managing partner of OI Partners-SSP (St. Louis)

The first baby boomers will turn 60 this year, 2006. And thoughts of being 60 years old lead to thoughts of retirement. Though, retirement for the boomer generation is very different from the retirement model experienced by their parents. Today's retirees are not looking for a gold watch and a retirement party. They are looking for opportunities to remain vital, utilize their skills and knowledge and make a difference.

In our career management work, OI Partners sees a strong desire of the 55 years of age and older crowd to engage in active retirement. Active means that they want to have more time for interests and relaxation while still using years of knowledge and experience in a meaningful way. They desire flexibility and, in some ways, simplicity. They are more likely to be consultants, start a small business or take on project work than become Wal-Mart greeters.

Linked to this coming generation of retirees is a shortage of talent in the workplace. Just about the time that a large bubble of boomers will be ready for retirement, organizations will need to keep their knowledge and talents in the organization. Strategies set by employers today will contribute to their ability to keep and appropriately utilize near-retirement talent.

Organizations need to begin longer-range, pre-retirement planning to help individuals identify their needs as they approach retirement age. This planning needs to include exploration of the role of work in the individual's life during retirement. Organizations also need to think about their talent and work needs in the coming years and how they will either retain or replace the knowledge and talents of pending retirees.

Using our Q5 Framework, a coaching and career planning model developed by OI Partners-SSP, organizations and individuals work together to create shared success. The fundamental premise of the framework is that career success occurs when the employee understands and meets the needs of the organization, and the organization understands and meets the needs of the employee. Pre-retirement planning will help the organization identify and communicate its needs for talent and knowledge to its older workers. Those workers, in turn, are able to work with the employer to identify how they may continue to provide services to the employer while meeting their own financial, social and quality-of-life needs.

Looking forward, expect to see the following changes take place with retirement in America:

* Stepping aside, not stepping out: Older workers with high levels of responsibility may step aside, making room for younger leaders, but they will look for opportunities to continue to deliver value. This may take place in the form of internal consulting assignments, mentoring developing leaders or taking on more narrow, but meaningful roles such as a strategic planning or market development role.

* Off-site, but not out-of-site: Technology will allow older workers to work on a remote basis. Wintering in Scottsdale may include daily emails, text messaging and video conferencing to allow one foot in retirement and the other in the corporate world.

* I'm not retired; I'm a consultant: Someone moving toward retirement may find that his or her employer is interested in continuing that employee's services, but not his or her employment. Formal retirement may take place only to see the former employee now providing services to the company as a consultant or a contractor.

* My new business is. . .: In the coming world, the new retiree may seek a partnership agreement with the former employer to fund or help develop a new product or service proposed by the retiree. This can lead to ongoing use of the individual's knowledge and experience, but in a focused way that may lead to new business opportunities for the company.

Smart companies will develop strategies to develop and retain key talent, regardless of age or length of service. Baby boomers moving toward retirement present an opportunity for individuals and organizations to rethink traditional approaches to retirement and utilize a highly committed and extremely functional group of people.

Kevin Pallardy is managing partner of OI Partners-SSP, St. Louis. He can be reached at 314-523-2206 or kpallardy@oipartners.net.

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