Older workers may gain in value

Many executives say their employees are their greatest asset, but some are starting to mean it as the baby boom generation approaches retirement age.

As a shortage of skilled workers looms in areas like maintenance and sales, an increasing number of employment experts say corporate America must make the workplace more hospitable to older employees.

“I’m always trying to convince companies that employees should be in the asset pile instead of the liability pile,” said Mary Sue Rogers, lead consultant for IBM’s human resources consulting unit.

More than 40 percent of the U.S. labor force will reach the traditional retirement age by the end of 2010, according to a recent study by the Conference Board, a New York-based research firm. But more than half of the older employees surveyed said they were not planning to retire because they are still interested in their jobs.
In fact, staffing companies say many of these people want to work if the hours and the pay are right.

Companies are increasingly willing to accommodate the 50-plus demographic by offering flexible employment options beyond traditional part-time shifts and job shares, recruiters and consultants say.

A number of companies are increasing hourly pay structures for white-collar jobs, Rogers said, and one retailer allows shelf stockers to designate friends to fill in on days the employee can’t make it to work.

“Organizations are going to have to invest more around talent management, work force management and having an environment that facilitates older workers,” Rogers said. “Those who don’t master how to get that complexity in their work forces will lose out in the labor market.”
Some industries, like health care and information technology, already show signs of an increase in workers in traditionally salaried jobs who prefer part-time work with hourly or daily compensation.
Massive corporate layoffs have taken a toll on older workers. Many have found it difficult to find full-time jobs, in part because they are competing with younger, lower-paid workers.

But some older professionals have found they can do better without traditional salaried jobs. At the Indianapolis North office of CDI Corp.’s Management Recruiters International unit, informational-technology recruiters are having trouble getting candidates to even look at permanent positions, managing partner Kent Burns said. Those workers make 25 percent to 50 percent more in hourly pay than they would make on a salaried basis, he said.

Free agents — the workers who opt for these hourly and part-time jobs — already make up about 20 percent of the U.S. labor force, according to Kelly Services.

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