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Work Force Shortage
Author: | Thursday February 01, 2007
Authors take a close look at the future of the workplace
Book Review
Workforce Crisis:How to Beat the Coming
Shortage of Skills and Talent
By Susan G. Lazarus, MS, Vocational Consultant
How many times do we go to a department store or call customer service at a utility company and complain later about the service or the skill of the employee? That seems to be just the tip of the iceberg and forebodes a shift in our labor pool and an impending “brain drain”.
Within the next ten years, my generation, the baby boomers, will begin to retire. We are workers with many skills, but where are the skilled workers going to come from to replace us? We are the largest generation to leave the workforce and the dramatic effect this will have on the global workforce in industrial nations is unprecedented.
Ken Dychtwald, Tamara Erickson, and Robert Morison argue that companies ignore these shifts at great peril. Survival will depend on redefining retirement and transforming management and human resource practices to attract, accommodate, and retain workers of all ages and backgrounds.
Morison presented his theories at the Miami International Book Fair in November, 2006, and brings his 20 years of consulting experience in 300 companies to help us to understand this crisis and learn how to make the best of what we have now and will have in the near future.
Ideas include how to utilize the expertise of the mature worker, re-engaging mid-career workers who have been disillusioned by the corporate environment and attracting and keeping educated and talented youth entering the workforce.
Interesting points that Mr. Morison discussed were:
*The average age of the American worker is 40, government workers average age is 48.
*1/3 of Americans get college degrees…90% of the new jobs added require a college education
*Demand for unskilled workers is flat
In the past, the employer has held the power and has, at times, abused that power, discarding loyalty for the bottom line. Now, the power is shifting and the employee will be able to demand and get more in order to have them stay at a company for any length of time. This book is geared towards helping companies keep their competitive edge in tomorrow’s inevitably tighter labor markets and being creative about keeping the workforce they have.
Flexible scheduling, creative outlets, educating workers are all ideas that the authors propose to assist in this impending crisis. These issues affect all of us and our children’s generation as they will be the next workers and will be leading the nation.
As an aside from this article’s author, the disability community has long been passed over as a priority in hiring. It would behoove all employers not only to address safety issues, but to see, in advance how an individual who might become disabled from an accident or an illness can still make a significant contribution to a company. Companies may no longer have the option of throwing away these individuals but to look to them to fill much needed tasks, again being a bit more creative to possibly accommodate these workers without sacrificing their profits or productivity.
About the Authors
Ken Dychtwald, PhD, is founding President and CEO of Age Wave, a firm focused on the maturing workforce, and the author of twelve books. Tamara Erickson is an executive officer and member of the board of directors for The Concours Group, a management consulting, research, and education firm. Robert Morison is an executive vice president and the Director of Research of The Concours Group. The authors’ Harvard Business Review article, “It’s Time to Retire Retirement,” won the 2004 McKinsey Award.
• Hardcover: 269 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business School Press (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591395216
Ed. Note: Susan Lazarus is a vocational consultant and contributing writer to georgia1st.com.
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