The “leading edge” of the baby boom is now approaching 62 years old. The dynamics of the workplace continue to change at an unprecedented pace. Technology increasingly influences how we spend both our work and leisure hours. The economy is in fact, a global one with real-time capitalism operating in both the most sophisticated and most entrepreneurial spheres.

All this is going on, while you still need to get products made, systems implemented, services rendered and supply chains managed. Business is always a challenge and having adequate and capable staff is often one of the most challenging aspects of any business. But how, in a market with the simultaneous trends of increased opportunity combined with less human capital will you be able to compete? It is not too soon to begin planning for the upcoming retirement boom which will only highlight these trends.

Our firm works with a number of organizations ranging in size from 1,200 employees to over 100,000 employees. Every company, regardless of industry or size is experiencing the same issue, an accelerating “war for talent”. How are companies planning to compete in this environment? We’ve seen a number of trends which I’ve outlined and commented on below:

Trend #1-Increased Emphasis on the role of Staffing Professionals

This trend is listed as #1 because we are seeing such a dramatic shift in the types of HR professionals our clients are asking us to recruit. The trend is towards hiring staffing specialists as managers, directors and vice presidents (often called “talent management” or “talent acquisition” leaders). Regardless of the nomenclature, companies have come to realize that many of their HR functions can be outsourced (benefits administration, compensation analysis, HRIS and the like). But that those leading the staffing function must have an intimate knowledge of the business combined with an ability to effectively manage the dynamic nature of the staffing process. What they are also finding is that after years of focus on Organizational Development, “Strategic HR” and the like, that the real and sustainable value of any HR organization is the emphasis placed on getting the right people in the right jobs at the right time. As simple as this sounds (and simple it is, in theory), it takes someone who really understands how to properly use and exploit outside resources and manage internal logistics and business pressures to bring in the optimal talent on a timely basis.

Trend #2-Paid Internships

There was a time not so long ago that college students were thrilled to be offered an unpaid internship in order to begin learning and networking within their chosen field. While many still will work for free in order to gain experience, many employers are taking no chances in “the war for talent” and are paying their interns very competitive wages. A number of creative programs exist that help engage the interns with the companies and increase their loyalty and commitment to joining the enterprise after graduation.

Trend #3- Flexible Work Hours

Much has been written about the “mommy track” or of the balancing act that many parents find nearly impossible to manage. Employers, through economic necessity (i.e. they need these employees) are becoming more flexible in their work approach. One client of ours which employees over 100,000 employees nationally, recently implemented a program that essentially allows employees to work from anywhere. It is a knowledge based company where 25% of all employees spend 98% of their time on a computer or phone. Why, thought the senior leadership team, do folks have to drive to a building to do this? The result? Their retention rate of high quality employees has risen substantially. There is no shortage of strong applicants for key jobs. Productivity among this group of employees has increased significantly.

In knowledge based and technologically driven economy or business…why can’t folks work from anywhere?

Trend #4-Never Say “Good Bye”

The most progressive companies we work with don’t consider retirement to be the end of work for their employees. They have come up with creative programs that allow for the return to work on a part-time, consultative or retained basis. Sometimes this requires modification to their benefit plans, other times it does not. Regardless, rather than letting experience, knowledge and institutional memory walk out the door after many years of strong performance; companies are accommodating the work schedules that are preferred by the post-retirement crowd.

There are certainly other ways of tackling the current “war for talent” and upcoming retirement boom, however these are the most common ways we are seeing it managed. The most important message however, is that it must be managed because the demographic and technological trends we are seeing are not going away.