the pressures of talent management

By Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Stephen Sweet, and Kathy Lynch, with Elizabeth Whalley

The Sloan Center on Aging & Work has released a new report looking at whether businesses and organizations in today's challenging economy are aware of the impact of America's increasingly aging workforce and what steps they are taking to prepare.

summary

Two dramatic changes are currently delivering shock waves to many businesses and organizations. The global economic crisis has put employers under remarkable pressure to manage the immediate problems of skyrocketing costs and shrinking revenues. At the same time, the steadily increasing proportion of older workers looms as a significant factor for the near future. Taken together, these economic and demographic trends represent both challenges and opportunities, encouraging organizations to innovate and adapt.

This new report from the Center on Aging & Work looks at whether employers in today's tough economy are gathering the information they need about their employees and their organizations' future skill-set requirements that will help them better understand how shifts in the age makeup of the workforce might affect their organizations. The report also explores what action steps organizations are taking to adapt to the 21st-century workforce.

Among the findings are:

• 40% of employers surveyed anticipate the aging of the workforce will have a "negative/very negative" impact on their business over the next three years.
• 68% of employers surveyed reported not having analyzed the demographics of their workforce.
• 77% said they have not analyzed the projected retirement rates of employees.
• About one-third of employers reported not having enough programs for recruitment or training of older workers.
• Only 31% said they had workplace flexibility options in place for employees.

Against the backdrop of today's challenging economic realities, the increasing proportion of older workers will be a driving factor in organizations' talent management practices, as employers seek to ensure they have the right people with the right skills in the right jobs at the right time. Read more findings and implications for employers from The Pressures of Talent Management ».

Learn more about Talent Management Study »

Click here to view the Center's entire list of publications »