I spend a lot of my time talking to Baby Boomer executives about the challenges of job search for senior staffers and how to work with Generation Y managers. That’s why I was heartened to see a recent blog post on RecruitingTrends.com explaining why we shouldn’t give up on baby boomers just yet. The post tells the story of Kathy Deel, age 55, Director of Quality Management for Health Central in Ocoee, Florida. Before Kathy took over, the Medical Records department was in a shambles with late medical records, low morale, and poor customer satisfaction ratings. Kathy convinced the hospitals’ executive committee that she could run Medical Records and Quality Management, and within a year she had completely turned things around:
“Today, the department operates with one-third fewer employees, patient and physician satisfaction is up, and the department is recognized as one of the best medical records units by its electronic medical record vendor. Most of all, says Kathy, the staff members that remained have an attitude of pride and team spirit which was missing before she took over.
The lesson here? Older employees may be the most loyal, knowledgeable, wise, motivated, and the hardest working human resource an organization has.”
What this demonstrates is that Boomers have a lot to offer to companies. The blog posts quotes MIT researcher David Delong, who said his findings show that Baby Boomers around the world have “deep knowledge of complex business processes, technical systems, advanced scientific processes, and complicated global management practices that are critical to the futures of their respective businesses.” This doesn’t just mean that older workers don’t just hold the keys to the file cabinets or knowledge of arcane internal business procedures. Rather, these older workers have honed skills that make them extremely effective. Look at the results Kathy Deel was able to produce for Health Central with twice the responsibility, two-thirds of the staff, and a lot of experience.
These Boomer experts are also staying in the work force for longer periods. The blog cites a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, that shows that today, only 28 percent of workers plan to retire at 65 as opposed to 50 percent in 1990, and more than twice as many workers don’t plan to retire until age 70. This gives companies an opportunity to mine their experience and mentor younger employees. Delong notes that NASA completed six moon missions between 1969 and 1972, but we would be hard-pressed to repeat that feat today because the people who made it happen are gone and their knowledge has been lost. There is hidden expertise in all aspects of business, and smart organizations are finding ways to transfer that knowledge to the next generation of workers.
So for Baby Boomer career changers, you have to sell your experience. Inventory those unique skills that you make take for granted but that can be incredibly important to a potential employer. Show them how they can profit from your experience, and how you can transfer that experience to make the next generation of employees more valuable.
