Gray Skies, Silver Linings: How Companies are Forecasting, Managing, and Recruiting a Mature Workforce

The specter of baby boomer retirements raises unprecedented challenges for many companies, and important questions for others. To identify and respond to corporate concerns about recognizing potential workforce shortages and recruiting and managing mature workers, The Conference Board presents 12 case studies, plus companies’ bottom-line strategies and our own big-picture insights.

Gray Skies, Silver Linings: Key Findings

The practical findings of the report are presented in summary form and fortified with nutshell versions of case studies, plus insights that can help executives make their own action plans for dealing with the ramifications of the mature workforce.

Part I: Forecasting a Mature Workforce

How can companies forecast whether approaching retirements are a problem for them? Case studies of a utility company and an industry collaborative show how strategic workforce planning can help companies move from paralysis to analysis to specific, targeted action.

Part II: Managing a Mature Workforce

How can companies keep mature workers active, engaged, and on the job? By managing them better, which involves respecting them, listening to their concerns, and accommodating their evolving needs with programs such as phased retirement and career management. Case studies include Bon Secours Richmond Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, Deere & Co., and Abloy Oy, a lock manufacturer in Finland.

Part III: Recruiting Mature Workers

Recruiting mature workers can benefit companies that want to compensate for labor shortages or to better mirror the age profile of their customers. Case studies of CVS Caremark and Busch Entertainment Corp. demonstrate how partnerships and targeted recruiting work. Other case studies include Westpac, an Australian bank, and three third-party recruiters: Kelly Services, Mature Services, and YourEncore.

Case Study: The Finnish Line

Abloy Oy, a Finnish lock manufacturing company, exemplifies how an organization facing an imminent labor crisis is accommodating older workers’ needs in order to keep them on the job longer. What is happening in Finland, where the mature workforce is a national reality with urgent implications, can serve as both warning and inspiration to companies around the globe.

Case Study: Careful Recruiting

Through partnerships with nonprofits and government agencies, the pharmaceutical chain CVS Caremark has been recruiting and training mature workers since the early 90s. These partnerships help the company reach potential applicants it might not find otherwise, like the Hispanic women who work in its Ennis, TX distribution center.