Be Savvy in a Shifting Labor Market

People who were counting down the days to retirement are now counting the dollars in their dwindling nest eggs and looking at years of more employment. College graduates entering the market are looking at a shrinking economy, a declining job market, and those retirement-aged people staying in the workforce. Who benefits here? You do, the employer; if you take savvy steps to use this opportunity to your advantage.
Not long ago companies had a significant short fall of talent to fill open positions, today the savviest of companies are using this opportunity to strengthen their talent base.

Senior Sensations

As a kid I remember people saying over 30 is over the hill. Then as I entered the workforce I heard people counting down the days to retirement at age 65. As I entered my 30's I had fellow executives retiring in their 50's. Today, retirement is more semi-retirement and it starts around 70.

What are the talents this older age group can add to your workforce to make it stronger? Loyalty. Commitment. Being service-oriented. Workers of this age not only work well in service positions but can teach your younger workers about better communication and customer interaction. The key is finding workers who want to work because they enjoy being busy (as well as keeping the income rolling in) and not just because they have to for the money. Does your interview process know how to separate these two types of potential employees?

The Energetic Tech Age Group

The young people graduating these days are the most tech-savvy generation to come along. The talent here can help your company streamline processes, modernize old school habits, and they have the energy and the passion for projects they enjoy. Remember, energy and passion are better contributions to workforce effectiveness, than grade averages and the school they graduated from.

Forget resumes and college transcripts in this labor market. Build your workforce by the personality traits your workforce needs to become a stronger unit. Now is the time to cherry pick the soft skills that can make or break a company to create the proper mix for your organization to run at optimum performance.