Committed to Your Success Coaching & Consulting

I read, with interest, an article in today’s Orlando Sentinel which stated that 2010 will see half of U.S. workers making a job change.  According to the studies cited:

• of 900 workers surveyed, 60 percent intend to leave their jobs in 2010
• 55 percent of employees plan to change jobs, careers or industries “when the economy recovers”
• of 4,285 full-time, private-sector employees, 40 percent said they had difficulty staying motivated in their current jobs and 24 percent said they did not feel loyal to their current employers
• job cuts have eased, giving confidence to employees but causing danger in turnover for employers

It seems the pendulum may be swinging the other way in favor of employees, although it won’t be an employee’s market.  But this should serve as a warning sign for employers to pay attention to the needs of their employees and find ways to motivate, engage, reward and retain them.  There will be many challenges ahead for organizations as we are one year off from the “silver tsunami”, i.e. the year (2011) when we will see 10,000 a day of the Boomer generation reach retirement.  This will have serious impacts on the workforce, as the majority of these workers will not leave the workforce as previously predicted. 

The hard reality will be that workers will look to leave their jobs, due to dissatisfaction, but the potential jobs will not be as plentiful due to older workers remaining in the workforce.  The onus will be on:

1. Current workers- by knowing their skills and what they offer an employer; to keep current on workforce trends and companies they want to work for; having their resume(s) current and ready; and networking

2. Older workers- by knowing their skills and what they have to offer an employer; to look at transitional opportunities that can utilize their skills and talents, such as mentoring or consulting positions; to have an exit strategy; and to do their best until they are able to transition out of the workforce

3. Employers - by not taking employee’s for granted; to understand what motivates and engages their workers and then finding ways to carry those out; to compensate and reward employees fairly and consistently; to effectively communicate with their employees; to assess their older workforce and plan exit strategies;to develop future leaders from Gen X and Y;  and to live their vision and mission

As it always happens with a new year, people will change jobs and people will retire.  How they do this is a challenge but is definitely doable.  It takes self-assessment, goals, action steps, action and persistence.  A new year brings hope but it does take  required effort and confidence.  With that said, are you one of these eager exiters?  If so, how do you plan to successfully make the transition?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!