Companies find ways to retain expertise of older workers

By Marsha King
Seattle Times staff reporter (Exerpted)

A serious health scare a decade ago convinced Dave Gromala that there's more to life than work. Someday, he'd find a way to retire early from Weyerhaeuser so he and his wife could explore more of the fun stuff in life before growing old.

But late last year, after he crunched the numbers, the dream looked premature. "When you even think of trying to retire at age 55, the calculator explodes," he said.
His pension hadn't grown enough, the stock market was having fits and his future medical needs were unknown.

Gromala started searching for an alternative. His timing was perfect. Worried about an impending labor shortage and the loss of expertise, Weyerhaeuser had just joined the ranks of employers nationwide that are creating strategies to delay the retirement of valued older workers.

Historically, senior workers have received incentives to leave their jobs early to make room for the next generation. But a change in thinking is under way. As baby boomers march toward retirement, too few younger workers may be available to fill the gap.

Weyerhaeuser asked Gromala if he'd like to help kick off a new delayed-retirement program by going part time while still accumulating a pension and enjoying company-paid health insurance.

"It was like finding a bunch of Easter eggs," Gromala said.

The graying of the work force is expected to challenge many countries. In the United States, employment is expected to increase by nearly 19 million jobs over the decade ending in 2014, about 2.6 million more than the previous decade. But in that same period, 36 million people are expected to leave the work force permanently, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At Weyerhaeuser, company research found that 40 percent of employees nationwide would be eligible to retire by 2010. Decades of knowledge and institutional memory could vanish.

For now, the company is most concerned about certain job categories, such as scientists and engineers in the forestry division, which require deep expertise.
"If we were in a growth mode, this would be even harder to deal with. We'd be scrambling for even more talent and we'd be scrambling across the board," said Sally Hass, director of retirement education.

Census data show that by 2030, nearly 20 percent of the population will be age 65 or older, compared with about 12 percent in 2000.

In King County, some of the employment sectors significantly affected by the aging work force are education, public administration, manufacturing, health care and utilities.

As more people retire, many industries could see a dramatic impact on productivity and profits, according to a February report of the Task Force on the Aging of the American Workforce, launched in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Most people say they'd like to work in some capacity even after traditional retirement age, the report says. But age discrimination, limited opportunities and federal pension and tax laws can discourage working in older age.

The task force and others urge an array of remedies: recruitment of older workers, flexible work arrangements, financial education and new scrutiny of federal regulations forged decades ago to make room for baby boomers.

"We're all facing this challenge," said Cindy Wall, a spokeswoman for Boeing. "Right now we're able to get all the people we need. But will that be the case in five years? "

<A gradual retirement
Weyerhaeuser's new delayed-retirement project, called Gray Matters, is grounded in research about the attitudes of its employees age 55 and over. The vast majority say they want to work longer rather than completely retire. But they want it all — a flexible schedule, health-care benefits and no negative financial impact. And they want the work to be meaningful.

In response, Gray Matters offers selected employees the opportunity to retire gradually, but they must average 25 hours of work a week in order to keep health benefits. The part-time work also shouldn't go on for too many years or it could negatively impact their pension. Still, working part time rather than retiring entirely ultimately builds a bigger nest egg.

During this phase-down, they're expected to create a plan to transfer knowledge and mentor younger workers. The company also is participating in a talent bank, to be run by an outside firm, that will offer retirees a chance to work on a temporary basis.

"What we all want as employers is the best talent we can have," said Hass, retirement educator at Weyerhaeuser. "And what we ought to recognize is that the best talent can come at any age."

When the program started in January, Gromala cut back to three days a week as director of codes and product acceptance, a highly specialized job he's held for 18 years. His pay is 40 percent less and his pension is accumulating at a slower pace.
His time is divided among long-term projects, solving problems and guiding younger employees. Already, the more junior staff no longer asks, "How should I handle this?" Instead, they just keep him informed.

It feels a little scary, like maybe he's not needed anymore. But "so be it," Gromala said. Meanwhile, he insists he's really not partially retired. He simply bought an extra 10 weeks of vacation. And if this mix of more free time and less job keeps feeling right, why stop?

mking@seattletimes.com

Seasoned Believer's Biblography

I would strongly encourage those who are interested in learning more about this demographic phenomenon called The Boomer Wave to read the following books and articles:

Books

Generation Ageless, J. Walker Smith and Ann Clurman, Harper Collins Publishing 2007

Made To Stick (Random House, 2007) Chip and Dan Heath

Ageless Marketing: Strategies for Reaching the Hearts & Minds of the New Customer Majority, David B. Wolfe, Robert E. Snyder, Dearborn Trade Publishing, a Kaplan Professional Company, 2003

Exit Interviews, William Hendricks, (Chicago: Moody, 1993), p. 260.

Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance, Bob Buford, Zondervan Publishing, 2001

Stuck in Halftime, Zondervan Publishing, Bob Buford, 2004

Finishing Well: What People Who "Really Live" Do Differently, Bob Buford, Integrity Publishing, 2004

Unlimited Partnership: Igniting a Marketplace Leader's Journey to Significance, Lloyd Reeb and Bill Wellons, B & H Publishing, 2006

The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest Of Your Life, Ken Dychtwald and Daniel J. Kadlec, (2005)

Practicing Greatness, Reggie McNeal, Jossey-Bass, 2006

Baby Boomerang: Catching the Boomer Generation As They Return to Church , Regal Books,(1990), Doug Murren

The Boomer Century 1946-2046: How America's Most Influential Generation Changed Everything, Alexandria Productions, (2007) Richard Croker and Ken Dychtwald

For Entrepreneurs Only: Success Strategies for Anyone Starting or Growing a Business, The Career Press, 1994, Wilson Harrell

The Wellness Revolution: How to Make a Fortune in the Next Trillion Dollar Industry, John Wiley and Sons, Paul Zane Pilzer, 1994

ARTICLES

One of the most helpful websites I have found for those who want to retool the church's paradigm and develop "sticky" ideas is www.JoshHunt.com. He is a nationally known Christian coach and educator.

Pew Research Center, "Baby Boomers Approach Age 60"

"The Case of the Missing Boomers," Ministry Currents, January - March 1992,

Aging Adults: Boomers, Builders, and Beyond, Enrichment Journal, Winter 2002

“Targeting the Mature Mind,” David Wolfe, American Demographics, March 1994, 32–36

Editorial: "Involved Seniors"/It's Time for Boomers to Plan July 5, 2004, Minnesota Star Tribune

Report on "Reinventing Aging: Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement,", MetLife/Harvard School for Public Health,2004

Me Generation' becomes 'We Generation,( USA Today 8/2/2006) by Daniel J. Kadlec.

How can your church reach baby boomers? Steve Mills, Executive Director of Church Ministries, Northwest District, The Assemblies of God,

Churches Neglect Older Folks; Potlucks Won't Do, Lillian Kwon, Christian Post Reporter Fri, Jan. 12 2007

The Church In 2011: Catching The Age Wave, (Lifeway Biblical Solutions for Life, 7/10/06), by Thom S. Rainer

Celebrate The Diversity of Seasoned Believers

The Old Testament writer reports on how generations of old responded to God or failed to respond. Paul points out that we are many and we experience Christ in different ways. We are given these experiences of grace so we can contribute our perspectives to help one another and to up build the church.

In Christ we are made one. We are united into one body. Unity involves diversity. Unity is not uniformity. Because of our unique life histories we have different graces that the Spirit gives us. Jesus teaches that our unity is manifested in our willingness to serve and to let others serve us.

None of us is sufficient in and of our self. God has made us so as to need each other.

The inclusive church welcomes the insights, perspectives, gifts and graces of each generation and each generation type. Membership in the church is intergenerational. It is the covenantal response of generations that unites us as one family through the Spirit.

The Spirit makes the church, the family of God, an inclusive body – a celebration of diversity.

Today in the name of religion many don’t trust diversity. We want everyone to think and behave as we do. Those who are different or who don’t conform to our expectations we tend to demonize.

This addiction to uniformity is a worldwide phenomenon. We see it played out in many Islamic countries and we see it played out in our churches and denominations. Our mainline denominations are being torn apart because there are leaders who tolerate and encourage diversity. The church whose motto is “reformed and always reforming” is in danger of becoming the church conformed and always conforming.

God brings many parts together so the whole will be greater that its parts. Togetherness brings about synergy; it’s creating a work that is greater than anything we could expect from individuals working separately. It’s a transforming power that can remake each of us and transform the whole world -- generation to generation -- into one holy orchestra where many parts join together to honor and praise our God who makes us one.

"Thy Kingdom come, O Lord;

Thy will be done on earth,

Even as it is done in heaven."

The Silent Sandwich Generation

For the last 30 years, the emphasis has been on the “seeker sensitive” approach to reaching the “boomer generation”.

The Boomer generation was heralded as the cure-all, both financially and numerically, for the church. Paradigms were changed dramatically in the hopes that they would recognize and appreciate the changes that were made on their behalf.

Based on the 2006 U. S. Census estimates there are some 78 million boomers born between 1946 and 1964. In the 9 counties in the Cincinnati metro area, there are approximately 577,000 Boomers who will be in their “bonus round” by 2012.

Dr. Thom Rainer, in an article entitled The Church In 2011: Catching The Age Wave, estimates that two thirds of the Boomers remain unchurched.

A second people group that has been highlighted, and rightly so, is the generation referred to as the “Greatest Generation” (WWII or the GI generation). This generation has provided the leadership and stability for the church for many years.

However, sandwiched between these two generations is a generation that has been largely forgotten. They have been called the Silent Generation. This generation has stood silently by while the hymns they grew up singing have been scuttled. Many have patiently endured many “seeker sensitive” watered down feel good sermons. Many have faithfully given their tithes. They have remained faithful while “contemporary” has been redefined in ways that are foreign to them.

Consider this: In these same 9 counties, according to the US Census estimates(2006), there are approximately 647,743 members of the “Silent Generation”. Many of these folks are still able to take an active part in the life of the Body. In many churches, they are recognized once a month when an announcement in the bulletin alerts them to the monthly potluck luncheon and a monthly or quarterly bus trip to either Gatlinburg or Branson.

In this era where we are constantly encouraged to recycle and conserve energy etc, I am concerned that we are wasting some of the most significant resources God has given us.

The Boomer Blogger

The Church: Is She Ready For The Boomers??

From the beginning, I have suggested that not only has society failed to prepare for the (Current Builder) and oncoming Boomer Wave but neither is the church ready or getting ready to welcome and integrate the most important resource of Seasoned Believers in history.

As I was thinking about this developing crisis earlier today, I decided to do some research to validate or challenge my impressions.

My research process was simple. I decided to see if the churches of my own denominational background were getting ready to minister to the large number of adults in society. It seemed that one way to do that was by reviewing current job openings listed on the web sites of nine different Christian groups. They were seven Bible Colleges, CrossLink (which connects people and ministries) and a weekly national church publication.

The data seems to validate my intuitive hunch. Here is what I found:

There were a total of 547 ministry positions excluding pulpit ministries listed on the five web sites. Out of the 547 jobs listed 383 (70%) were for people who were trained to minister to children or youth. There were no ministry openings for Adult or Senior’s-Seasoned Believers.

An additional area of research included a web site of a week long national church convention. The daily program listed only one event for “Seasoned Believers”. It was a social event, a “Senior’s Luncheon”.

One large denomination’s website also had a number of open jobs. The listing included 46 for ministers of children and youth. There were no jobs listed for Ministers to Seasoned Believers.

In a very happy discovery, I found one Pentecostal denomination that was recognizing the issue that faces us. The Assemblies of God recently appointed a part time National Director of Senior Adult Ministries.

Out of a total of 443 job openings, I found 0 Ministry Positions for Adult Ministries in churches and 1 for Adult and Seasoned Believers at the denominational level.

If you know of a congregation or denomination that has recognized the need for a Ministry to Adults or Seasoned Believers, please send the church name, address and contact number to me.

The Boomer Blogger

Read "No Country for Old People" in Key Links

After 4 months of digging for information to emphasize that society in general and the church specifically are going to be flooded by 76 million Boomers who, by 2012, will be finishing their first careers.

Neither the government, the media nor the banks have made any provision for the oncoming Boomer Wave.

Marc Freedman, chief executive of Civic Ventures, a think tank focused on the aging society, is the author of "Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life." In the latter part of January 2008, he wrote an article "No Country for Old People" in the Washington Post. I have a link to that article in the Key Links list to the left. I encourage you to read it. Very well done and focuses with clarity on this neglected element of our society.

We are going to have a second round of meetings in April at the River Hills Christian Church in Loveland, Ohio. We will encourage Seasoned Believers (Christian Boomers) to share their dreams and their experiences in a collaborative way to create new businesses (both for profit and non profit) in order allow them to fulfill their desire to continue to contribute in a significant way to the community.

In the greater Cincinnati Metro Area (9 counties), there will be, according to the U S Census Bureau, some 577, 000 Boomers who will be in their “bonus round” by 2012.

An article quoted in a book I read about boomers called The Boomer Century 1946-2046: How America's Most Influential Generation Changed Everything by Richard Croker caught my attention. The article (page 237)is entitled The Church In 2011: Catching The Age Wave by Thom Rainer. Dr Rainer makes some observations (listed below) based on his research of the topic that reflect how I have been feeling too.

Dr. Rainer says, “Most cutting-edge ministries in the church for the past 40 years have been aimed at reaching the younger generations. Indeed, churches should continue to reach young people with the gospel. But few churches have given much thought or resources to reaching older generations. And if something does not change in our churches, this age wave will pass by with millions never connecting with the church, and with millions never responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

He continues, “Most leaders admit that they have not even thought about the issue, much less strategically planned to reach this older generation.”

A few more observations by Dr. Rainer:

"About two-thirds of the 76 million boomers are unchurched, which means they attend church no more than twice a year.

The senior boomers will have the largest accumulated wealth of any group in America’s history.

This age wave will include tens of millions of men and women who want to make a difference in their older years. They have pursued many paths to happiness, and the unchurched boomers tell us that none have proved satisfactory.

These older adults will respond poorly to most forms of senior adult ministries in churches today. They will walk away from churches that focus on travel and entertainment as the primary “ministries” to senior adults. They want to invest themselves in something that is meaningful and longer-term.

These new senior adults will not perceive themselves to be older adults, and any organization that communicates to them that they are old will quickly lose the allegiance of this generation.


THE BOOMER BLOOGER

Boomer Entrepreneurs Part II

When George Bush (#41) accepted the nomination, he told us that in the previous eight years - the Reagan Years – that there had been 17 million jobs created. What he did not say was that during the exact same period, the Fortune 500 lost 3.5 million jobs.

If it hadn’t been for entrepreneurs and the 20 million net new jobs that they created, where do you think we would be today?

In the years from 1994 to 1999, 1/3 of the Fortune 500 companies failed. It took the previous 25 years for that many to disappear. By 2010, if the same pattern prevails, my guess is that another third will have bit the dust.

Guess who is going to replace them? The entrepreneurs who dared to step out. It will not be the media, the banks and certainly not the government.

How is it possible for humongous companies, with all their resources, to be clobbered by a bunch of upstarts? For the last 20 years, entrepreneurs all over the country have been creating havoc by replaying the David and Goliath story by smiting giants.

Why are so many companies failing?? My guess would be that most large companies are dinosaurs waiting for their food to run out. They will be replaced by other dinosaurs whose fate will be the same.

The Boomer Blogger

Boomer Entrepreneurs

I have made several remarks, in previous blog entries, as to the value of collaboration and the creation of new businesses (both for profit and not for profit) for those Boomers who do not want to retire but to RE-FIRE.

Having been involved in the creation of 501{c}3 ventures (non-profits organized for religious purposes) for the last 25 years, I recognize that many may be a little hesitant to enter this arena for any one of many “reasons”.

But Ron, “We are entering into a recession !!!!”

To quote Gabriel Heatter, a well known newsman, who, during WWII, began each radio broadcast with “There is good news tonight."

Now, I am not an advocate for recessions but, if you think about it, a recession, real or imagined, is the best time for entrepreneurial creativity.

What do companies do when there is a recession?

They retrench, cut back on advertising and services, fire people, close divisions, withdraw products, and so on.

What does this add up to?

They abandon “niches”. And those “niches” are fertile seedbeds for entrepreneurs, who listen carefully to the sad and mournful stories of the Fortune 500 companies. Maybe even shed a tear or two and then engage their creative entrepreneurial skills and get up and clobber them.

Just remember, for the last 20 years, entrepreneurs have been the subset of the economy that has prevented our country from sinking into another depression like infamous one in the 30’s

The Boomer Blogger

Retirement To Re-Fire-Ment Part I

Existing community-service organizations have not always been very creative in designing volunteer opportunities. They have tended to think in terms of simple tasks that can be done without much planning or supervision, rather than in terms of the mission they are trying to accomplish and how to use volunteers to achieve it.

There are many accounts of underutilizing volunteers, such as the case of a retired physician who volunteered her efforts at a local community hospital, only to be offered a job refilling patients’ water pitchers.

If volunteers are to become genuinely committed, they must feel that they are a valued and integral part of the organization, not a group apart. It is exactly these more complex and sustained opportunities that will promote both personal growth and social growth. Creating such roles, however, will not be easy.

The case for collaboration and creation of new faith based non profit non profit ventures is even more important.

In my next blog entry, I will give more reasons for this approach to fulfilling the need for Boomers to continue to contribute to the community in a significant way.

The Boomer Blogger