Imagine a valued employee quits. The posi- tion remains un;lled for months. Collateral
damage includes two burned-out employees
left picking up the slack. Might two weeks of
paid paternity leave — say, $2,300 — rewrite
that story into one about retaining three
happy workers and recruiting another?
From 2015 to 2017, more than 75 large
corporations issued press releases about their
expanded parental leave policies. It’s guerilla
recruiting and retention at their ;nest, and the
tactic just might work.
You know new mom is posting all over
“Insta” about how lucky she is to have her husband home two whole weeks. Her followers
want to know where new dad works.
Unemployment numbers indicate a
robust U.S. economy, but examine the demographics, and you’ll ;nd workforce management demands immediate attention.
Hiring managers know ;ve truths:
1. The best workers have jobs. The U.S.
unemployment rate dipped to 3.6%
in April — the lowest level in 50 years,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2. Baby boomers are sticking around.
By 2024, the BLS projects the labor force
will reach 164 million people — and 41
million of them will be 55 or older. Of
those 41 million, the bureau expects 13
million will be at least 65. Drill down more,
and growth rates for the 65- to 74-year-
olds and the 75 and older group are
expected to climb faster than any other
age group in the labor force (55% and 86%
growth rates, respectively).
3. Generation X, although loyal, is
losing patience. Leadership typically
expects Gen Xers to take on heavier work-
loads. Nevertheless, Gen X employees get
promoted more slowly than baby boomers
and millennials, according to the DDI and
EY “Global Leadership Forecast 2018.”
4. Millennials job-hop. A recent Gallup poll
showed 21% of millennials had changed
jobs within the year — three times more
than nonmillennials. Gallup estimates
millennial turnover costs businesses $30.5
billion a year.
5. Qualified, hirable workers are
unicorns. The BLS reported 7. 5 million
job openings in April, yet only 5. 8 million
unemployed workers.
How bad do you want good workers?
Would you up your retention game to a
level so remarkable that it becomes recruitment? (Melissa Rogers mentions this in the
“Member Pro;le” that begins on Page 30.)
Would you retrain older workers to ;ll the
skills gap? (A Harvard Business School podcast
in the June “PEI Business Bullet” examines this
grassroots e;ort across the U.S.)
Would you research the changing work-
force, rethink hiring strategies and adopt
creative policies to woo potential and current
employees? Before you brush o; expanding
bene;ts, Google “paternity pay millennials.”
In this job market, your competition is
every other organization with a vacancy,
including those beyond the fueling industry
and your city. Potential hires — and even your
most loyal employees — are comparing your
company’s bene;ts, perks and culture against
those of every other organization.
Your workforce is changing. Are you?
@KWRIGHT_PEI
Kristen Wright
Editor in Chief
KWRIGHT@PEI.ORG
From
the
Editor
How Bad Do You
Want Good Workers?
