Generations in the Work Force
Silents
• Born
between
1925 - 1946
Baby Boomers
• Born
between
1946 - 1964
Generation
Xers
• Born
between
1965 -1980
Millennials
• Born After
1980
Today’s Workforce Reality
Four
Generations
Silents
Baby Boomers
Gen Xers
Gen Ys

Aging
Shrinking

Workforce
Labor Pool
=
Need for
Integrated
People
Strategies
A workforce comes in many years, makes and models…
Translate this to year of birth….
1948
1950
1955
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
Baby Boomers
Baby boomers retiring have been keeping
Recruiters busy and local government
organizations scrambling for talent…..
The Power of the Baby Boomers
Baby boomers were born during the years between 1946 and 1964 –
and have made up as much as 40% of the U.S. workforce
Fifteen Years from now
1 IN 5 AMERICANS WILL BE
OLDER THAN 65
Labor Market Composition
Most Public Agencies
are unprepared to lose 1/3
of their staff
Lack of College Graduates
By 2020 – The U.S.
labor market needs
one million more
college graduates
to fill the demand of
vacancies
WSJ Article (Jan 16, 2015) – Survey of 32,000
students at 169 colleges and universities - Forty
percent of students seen as iIl prepared to enter work
force due to lack of critical thinking skills
California Centric Issues
• High cost of housing in some areas
Out-of-State Candidates
• High cost of housing market
• State Income Tax
• Property Tax
• Fear of earthquakes!
• And, four year drought!
Pension Reform Promotes
Internal Hires
• PEPRA
– New Employees for CalPERS Plan – 2%@62
– Changes to Employee Share
• Some Employers still paying full or
significant portion of Employee Share
• Two and Three Tier Structure
Talent Wars
Public Agencies in Search of Talent
Who Is Driving this War for
Talent?
83% of
Employers and
Recruiters would
say the war for
talent is primarily
candidate-driven
Play Defense
Deflate the Situation
Defensive Strategies
Grow your staff organically
……from the inside
More Defensive Strategies
• Be an Employer of Choice
• Positive organizational branding
• Create a culture of HPO
• Use data-driven metrics
More Defensive Strategies
•
•
•
•
Vigorously promote success
Require and review staffing stats
Mentor the next generation
Look internally first!
Tap the Private Sector
• Potential source for variety of positions
(i.e. engineering, public works,
accounting)
• Promote stability of the organization
• Highlight long-term career potential of
public service
• Career Ladders / Upward mobility
Tap the Private Sector
• It’s not just – all about the base (salary) Talk “Total Comp”
• “Defined Benefit” Retirement Plan is still a
huge plus!
• Explore motivation and culture fit
Assess Your Strategy Annually
•
•
•
•
•
•
Evaluate hiring process – Soup to Nuts
Cross-train on organization-wide basis
Restore funding for training
Encourage professional development
Institute a formal rotation program
Vigorously promote seeking outside
opportunities
Add Immediate Value
• Promote stability of leadership
– Elected Officials
– Executive Level + Entire Team
• Promote servant leadership
• Social Media / Communication Strategies
• Always an Ambassador
Use Technology - Recruit & Retain
Holistic Approach
Internal Staff vs. Search Firm
HR Employees are often
forced to multi-task normal job
responsibilities plus handle the
stress of recruiting.
Experience, Expertise, and a
full team with only one
purpose. Finding the right
talent for your organization
Skills and
Experience
TALENT
Look for
people that
make best
use of their
skills and
experience
Standard Job Spec vs. Performance Profile
Job Description Skills
Knowledge
Skills
Abilities
Experience
Competencies
Performance Profile
Leadership
Strategic Vision
Record of Success
Career Path
Lead & Team Examples
A Tennis Player
A Champion
HAVING
DOING
Strategic Recruiting
Positive Branding
Search Process
Timing / Targeted
Holistic Approach
Technology
Sustainable
organizations
are built
through a
focus on
workforce
development
Ethnic
Gender
Generations
Skills
“Today your success depends on retaining experienced
employees and transferring their knowledge to a new
generation of leaders.”
The Society for Human Resource Management