Are you ready for the aging workforce?

Looking around the room during meetings of professionals in aging, you’ll see many people, mainly women, of “a certain age.” People in their 20s, even 30s, are rare.

So when I read about the aging workforce, I think of us.

What, I wonder, are our own organizations doing to prepare for the future? For shortages and loss of skills and knowledge caused by our own retirements? What are we doing to attract and develop younger people?

Right now, I can't imagine not working--or not seeing the committed, still-passionate professionals I've come to admire in this field. But they tell me it can happen--will happen, one way or another.

The AARP’s Workforce Assessment Tool is a great way to take stock of the situation. It’s designed to help businesses “assess any potential impact the aging workforce will have on your organization.” It takes about half an hour to complete, and it generates a report of strengths and "opportunities." (That's "room for improvement" to those of us who predate the "no problem" era.)

It’s also a great way to look at the functions your organization performs, who performs them, what knowledge retention strategies you have, and more.

Some of the sections may lead to some corporate soul-searching. “Positive Work Environment” and “Workplace Accommodations” are two that might. So may “Training and Development Opportunities,” which inventories the types of training available to workers and whether the training is targeted to those over age 50.

Sometimes, we forget the need for lifelong learning in people who already have a lot of knowledge--or the desire for advancement even in people who may already seem advanced.

In looking at the “Flexible Work Arrangements” section, I was struck by how congruent the flexibility that appeals to older workers is to the flexibility younger workers—especially parents of young children—need.

Making a better workplace for older workers is making a better workplace for everyone.

Manpower, one of the Aging Consortium's member organiztions and sponsors, has some in-depth research on the aging workforce. You might want to look at New Agenda for the Older Workforce and Old Age Thinking, New Age Thinking.

Meanwhile, how’s your organization doing? Let us know your thoughts.