Older workers are being sought to fill leadership and skills gap

Not a day goes by where a conversation with a human resource or talent acquisition executive does not turn to a call for talent — experienced talent.

Individuals with specialized skills, advance knowledge and deep industry understanding are particularly valuable to companies in this era.

However, there's a great frustration in corporate America in finding the candidates that every company needs — smart, capable people who know how to do things and get the job done.

America has a talent crunch. Currently there are more positions available than there are job seekers and as the American economy continues to improve, the need for experienced, skilled workers is gradually increasing.

The unemployment rate remains at an eight-year low of 5% nationally. Meanwhile, over the last 12 months, employment growth has increased with a monthly average of 232,000.

Some economists have accused employers of "Purple Squirrel" advertising, i.e., posting job ads for which only perfect candidates will be considered.

Not true. Employers are not spending money falsely advertising job openings. They need qualified workers. Not everything is trainable in a short period of time. Deep job expertise develops over years of practicing a profession — whether white collar or blue.

Just this past year, a close family member of mine who happens to be an assembly worker in his sixties was re-hired when his employer realized that his knowledge of how to correctly make highly specialized circuit boards was nowhere to be found in the job market.

With the average worker retiring at age 62 in the U.S., Baby Boomers have lots of active, productive years remaining. The idea that 62 is too old for work is passé.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is 85 and is still actively involved in his company. He’s the third richest person in the world and according to Forbes, Buffett ranks in the top 15 of the world's most powerful people. Those involved in the stock market continue to watch closely on which companies he is investing in and 'selling' on.

Stan Lee, 93, is best known for revolutionizing the comic book industry as former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

However, in his later years, he emerged as the public face of the popular publisher by attending comic book conventions throughout the country. In 2010, he launched the Stan Lee Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides access to literacy, education and the arts.

There are endless examples of experienced workers who are undoubtedly productive, creative, and capable of delivering value far greater than a room full of individuals half their age.

Many individuals in their late fifties and sixties are choosing to leave their corporate jobs because they can. After raising their families and establishing a nest egg, they no longer need to work 9- to-5 with a guaranteed income stream.

Instead, they can choose when, how and what to work on, picking assignments they are passionate about. Doing, coaching, teaching, training, managing, advising and the like on specialized assignments and projects are well suited to these individuals.

Just like the recent trend of millennials pursuing “portfolio” careers — working a variety of part-time jobs, work assignments and gigs — the retiring Baby Boomers are doing the same.

"Late stage portfolio careerists are more likely to focus on doing a deep and meaningful job of the assignments they take on," explained Judy O'Hagan, Vice President of Human Resources for Sanofi.

"They still have the strong desire to work, but only on projects they choose — basing their choices on topics that strongly motivate them and align closely with their values."

With an increasing number of Baby Boomers choosing to exit their corporate careers, a widening skill and leadership gap has developed in the workforce.

However, Generation X'ers and Millennials are not fully ready to fill this void. Older workers are jumping in to help, serving as coaches, mentors, experts, trainers, and doers for all sorts of projects and gigs they feel personally drawn to.

Employers have much to gain by designing project based jobs that appeal to late stage portfolio careerists.

"Having gained extensive experience over the years, they have a unique ability to immediately offer a wealth of knowledge, experience and depth across a wide range of business, organizational and leadership situations," added O'Hagan.

"They can immediately plug in, ask probing questions and diagnose underlying causes and issues pretty quickly given the wisdom and lessons of experience gather over the years. And the advice and solutions they can provide reflect these deep lessons of experience."

Employers of all stages are benefiting. Think of the start-up or smaller organization. They are unable to afford the full-time salary of a late stage professional or expert. They most likely don't have a full time need, either.

For project-based and part-time work, having access to this level of talent is invaluable. Think of the midsize to larger organization who needs help landing or executing on a big deal. With an inadequate supply of fulltime, experienced workers available to be hired, having a network of experienced, Baby Boomer portfolio careerists available to them means the difference between being able to perform the work and losing the work.

In order to tap into and attract late stage portfolio careerists, employers are:

• Creating jobs that are mission driven with particular start and end points
• Designing jobs around the interest and expertise of the portfolio careerist
• Allowing late stage portfolio careerists to choose when, where and how they work
• Offering a choice of work assignments

Dr. Steven Lindner is the executive partner of The WorkPlace Group, a leading "think-tank" provider of recruitment services assisting companies ranging from small, fast-growing businesses to multinational Fortune 500 companies.