Successful Corporate Transition Of Leadership As Baby Boomers Retire

Senior Executives talking to group of younger managers (source: freepik.com)

In the next couple years, one-third of baby boomers in the workforce will be over the age of 65. According to the Bureau of Labor, 41% of the entire workforce will be over age 55. While nearly every industry will be affected as large number of employees reach retirement, some industries are going to be harder hit by baby boomer retirement than others. The Pharmaceutical Industry, for instance, is naturally focusing on how to serve this large demographic with its products, but it must also meet the challenge to grow its workforce as 10,000 baby boomers are ready to retire each day. As the industry struggles to replace these key members of its team after they retire, here are a few steps your company can make to ensure that it’s able to operate optimally in the coming years.

Make Plan To Replace Retiring Employees That Includes Contingencies

Ideally, your pharma company has already undergone retirement succession planning. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, some baby boomers are contemplating retiring earlier than they had initially planned. Moreover, in this demographic, unexpected health conditions do occur, prompting workers to take extended time off or, again, opt for early retirement. As part of your retirement transition plan, determine where your baby boomers are in your operation and what it will mean for each department if those leaders are to leave your workforce before you’re prepared; and then, make a plan for when senior leaders leave unexpectedly.

Preparing Your Organization With Cross-Training Programs and Knowledge Transfer

As a large amount of employees reach retirement, more than one department may be affected. This may leave you with employees who are scrambling to cover tasks. Prepping your team is essential. Begin a cross-training program now so that your teams are able to shift gears and even cross into other departments if needed. It takes time to locate and hire the right candidates to fulfill your open positions, so make sure that your company is able to function properly with its younger employees performing the needed tasks. Also, begin to identify the team members working under your baby boomers. It’s definitely time to initiate a training / key knowledge transfer process so that your workforce isn’t left uncertain about how to perform vital tasks.

Work with an Executive Recruiter To Plan, Find, and Replace Retiring Leaders

Finally, consult executive recruiting experts Key Corporate Services. Companies just like yours will be competing for qualified candidates to fulfill the roles left open by retiring baby boomers–and that applicant pool is likely to be much smaller than industries are used to dealing with. Using a third party can help support your team’s continuity and make the search less stressful for your employees. For instance, when a company officially announces an upcoming retirement, it can affect the workplace culture. Losing a team member even to retirement can affect office morale. Key Corporate Services can list and conduct the evaluation process discreetly without disrupting your team.

Key Corporate Services can help your company plan for retiring c level executives and identify the ideal executive candidates for your company so that you don’t experience an interruption in the way you operate your business. Contact us to learn more about their executive recruitment services.


About Key Corporate Services

Key Corporate Services has been helping organizations find and place executives through retained and project search since 2000. Our executive headhunters specialize in the industrial chemicals, biotech and pharmaceutical, finance and accounting, food ingredience, and manufacturing and engineering industries.