• Baby Boomers are about to leave the workforce in droves. There is a shortage of Gen X'ers (currently aged 28 to 43) who are highly mobile and are at the key age for leadership development.
• The brain drain is exacerbating problems. With declining population growth, the war for talent has just begun.
• Retaining Gen X – remuneration, lifestyle, career development, fun work environment, 'one size fits one'. Develop the organisation's image – well managed, exciting, challenges and opportunities. Offer freedom and autonomy
• Coaching is becoming a key tool for retaining staff. Around one third of US Fortune 500 companies practice Executive Coaching. Focus on measurable outcomes and return on investment.
• Areas of strongest predicted employment growth in the lead up to 2010 are health and community services, property and business services, accommodation cafes and restaurants, cultural and recreational services, retail trades, personal and other services and construction.
• To maintain workforce – value existing employees, innovative sourcing, institutional linkages, increased marketing, internal mobility, phase out large scale redundancy, bring back retirees, plan rotations and secondments, flexible work hours/telecommuting, accommodation of organisation and transport access, succession management, revisit cadetships.
• To keep employees loyal, need to build purpose, participation and progress.
• Labour shortages in WA and QLD, skills shortages in most other areas: engineers, doctors, accountants, actuaries, trades people, nurses, teachers, workforce planners, factory workers.
• Organisations need to improve branding, undertake thorough workforce planning/forecasting, need to identify where best employees come from and pursue that track. Referrals are becoming a critical component of the recruitment scene as are 'walk in' employees who express interest in an organisation after viewing its website, often for a non-career related purpose.