Employers should view a tough business climate as an opportunity to start planning strategically about recruiting and training older workers, suggest researchers at the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College.

Examining how employers were responding to demographic trends in the workplace during a recession, researchers found that 77% of employers had not analyzed projected employee retirement rates or assessed employee career plans.

“The out-migration of a generation of workers will upset the entire balance of the workplace,” explains Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the center and co-author of the report “The Pressures of Talent Management.” “U.S. companies need to start planning strategically for workforce sustainability. The current abundance of older worker talent and experience is going to dry up, and businesses will very soon need to fill hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs,” she adds.

From April to August 2009, researchers examined talent management practices at 696 organizations across the 10 leading sectors of the economy. In 2000, government data show that baby boomers represented 48% of the U.S. labor pool. By 2010, the group will constitute only 37% of the workforce.

“Changing age demographics doesn't have to disrupt a business -- they may present new opportunities or competitive advantages, explains report researcher Stephen Sweet. “Employers should take advantage of programs designed to meet the evolving needs of employees nearing retirement, while at the same time meeting business needs by keeping experienced talent longer and ensuring business continuity,” he adds.

Other key findings in the report include:

• About 40% of employers reported that the aging of the workforce will have a detrimental impact on their businesses by 2012.
• Only one-third of employers (31%) felt they had established options for employees to work in a flexible manner “to a moderate/great extent.”
• Two-thirds of employers (63%) felt their organizations had just about the right number of policies and programs to enhance the engagement of older workers.
• Nearly 56% of these businesses had not assessed the skills their organizations need today and in the future.
• About one-third of employers reported not having enough programs for recruitment or training of older workers.