Let’s Chat Hiring… For Boomers!
Welcome back to our hiring series – part 4 and final! Today, we’re focusing on Baby Boomers – with birth dates spanning between 1946 – 1964 (and we know, this is subjective), this group is anywhere between 1 and 15 years older than their Gen X coworker counterparts. So, if you fall into this age group or are an employer advertising position towards this age group, you’re in the right place. Keep reading to find out how to hire and retain this generation of professionals!
Let’s… Recruit Boomers!
Extra Note: While people in this generation may be retired at this point in their careers, many are still hard at work and active in company cultures. So, to be a well-rounded employer, it’s crucial to include, understand, and capitalize on this generation that already has more professional experience than any succeeding generation.
- Work Ethic: Boomers have experienced vast changes politically, environmentally, technologically, and more throughout their lives. However, despite all of the changes they’ve endured, this generation is accustomed to a traditional experience of climbing the corporate ladder to seniority and a higher hierarchical position. In understanding this, boomers are also incredibly driven by the importance of climbing to senior positions and for that reason are incredibly hard-working. This is a great benefit to employers hiring these types of professionals – you’re guaranteed a hard worker who understands the importance of working their way up in your company and cultivating a vast understanding of your company’s structure along the way.
- Role Conscious: As the terms ‘blue’ and ‘white-collar’ link back to baby boomers, they are super aware of being defined by their position and role in different industries. They are used to labels and the importance of one’s job in shaping their identity, in stark contrast to their younger peers who are likely more comfortable with experimenting with their identity. As they merge personal and professional identities, it’s particularly important to measure their satisfaction with your company’s values. These two value systems will be deeply linked to their personal outlook and fulfillment.
- Competitive and Self-sufficient: As we mentioned above, this generation is used to the traditional concept of climbing up in the ranks of a company, and for that reason can be viewed as competitive in the office and as it relates to their coworkers. Pushing the concept of teamwork and collaboration as critical drivers of company-wide success is especially important for all employers and to all generations as it will serve as a reminder that one person’s success lifts the entire office, and not the other way around.
- Longevity and Loyalty: Ultimately, baby boomers can be incredibly loyal employees that may work for you for several years if not for their entire career. Investing in this generation comes with incredible benefits in the form of hard work, loyalty as employees, and pride in the roles they are placed and promoted into. By engaging with all employees, and this generation, on their workplace satisfaction and alignment with your company’s values, you’ll be on track to retain their talent for the long haul.
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