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Navigating Quiet Retirement with Recruiting Services

May 4, 2023 by Kayla Mitchell

Retirement is a natural part of the career journey, but the way in which workers retire is changing. In recent years, and perhaps inspired by the more well-known “quiet quitting” phenomenon, a growing number of workers have been choosing "quiet retirement." Quiet retirement refers to the process of retiring from work without making a formal announcement or taking any significant steps to wind down work-related responsibilities. It is a subtle approach to retirement that can have a significant impact on companies and the U.S. job market.

Unlike a traditional retirement, where an individual might have a retirement party, give notice to their employer, or otherwise make their retirement known to their colleagues and network, quiet retirement is characterized by a more subtle and gradual transition away from work. This can involve scaling back hours, reducing workload, or taking on a more advisory role while maintaining some level of involvement in work-related activities. Quiet retirement is often associated with older workers who may be looking to reduce their work-related stress or transition into retirement while maintaining some level of connection to their professional networks or careers. Explore the impact of quiet retirement on organizations, the workforce as a whole, and how partnering with a recruiting and staffing agency can help businesses prepare for and address the challenges presented by this trend.

The Impact of Quiet Retirement on the U.S. Job Market

The impact of quiet retirement extends beyond individual businesses and can have a significant impact on the U.S. job market. As more workers participate in quiet retirement, the labor force participation rate for workers aged 55 and older is projected to decline, which can lead to workforce shortages and impact economic growth. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects that the labor force participation rate for workers aged 55 and older will decline from 42% in 2020 to 37.9% in 2030. In comparison, the participation rate for workers aged 25 to 34 is expected to hold steady at approximately 81% between 2020 and 2030.

Graph displaying workforce participation rates by age group with Blue Signal and Bureau of Labor and Statistics logos

Certain industries, such as healthcare and manufacturing, rely heavily on experienced workers. The retirement of these workers can lead to a shortage of skilled talent, which can be challenging to address. A survey conducted by Willis Towers Watson found that 75% of employers believe that their workforce demographics will shift significantly in the next five years due to aging workers, and 81% are concerned about the impact of talent shortages.

To address the challenges of quiet retirement, businesses and policymakers must develop proactive strategies, such as offering incentives for older workers to stay in the workforce and investing in skills training programs for younger workers.

The Impact of Quiet Retirement on Companies

Quiet retirement can lead to several challenges for businesses. When experienced employees engage in quiet retirement, companies may face a significant loss of institutional knowledge and expertise. According to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 72% of organizations have implemented knowledge transfer programs to help retain critical knowledge and skills as older workers retire.

Young woman shaking hands with older man. Both business people. Overlayed text describing Strategies to Address Quiet Retirement

As older workers retire, organizations may struggle to find qualified replacements, leading to reduced productivity and potential talent shortages. One way to re-engage employees participating in quiet retirement is to offer part-time or flexible work arrangements. Many older workers may be interested in continuing to work, but may not want to work full-time or on a set schedule. By offering part-time or flexible work arrangements, businesses can tap into this pool of experienced workers and retain their knowledge and expertise.

Businesses must prioritize knowledge transfer and talent retention strategies to address the challenges of quiet retirement. These strategies may include implementing new initiatives such as mentorship programs and flexible work arrangements. Mentorship programs can be an effective way to re-engage employees participating in quiet retirement. By pairing older workers with younger workers, businesses can facilitate the knowledge transfer and help younger workers develop the skills and expertise needed to fill potential talent gaps.

Conducting stay interviews can be an effective way to understand the needs and motivations of employees participating in quiet retirement. Businesses can tailor their re-engagement strategies to the specific needs of these employees by asking employees what they need to continue working and what they find most fulfilling about their work.

Leveraging a Recruiting and Staffing Firm to Address Quiet Retirement

As we have discussed, the implications of quiet retirement can be significant, but there are solutions to help businesses navigate this trend. One such solution is partnering with a recruiting and staffing agency like Blue Signal, which can help companies access a wider pool of talent, streamline their hiring processes, and develop talent retention and succession plans.

Accessing a wider pool of talent is key to mitigating the impact of quiet retirement. Recruiting agencies have a deep understanding of the job market and access to a larger network of professionals, including experienced workers who may be looking to move into high-level or executive-level roles. This can be particularly helpful in industries facing a skills gap or a shortage of qualified workers.

Moreover, recruiting agencies can help businesses streamline their hiring processes, reducing time-to-fill and minimizing the impact of talent gaps. The recruitment experts at Blue Signal, for example, have in-depth knowledge of hiring best practices and can offer guidance to companies on optimizing their recruitment processes. For instance, they can recommend using technology to automate repetitive tasks, improve the candidate experience, and enhance the quality of hires. In fact, one of Blue Signal’s own recruiting managers wrote a blog on optimal hiring practices from a recruiter’s perspective.

Group of three people collaborating over notebooks, laptops, and writing utensils

In addition, recruiting and staffing firms can help businesses develop workforce succession plans that prioritize talent retention and identify potential talent gaps. These plans can include strategies for engaging older workers, such as phased retirement, job sharing, and flexible work arrangements. They can also help companies identify and develop high-potential employees and create a plan to ensure that they are ready to step into key roles.

A recruiting firm can also facilitate communication and collaboration between quiet retirement employees and their colleagues. This can involve creating opportunities for mentoring and knowledge sharing, promoting teamwork and collaboration, and creating a sense of community and belonging in the workplace.

Conclusion

As the American workforce continues to age, quiet retirement will remain a growing trend that businesses will need to address. Companies that fail to plan for talent retention and succession may find themselves facing significant challenges and lost opportunities. However, working with a recruiting or staffing agency can help businesses access a wider pool of talent, streamline their hiring processes, and develop proactive strategies for talent retention and recruitment.

At Blue Signal, we specialize in helping companies navigate the challenges of the modern job market. Our team of experienced recruiters has the knowledge and expertise to help businesses of all sizes and industries stay ahead of the curve.

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Filed Under: Blog Posts Tagged With: aging workforce, BLS, employee engagement, employee re-engagement, employment trends, hiring, hr, human resources, knowledge transfer, labor and statistics, labor market, quiet retirement, recruiter, recruitment, Retirement, retirement planning, retirement strategies, staffing, succession planning, Talent Acquisition, Talent Retention, Talent Shortage, workforce planning

2020-2021 Blue Signal Virtual Summit Awards

January 14, 2021 by Aylish DeVore

In 2020, Blue Signal expanded its recruiting team to 24 full-time recruiters, brought on an additional 3 operations team members, and awarded several promotions to some of its senior team members. We placed over 300 qualified candidates in exciting new roles, and despite the difficult circumstances brought on by Covid-19, we were able to exceed our annual revenue from 2019. This year our annual Blue Signal Summit looked a little different as it was held virtually, rather than in-person in Scottsdale, Arizona. None the less, we were elated to come together to review our record-breaking 2020 awards and discuss big plans for 2021 and beyond.

If it weren’t for our incredible leadership, we would not be where we are today. At the Summit, Blue Signal Owner and Executive Vice President, Matt Walsh, announced several awards to recognize some of our top performers and exemplary mentors.

Top Cash In & Top Billings 2020 - Ryan Walsh

Top Cash In & Top Billings 2020 - Ryan Walsh

Within his first two years in the industry, Ryan Walsh has achieved the awards for Top Cash-In and Top Billings two years in a row - a feat unheard of in recruiting. This past year he was promoted to Senior Recruiting Manager for his diligence and eagerness to share knowledge with junior members of the team. While accepting his award, Ryan took the time to thank his team and the fellow recruiters that worked together on split placements that all contributed to securing these milestones. He also gave a special shoutout to our Project Manager Kimberly Sjurson, who was brought on just six months ago and has truly made a huge impact at Blue Signal through her hard work and dedication. 

MVP Award 2020 - Lacey Walters

MVP Award 2020 - Lacey Walters

As the “lifeblood of Blue Signal,” Lacey Walters was recognized as the three-time recipient of the MVP, Top Contributor award. During his speech, Matt mentioned that without Lacey’s daily, behind-the-scenes work, none of what we do at Blue Signal would be possible. Over the years, Lacey has been able to grow her team, and by building an incredible support system she leads the execution of all marketing aspects for Blue Signal with ease. She is truly the company’s MVP and has proven it time and time again as she contributes to the company’s overall success and earns this acknowledgment.

Record-Breaking 2020 Awards - Jonathan Lee

Excellence Award 2020 - Jonathan Lee

In his announcement, Matt congratulated Jonathan Lee with the nickname “Jonny Excellence,” as this award was created specifically with him in mind. Matt voiced his appreciation of all Jonathan’s support, as he is always there to help with the most positive attitude and continues to put in the extra mile in all he does. As the first recipient of the Best Support Award at last year’s summit, it comes with no surprise that Jonathan is yet again acknowledged for his hard work. Jonathan is constantly focused on excellence for himself and the team and is truly a beacon of the word. We’re extremely grateful to have Jonathan as part of the team!

Record-Breaking 2020 Awards - Kelsey Campion

Top Contractor Billings 2020 - Kelsey Campion

With over $100K in contractor billings, Kelsey Campion secured the award for the Top Contractor Billings in 2020. Matt said it best when he described Kelsey as an “absolute machine” when it comes to contract roles. He mentioned her extreme dedication and work ethic as she is always making herself available by working nights, weekends, and holidays to secure her roles and keep pushing for more. Kelsey’s efforts this year played a huge part in Blue Signal being recognized as part of Forbes’ annual list of America’s Best Temporary Staffing Firms for 2020. We don’t know how she does it, but she continues to improve and outperform her personal records on a regular basis.

Record-Breaking 2020 Awards - Brent Stokes

First Year Top Billings 2020 - Brent Stokes

In order to recognize Brent Stokes’ mind-blowing performance, this award was newly created to recognize his achievements as a new member of the Blue Signal team. With almost 4 years of recruiting experience behind him, Brent joined Blue Signal in February of 2020 and was able to secure over $300K in total billings in the remaining 10 months of the year. In his speech, Matt congratulated Brent on all he has accomplished and shared his appreciation for Brent’s dedication to learning, and for serving as a role model for others to learn from. We hope to replicate this kind of success and drive in future recruiters to come.

These 5 individuals embody Blue Signal’s core values of excellence, transparency, integrity, commitment, and respect. They put clients and candidates first, no matter the circumstance; and drive the culture of the organization through leading by example. These standout team members earned their prestigious recognition, and we are all excited to see what success 2021 will bring them, and the company as a whole.

Blue Signal Core Values

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: annual review, Award, Award winning, awards, best support award, billings, Career Goals, cash-in, company culture, Company Insights, congratulations, Contract Staffing, COVID relief, COVID19, excellence award, goal setting, goals, hiring, hiring manager, leadership, management, mentor, MVP, owner, Placements, promotion, quota, recruiters, recruiting, rookie of the year, sales, sales manager, selling, staffing, succession planning, summit, Top Recruiter, top talent, virtual culture, Work from Home, year in review

Building a Better Succession Plan

October 28, 2016 by Lacey Walters

Many companies look at succession planning only at the executive level – something that C-levels submit to the board once per year. This approach makes it easy to fall into a routine that does not reflect the reality of business today. It puts companies into the dangerous position of scrambling to find good talent when a valuable employee is promoted or takes a leave of absence.

There are many reasons to build a solid succession-management process. A competitive employee-driven market means employers are struggling to fill vacancies with qualified talent. Baby boomers are retiring in huge numbers (about 10,000 per day), leaving many vacancies in senior positions.

Employers will face new industry-disrupting regulations in the coming decade: employer healthcare, cybersecurity, net neutrality, consumer privacy, mobile data regulation, and more. Emerging technology such as IoT/M2M, near field communications, and consumer geolocation require a very different skill set and strategy than what would have worked even just 5 years ago.

Succession planning is not complicated, but it does take some time and analysis.  To build a robust succession planning program that aligns current talent development with future leadership demands, follow these five steps:

5-Step Action Plan:

1.     Identify which jobs need in-depth succession planning.

Some roles naturally have a large pool of internal candidates who could step in seamlessly (for instance, a lead engineer role in a team of several dozen engineers). For other roles, losing the employee would cause a crisis. Many large companies use a third party to conduct a risk assessment of the organization as a whole. Smaller companies can often assess their own risk.

2.     Evaluate the purpose of each job.

Start high-level. Each job should have a clear role to play within the company’s strategy. This role should align with the employee’s performance review goals.

 

3.     Identify mission-critical job functions.

In the case of succession, it should be clear what the successor will need to accomplish on a daily, quarterly, and annual basis. Document these tasks, and make sure that critical information and processes are not “locked up” in the current employee’s head.

4.     Have candidates ready to fill gaps.

An “irreplaceable employee” is a big red flag. Managers should be concerned when there is no internal candidate to take the reins if a key employee suddenly left or took an extended absence. Potential strategies for addressing succession risks include grooming internal candidate pools and building trusted relationships with outside recruiting firms.


5.     Keep dialogue open.

Good communication should already be part of company culture. It facilitates problem-solving (while bad communication leads to employees becoming frustrated and leaving). Give employees opportunities to open up honestly about their plans for the future. Good listening may save the company tens of thousands of dollars down the road.

 

Final Tips:

Accept that some things will change, and mistakes will happen.

Not only is it impossible to find the perfect “plug-and-play” carbon copy replacement, it is a bad strategy. A successor will face different goals and market challenges. There will be differences in personality, work style, and career experience. All of this is necessary for an organization to grow and change.

Do not make emotional or rushed decisions. Take a methodical approach.

It is much easier to do the planning ahead of time, instead of waiting for a crisis to hit when tensions are high. Succession planning often gets bogged down in politics, especially when evaluating internal candidates. The bottom line is that a successor will need to reach a set of goals set by the company. Either an internal candidate can get the job done, or they cannot. Politics have to take a back seat.

Look beyond succession.

An in-depth analysis is a good opportunity to address other employee-level issues, such as lack of training or poor documentation practices. For instance, a competent employee may keep all the information in their head, but the team would be thrown into chaos if this employee were suddenly absent and left no paper trail.

Building a strong succession plan is a time investment, but the benefit is that it keeps the organization strong and focused on achieving its goals. Blue Signal evaluates succession plans free of charge—contact us at info@bluesignal.com for more information.

Filed Under: Blog Posts Tagged With: candidates, employee replacement, hiring, hiring manager, how to, recruiters, recruiting, succession plan, succession planning

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