I’ll bet you were surprised at the title of this blog!!

While attending a round table session that focused on talent management for 2017 and beyond, a light bulb went on when participants were discussing millennials and their work aspirations. We have heard them for the past few years:

• Millennials want to work on projects they like, with people they want to work with, at companies that interest them, at times that are convenient for them that also allows for an abundance of “free time” to do things that they like.
• Millennials are less interested in continuous employment over a multi-year span with the same company and may fulfill their work aspirations through a kaleidoscope career approach over many years.

For the first time, this recently retired from full time employment Baby Boomer realized, those aspirations match mine EXACTLY. I am at a point in life where I still want to “keep my head in the game” and feel that I have something to contribute to the workforce of the future, just not on a 50-60 hour per week basis.

A Washington Post article used Social Security and Pew Research numbers to estimate that approximately 4 million Baby Boomers will retire each year for the next 15-20 years. Millennials already outnumber Baby Boomers and will continue to occupy an increasing percentage of the workforce.

With a national unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, essentially full employment, how can hiring managers take advantage of these two significant talent pools?

• Show up where Millennials and Baby Boomers congregate. Places like social media, AARP classes, YMCA, yoga classes, happy hours, craft beer breweries, wineries, golf courses, and running or multi-sport events.
• Identify “internal recruiters” from each population. Connected employees are great referral sources for new employees.
• Hire a veteran returning from the latest deployment. They are already trained for leadership positions, and they have unique perspectives and are likely Millennials.

How can you integrate Baby Boomer and Millennial expectations into your talent management strategy? With the “gig workforce” looking for new short term opportunities every few months or years, a job sharing and mentorship program could work well for both populations.

The important point is to develop a strategy as the cost of doing nothing could be devastating.