1. Commercial
in
confidence
Baby
Boomer
Contingent
Workforce
Why
not
a
Baby
Boomer?
The
main
hurdle
in
securing
(and
retaining)
work
for
baby
boomers
is
embedded
with
a
recruitment
attitude
stuck
in
a
1970’s
and
80’s
mindset
that
full
time
work
is
the
most
legitimate
application
of
paid
labour.
The
ambivalence
amongst
HR
and
recruiters
toward
providing
part
time
work
centres
around:
• It
is
too
difficult
to
manage
• It
is
undervalued
–
this
attitude
also
prevails
with
women
returning
to
work
after
motherhood
• A
part
time
employee
won’t
stay
long
enough
so
it
is
not
worth
the
training
investment
Compounding
this
is
recruiter
prejudice
of
employing
older
workers
based
on
perceived:
• Inflexible
nature
of
older
workers
• Not
IT
savvy
• Negative
mindset
–
just
seeing
out
their
days
• “We
are
doing
them
a
favour”
Shifting
mindsets
In
a
contracting
economy,
Australian
businesses
have
been
quick
to
cull
their
contingent
workforce
and
also,
in
some
cases
their
older
full
time
employees.
In
doing
so,
they
have
placed
themselves
in
a
vulnerable
position
from
reduced
productivity,
knowledge
loss
and
increased
costs
of
rehiring
when
conditions
improve
cyclically
–
as
they
always
do.
The
vulnerability
is
centred
squarely
on
productivity
and
risk.
According
to
the
2014
Contingent
Workforce
Index,
Australia
fell
from
fourth
place
in
the
2013
rankings
to
15th
in
the
2014
rankings
due
to
reduced
cost
favourability
and
workforce
availability.
The
false
of
economy
of
quitting
your
people
when
things
tighten
is
a
recurring
phenomenon
perpetuated
by
reactive
workforce
planning.
Over
a
five-­‐year
business
cycle,
the
direct
costs
of
re-­‐booting
the
business
in
an
improved
environment
far
outweighs
the
costs
of
keeping
staff
is
a
constrained
economy.

2. Commercial
in
confidence
The
role
of
the
contingent
workforce
can
be
a
significant
factor
in
repositioning
the
marketing
of
baby
boomers
in
the
Australian
work
place.
The
opportunity
Communicate
the
position
that
right
now
Australia
needs
a
force
of
baby
boomer
contingent
workers
who
can
provide
short
term,
task
based
and
knowledge
oriented
labour.
For
those
sectors
that
are
currently
haemorrhaging,
there
is
enormous
scope
to
market
baby
boomer
expertise
in
a
“care
taking
mode”
ensuring
that
operational
processes
and
knowledge
are
not
degraded.
For
businesses
that
require
specialised
support
at
critical
times,
opportunities
exist
for
placing
baby
boomers
into
short
term
contracts
such
as
shutdowns
or
overhauls.
For
all
sectors
there
is
also
the
opportunity
to
place
baby
boomers
in
mentoring
roles
for
younger
workers.
This
approach
would
suit
the
vast
majority
of
baby
boomers
who
only
want
to
participate
as
a
contingent
worker.
The
Pitch
At
the
moment
recruiters
perceive
they
are
throwing
baby
boomers
a
lifeline
by
employing
them
and
therefore
lack
any
incentive
to
try
hard.
Rather
than
pitch
this
as
a
like
for
like
recruiting
project,
target
the
message
to
Boards,
CEO’s
and
CFO’s
that
a
contingent
workforce
of
baby
boomers
will,
at
the
very
least
maintain
current
productivity
and
mitigate
the
risk
of
knowledge
loss.
When
conditions
improve,
the
business
will
be
ready
–
their
younger
workers
will
have
the
benefit
of
knowledge
transfer,
the
ramp
up
to
full
production
will
be
quicker
and
there
will
be
no
need
to
reinvent
the
wheel.
Communicate
the
message
that
by
providing
a
flying
squad
of
on-­‐hand,
skill
based
knowledge
workers,
baby
boomers
are
doing
a
favour
for
Australian
businesses.