Over half (54%) feel the impact of employees family care responsibilities will increase in the future. Source: 2008 Older Dominion Project Business Leaders' Study
Members/Partners
Member Profiles
Name: Ken Robertson
Title: Human Resources Director
Company/Organization: Virginia Retirement System
ODP Member Since: June 2, 2008
ODP Committee Affiliation: Shared Database Research, Workforce Readiness
Summarize your professional background relevant to Age Wave preparedness.
I have more than 35 years of human resources experience in the public sector and in the U.S. Army. I spent a lot of my time trying to ensure that the organizations where I worked had a succession planning process and were committed to developing the talents of their workforce. My real interest in Age Wave preparedness has to do with helping organizations prepare for the wave of baby boomers who will retire over the next decade or so. Organizational leaders must invest in developing their associates, primarily by assigning challenging new duties and responsibilities that address current business needs but that also help the associates prepare for future high-level assignments and positions.
The military has a complex and very effective succession planning and professional development system. I think all organizations, both large and small, in the private sector, public sector, and non-profits need to think about succession planning and professional development, and then take actions to make sure that the right people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time to ensure success now and in the future. The aging of Virginia’s workforce brings both challenges and opportunities to organizations and the people in the organizations. For example, how do we foster a work environment that promotes sharing of information and wisdom freely, so that when people retire or otherwise depart an organization, they leave a positive legacy for others to carry-on?
Organizations must also be flexible in their policies and approaches, in order to retain baby boomers who want to continue to work beyond traditional retirement age. I encourage managers to have honest discussions with associates to discover and explore their career intentions, including what it would take to keep valuable contributors in the organization.
What expertise or other strengths do you bring to the Older Dominion Partnership?
My job experiences in the military, at VDOT, the VEC and now at the VRS, give me expertise about workforce readiness. A Master of Science in Management with a focus in Organizational Development from the Naval Postgraduate School and an Executive MBA from the University of Richmond help me understand the interdisciplinary nature of the ODP challenges.
What do you believe are the most pressing issues in Age Wave-preparedness in Virginia today?
Organizations need to prepare for the eventual departure of Baby Boomers from their workforces and then be creative in attracting, developing and retaining Millennials. Actually, if organizations invest in developing the skill sets they need, the Millennials will be more likely to stay, as long as they see an opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way and continuously learn.
What advice do you have for age wave planning in Virginia?
At an individual level, I encourage people to think very carefully before they make the decision to retire. If they enjoy their work, I tell them not to be in a rush to retire. My father-in-law used to tell me, “Retirement is not what it’s cracked up to be!”
Organizations need to be thinking about their future and the talent they will need to succeed, after Baby Boomers retire.