Tapping into the Baby Boomers: A Recruitment Model for an Alternative Workforce

1. Tapping into the Baby Boomers: A Recruitment Model for an Alternative Workforce Carmel Marshall and Dr Ricki Jeffery 5 May 2009

2. Centacare Critical Success Factors for NFPs • Attracting adequate funding levels • Establishing client focused services • Attracting and retaining a skilled workforce

3. Centacare Services • Community Care Services • Individual, Family and Relationship Support Services

4. Centacare’s Region

5. Sector & Region Staffing Trends Staffing Trend High turnover Why? Low unemployment Proximity to the resources sector (boom and bust) However trend points to other challenges with recruitment and retention or both.

6. Projections Trends • 16 % of population = 65+ • Expected 22% in this region in 2031 • 26% of population = 25 – 44 • Expected 24% in this region in 2031 Result • Higher demand for services // smaller workforce pool

7. Skills Attraction and Retention Focus on Region Research to: • Profile Region • Know Region’s Needs • Determine Strategy Focus on Organisation Research to: • Profile and Map Workforce • Know Workforce Needs • Determine Strategy

8. TEYS BROTHERS Strategy - Skilled Migration Risk – lose 200 domestic workers. By employing 300 skilled migrant workers, Teys has been able to expand to the point where it now employs more than 500 domestic workers For Success • ensure that a genuine skills shortage exists • work in collaboration (local service providers, government agencies and community groups) • have the physical and human resources to retain workers

9. JOY MINING MACHINERYParents of School Aged Children Trade Qualified Workers Scarce Benefits A workforce that can be ramped up or scaled back depending on the organisation’s workload. Cost saving for the organisation Opportunities for work without the: complexities of child care restrictions of full time jobs Solution • A workforce that could begin at 9.00am working through to 2.30pm • Complete tasks that did not require trade qualifications Need in place • a training program • appropriate supervision to ensure quality of work

10. KEITHMature Age Worker For Keith • flexibility and work-life balance was the real attraction • his generation wants to find a good work-life balance, not just work or retirement Source: Rockhampton Regional Development Limited (http://www.rockhamptonregion.com.au/enews201107.asp#mature)

11. PAMMature Aged Worker • 20 job applications • 10 interviews • shortlisted 6 times • narrowed down to one of two final choices on 3 different occasions

12. What We Learnt • Successful communities - developed from within • “most jobs go unadvertised, 85% ... get jobs by informal means. …. about 60% of that 85% find out about their jobs through relatives, friends of the family or their friends” (Financial Review, June 2006) • 54% of staff found their present job via “word or mouth” (NTCOSS workforce strategy project, 2009)

13. What We Learnt • Actual job vacancies rather than skills required are expected by those who are looking for work • Information about the lifestyle and services in the Region were as important as the work opportunities • Region needs to be “sold” to the family of the potential worker • Initial interest will wane if follow-up approaches are not immediate

14. TRENDS • retirement of the baby boomer section of the labour force • the new generation of workers quantitatively smaller than the retiring group • 66,266 or 35% of the total population of the Fitzroy Statistical Division (ABS 2006) are mature age • grey nomads spend the winter months in the region

15. TARGET GROUP Why Baby Boomers? Barriers Impact of paid work on superannuation and entitlements Access to and matching with employers • Ideology of “giving back” • retired Baby Boomers became disenchanted with retirement • need for people to retain a connection with the workforce

16. The REACTIVATE Project • Website supported by skills matching database direct contact between employer and the non traditional jobseekers • Information portal focussed on baby boomers e.g. salary sacrifice to super; impact on benefits; working in unfamiliar environment; “unencumbered” roles • Mentoring – opportunity for both new workers and long term workers

17. Database Development Input from sector reference group • Type of work • Qualifications/ training/ experience required • Are you willing to train new workers? • Working hours/ arrangements • Where are the workers needed?

18. Screen shots

19. BENEFITS Trains employers to think of recruitment in a new way as it involves: • recruiting staff from a non-traditional area • recruiting through the use of a web based tool Benefits for workers include • Opportunity to meet desire to ‘give back’ while boosting retirement fund

20. BENEFITS Benefits for community/ region • Additional 20 employees in the social services sector: • $3.9 million dollar increase in regional output, of which $1.7 million would be expected to remain in the region in the form of industrial and household consumption (REMPLAN)

21. WHAT HAPPENS FROM HERE? • Test the website & database for functionality • Pilot the program with employers in the Rockhampton region • Analyse & adapt/ improve where needed • Rollout to broader region