Next Generation Next Destination

SUCCESSION AND PARTNER TRANSITIONING PLANNING: A COMPELLING ISSUE FOR OUR TIMES

"Demographics are our destiny," reinvention is the new retirement," "win the talent wars" and be "the employer of choice."  Recognizing the challenges and opportunities, Practice Development Counsel's *Next Generation, Next Destination* program was developed by Phyllis Weiss Haserot and Richard T. McDermott in 2005 to achieve advance transitioning planning to benefit both senior partners and the professional growth of younger partners as well as their firms overall.

Welcome!!! Visit and subscribe to this blog for continuing insights on how to do it right and make your organization a better, more profitable and more successful workplace for all the generations of workers and clients. Please offer your comments and contribute to the discussion.

THE GREAT GENERITIVITY DEBATE

 I want to call your attention to an interesting debate on the between Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures, and David Brooks of The New York Times.

In a column published February 1, Brooks proposes reversing public policies that he says rob the young to serve the old and take from them funding, freedom and opportunity, saying, "It now seems clear that the only way the U.S. is going to avoid an economic crisis is if the oldsters take it upon themselves to arise and force change." He calls for a "generativity revolution" of millions of people demanding changes in health care spending and the retirement age to make life better for their grandchildren.

In a piece published today on The Huffington Post, Freedman says "the real generativity revolution is well under way. And with the help of smart new policies, this movement of forward-looking baby boomers might actually succeed." He writes, "It's increasingly clear that these older workers aren't competing with younger people; they are meeting demands for talent that will only grow as the economy recovers."

Freedman argues, "With 10,000 baby boomers turning 60 every day, it's time for public policies that honor their aspiration to leave the world a better place and harness their talent and energy for the long haul."

You can read David Brooks' column here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02brooks.html
Marc Freedman's piece is here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-freedman/generativity-revolution_b_447774.html

Comments from both points of view are welcome on Encore.org, as well as right here. Join the discussion  at http://www.encore.org/news/marc-freedman

What are your thoughts? How do we prevent generational resentments and warfare?

FORECAST: ASK THEM WHAT THEY WANT

n      A component of the engagement package is reward. So organizations will adopt Innovative Ideas to Reward Their Valued Workers. Employers will focus on recognition and non-financial rewards that will provide the psychic rewards that professionals and other top talent need to keep them going and loyal.  And firms will learn to go to the source of most welcomed ideas – workers suggesting what rewards other than money are most appreciated. I bet that one of them, especially for Gen Y, is employers listening to their ideas and taking their suggestions seriously – so this one is a two-fer!

 

       Different generations and individuals have their own ideas of what is meaningful recognition. Rewards may need to be customized and must be perceived as fair.

 

        Phyllis Weiss Haserot    www.pdcounsel.com

ENGAGEMENT MAKES THE MARRIAGE SUCCEED

n      The concept behind the buzzword of the last several years will rise in significance. Focus on “Engagement” Will Replace the Focus on Retention.  That’s because we know that just having bodies in place is not the answer; the goal is increased productivity, which comes from sustained engagement and leads to greater profitability. Herman expects to see a new functional title: Directors of Employee Engagement morphing from Directors of Retention. It may be a new title, but my guess it will incorporate or collaborate with the professional development and employee benefits functions. Firms will increasingly recognize that to raise the quality of the client experience they have to improve the working experience of staff, professional personnel and managers.

 

      Time to go back to striving to be "the employer of choice" and identify what produces long-term engagement.

 

        Phyllis Weiss Haserot      www.pdcounsel.com

FORECAST: RE-HIRING IN RETIREMENT

n      The  counterpart to succession preparation as we experience an aging workplace is another forecast: Employers Will Accommodate Older Workers Like Never Before. Employers need to get the work done; many workers, including successful professionals and executives, want to keep going whether or not they really need the additional money to live comfortably. The Herman Group suggests that employers will see the benefit of avoiding recruiter fees and expensive contract help by bringing back their retired personnel on part-time, seasonal or temporary bases, even if the older workers can dictate their own terms. I can envision organizations hiring their former personnel with knowledge no one else would have to the same degree or dissuading them from going elsewhere for the typical “busy seasons” or employing them for training and coaching the next generation to continue top service to clients.

 

      This will require sensitivity in communication to younger workers about the benefits to them and facilitation of cross-generational dialogue within work teams and mentor partnerships. But it sounds like a win-win for many organizations seeking continuity  of client service and culture.

 

        Phyllis Weiss Haserot    www.pdcounsel.com

FORECAST: TAKING SUCCESSION PLANNING SERIOUSLY

I have made it an annual rite for several years to review and give my take on the forecasts most relevant to my readers fron the Herman Trend Alert for each upcoming year. So here goes the first of four I have selected for 2010.

n      The  forecast that I hope the most becomes reality, the sooner the better because it is vital, is Increasing Attention to Succession Planning and its sidekick “succession preparation.” The longer firms put off serious preparation for the next generation to step into the big Boomer shoes the greater the danger. As  huge numbers of Boomers near the exit in their current workplace (not necessarily out of the workforce as such), the more behind the eight-ball and the less competitive firms will be as the economy picks up and competitors’ innovation accelerates. The current breather many organizations have allowed themselves during the recession will leave them gasping for air. Succession planning and preparation is needed at all times. Anyone whose expertise and contacts will be missed can cause a serious business disruption and loss of clients if quality transitions are not in the works. Remember, talented personnel can leave for numerous reasons besides retirement.

 

Phyllis Weiss Haserot          www.pdcounsel.com

WILL THIS BE AN UPBEAT DECADE FOR YOU?

According to the Herman Trend Report: Generationally, the most optimistic group is young people, ages 18 to 29, 65 percent of whom feel positively about the next decade. On the negative side, people between the ages of 50 and 64 are the most pessimistic about the 2010s---42 percent think things will be worse. This statistic compares with 30 percent of people under 50 and just 26 percent of those ages 65 and older. In both November and December, The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, rose. The Index now stands at 52.9, up from 50.6 in November. The Expectations Index increased to 75.6 from 70.3 last month. Expectations for the short-term future increased to the highest level in two years (Index 75.8, Dec. 2007). A more optimistic outlook for business and labor market conditions was the driving force behind the increase in the Expectations Index. Is Gen Y overly optimistic? Are Boomers too pessimistic? What do you think? Optimistically, Phyllis Weiss Haserot www.pdcounsel.com

GENERATION GAP FOR LEADERS

It happens every time we have a "recession" or economic turndown. But this time it is more daunting not only given the severity of the economic situation, but also given the demographic realities. The talent crunch when the economy turns up and firms are hiring again will be magnified because so many Boomers are approaching the age when they will "retire" from current positions - voluntarily or involuntarily.

In any case they may be gone. And many are managers and executives. Will there be enough people trained, experienced and ready to capably step into their shoes?

A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers says that in 2008 over 2007, the percentage of managers and executives eligible for retirement within 5 years rose much more dramatically than it did for workers in general. (The survey covered more than 300 companies across 12 industries.)

The current recession has given organizations a breather, and many Boomers would like to keep working for a long time more, even if they can afford to retire. Surveys in 2004 and 2005, when the economy was booming and retirement funds were healthy revealed that about 80% of boomers wanted to keep working after age 65 in some capacity - reinventing retirement, as the then newly coined phrase goes.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report as covered in the New York Times (12/27/09) contains a graph showing that about 34% of managers and 27% of executives in 2008 would be eligible for retirement in 5 years. They are closer now. The percentage for all workers was about 17%. A great opportunity for the next generation of leaders and managers, but will there be enough of them from the much smaller Generation X, and will they be ready?

Shouldn't this shake up management enough to get some serious succession planning and transitioning going at all levels?

Phyllis Weiss Haserot   www.pdcounsel.com

REFLECTION - LOOKING TO THE NEW YEAR

It’s a time for reflection.

At the close of a very challenging year for most people, with a deeper sense of uncertainty for individuals and organizations than we can remember in the past, we look forward to positive change in the next few years, including the hope that firms will not be short-sighted and put themselves in a future hole by neglecting their strategic talent management and professional development responsibilities. These are crucial investments, not just nice to do but rather need to do. The new normal won’t be the old normal. Will you and your organization gain the competitive edge with your people and your clients?

 

Wishing you, your families and your colleagues good health, peace, fulfillment and joy in the New Year!

-- Optimistically,

          Phyllis

 

Phyllis Weiss Haserot     www.pdcounsel.com

REINVENTION REQUIRES REVEALING....

What’s needed at this economically challenging time according to Jeffrey Swartz, president and CEO of the Timberland Company in the New York Times Sunday Business Corner Office column (Dec. 20, 2009)?

 

People need to bring their personal selves to work – (not meaning an invasion of privacy). In his words,”A willingness to be exposed, a willingness to acknowledge and value the personal dimension.”

 

Swartz said there’s no chance in these economic times that a company “is going to be able to reinvent itself, with the speed and ease that it needs to, unless we bring more than our intellects to the table”. In hiring, he said he’s got to find “people who are comfortable with fuzzy logic, who are comfortable being exposed, who are comfortable being wrong, who don’t value as the first notion, ‘I got the answer, Boss.’”

 

He sums up what he is looking for as: 1) comfort with ambiguity; 2) faith in a solution; and 3) a commitment to fight for a worthy outcome.

 

If you are a leader, are you looking for this make-up in your hires? Do you appreciate the mission-committed risk-takers? And allow them to be wrong sometimes without rebuke?

 

If you are aspiring to take on meaningful, game-changing work, are you willing to reveal what really matters to you and fight for it?

 

Phyllis Weiss Haserot          www.pdcounsel.com

TRIUMPH OF THE MULTI-GENERATIONAL TEAM

Among the many fascinating pieces in the New York Times magazine annual "Ideas" issue (December 13, 2009) is an item on a study finding that the stereotypical belief the older employee (age 45 and up) is deficient is a myth. (Data on various tests pitting Boomers and up against people under age 30 to follow in another post.)

Here's the conclusion I liked best of all, in sync with my *Cross-Generational Conversation* work, from the study by Gary Charness, a University of California at Santa Barbara economics professor, and Marie Claire Villeval, from the University of Lyon: In the cooperation test, Charness and Villeval found that groups with a mix of ages outperformed homogeneous groups. They say that it's best to have a range of ages in the office for an optimum work force.

The study found that the 45s and older were actually more cooperative than the younger people and contributed more to their group. That's a nice boost for the Boomers and encouragement for all the generations to find common ground and collaborate. If you'd like advice on how to make that happen, give me a shout.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot   www.pdcounsel.com