Retirement Ahead: Employee Transitions

Lamentations.

Employees aren’t loyal anymore. They don’t stay put. They move every few years. There’s no such thing as a long term employee. If they don’t move up, they move on. They want it all now and if they can’t have it, they find somewhere where they can.

We’ve all heard it, right?

On the other hand, we’ve heard that there is a groundswell of employees who will soon be leaving behind the land of the employed:

How will employers replace them? There aren’t enough trained people. It’s going to be nothing but chaos.

Employers tend to spend a great deal of time thinking about onboarding employees but not so much about transitioning long term employees who will be exiting. Contrary to popular belief, there are employees out there who do stay and have stayed at one organization for many years. Those employees are the groundswell that will soon be part of the exodus.

Most of my family worked on the line at General Motors in Flint, Michigan. Longevity milestones were marked. Watches received. Clocks placed with pride on fireplace mantels. Years of service and names inscribed. Plaques with pictures presented at retirement parties held in the lunch room. Retirement parties in back yards. Grandkids eating watermelon. Stories told around picture albums.

A month ago one friend “celebrated” 30 years of employment. She received a form letter.

A few weeks ago, a colleague employed for 37 years was told it was time for him to transition out. He received a phone call. From someone local.

Last week, I listened to a story of a government worker who was two months shy of retirement. He asked to work two months longer so that he could retire at a desired compensation level. He was told no. He retired. Three months later, he received a call. Would he consider returning as a consultant for a few months? He told them no.

With these long term employees who will be leaving, so too will their irreplaceable institutional knowledge. Not only the substantive (how the person does her job) but…How things operate….How to get things done….Who to call to get things done quickly…..How other organizations who interact with yours operate…..the preferences of people who interface with your organization…..How others like to be treated.

All of this knowledge will soon be walking out the door. Doesn’t it make sense to take some time thinking about how you as an employer are assisting this person during a very important life transition? Isn’t it important to at the very least find a way to say thank you?

Patricia Nemeth received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). She earned her Juris Doctorate and Masters of Labor Law degree from Wayne State University School of Law. She is the founding partner of Nemeth Law, P.C. which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2017. Patricia decided to start a personal blog because she wanted to write about topics other than the law.