Keeping older workers on the job is most urgent in California, which has the most state employees nationwide with 220,000, The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline reports. And, with more than 50% of state government managers having the option to retire in the next fives years, California is staring at a “serious brain drain,” the story notes.

While the situation is dire in California, many other states have senior issues as well. Nearly all states and local government agencies will have to deal with employees who will soon be eligible for retirement, ranging from 30% to 40% of states’ workforces, Leslie Scott, executive director of the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE) tells Pew’s Stateline.

To head off a big outflow of older employers and step up retention efforts to bring in more, states have implemented numerous programs. In Tennessee, retire-eligible workers can work for 120 days over 12 months, enabling the state to use older workers on special projects, says Rebecca Hunter, Tennessee’s commissioner of human resources.

“This allows an agency to benefit from the transfer of institutional knowledge and is a nice transition to full retirement for the employee,” she says.

Colorado’s information technology division is encouraging its retire-eligible employees to share their knowledge with younger employees. Having to understand older “legacy” technology and other specialized areas is necessary to make sure the next generation of workers is prepared, says Karen Wilcox, director of human resources in state’s governor’s information technology office.

Virginia’s human resources department is using so-called “intense data” to predict who may retire and to understand what may lead them to leave, says Sara Redding Wilson, the state’s director of HR.

Virginia’s Wilson says younger Baby Boomers are sticking around for the healthcare benefits. But states still need to act, says NASPE’s Scott. That’s because more workers are expected to retire as the economy continues to get better. Additionally, firms had let go of many middle managers during the recession, depleting the pool of top managers, she noted.

Older Worker Key to CVS Health’s Growth Strategy

Nearly 25% of CVS Health’s workforce is 50-plus and increasing that number has become a strategic imperative for the firm known for its nationwide pharmacies, Human Resource Executive Online reports. It has run a “snowbirds” program since the mid-2000s that allows its older pharmacists who want to spend time in Florida and other warmer climates during winter to work at a CVS near their winter home.

“We are committed to having a workforce that reflects the diversity of our customers,” says David Casey, vice president of workforce strategies and chief diversity officer at CVS. “As we see the baby boomer generation age, having staff in our stores [who] can personally relate to these customers is a differentiator for us.”

HR Can Do Better In Realizing Value Of Senior Employees

Human resources mainly focuses on retirement planning for its older workers. However, this can mean overlooking how those employees can help the business, writes Erika Lucas, of U.K.-based Ashridge Research. 

“As a result older employees – many of whom have up to another 20 years left to work – are effectively being shoved in the corner and are frustrated and demotivated by not being able to develop their careers, contribute to business growth and pass their valuable knowledge and insights onto younger workers,” she writes.

In a survey by Ashridge Research of 2,000 employees over 50 and HR staff engaged with baby boomers, older workers say they want to be engaged and challenged and want to grow in their careers. But HR professionals instead focus on developing younger workers.

“Only one percent of HR respondents, for example, felt older workers needed career development, while Baby Boomers themselves were hungry for development that would help them take up new job opportunities, shift into more strategic roles or develop portfolio careers,” Lucas writes.

To get in synch with their senior work force, HR can engage in more individual and informal career discussions, implement coaching and mentoring programs and find ways to involve older employees in advisory roles or special projects, Lucas notes.