You might not feel the impact in your organization yet, but you will. There is a looming demographic trend in Canada that will change the face of our workforce. About 33% of our population, aka Baby Boomers, will be retiring in the next 10 years. Combine this mass exodus with low birth rates and what we end up with is a labour shortage.

Downsizing, enforced by the organization, can create a knowledge shortage as the redundant departees have little incentive nor time to share their experience with replacements. And the lack of management training both on the job and off the job that has resulted from cost cutting over the past decade creates a skills shortage.

This is the perfect storm, a nasty convergence of shortages that will impair or even cripple the unprepared enterprise.The competition for qualified talent will only escalate in the coming years.

-John Eckmire

When it comes to change, the possible urban legend of the fire that broke out on an oil platform in the North Sea is useful.  A complete evacuation was ordered and helicopter after helicopter landed and took off with workers.  But the fire was spreading rapidly and they just could not rescue everyone by helicopter in time.  There were nearby vessels but the only way to get to them was for the workers to risk death by jumping off the 150 foot high burning platform into the sea far below and hope that they would survive the fall. 

What would you do?

Naturally, they waited until the last minute to decide to jump.  It was only when the risk of staying on the burning platform became greater than the risk of jumping that they leaped.

The point, for the businesses we nurture, develop and build our livelihood from, is that changing work habits at any organizational level is unpleasant for most people and unless they can be convinced that the potential unpleasantness of not changing is greater than the immediate unpleasantness of making changes, they will avoid and maybe resist the efforts to move ahead with innovations.

With the amount of change happening in the world, the only dilemma we face is the timing; unless we embrace change, organizational extinction is an inevitable outcome.

-John Eckmire