Employers and Job Hunters Be Aware

With global stock-markets reduced to levels not seen in close to two decades, many employees will be delaying retirements due to the significantly reduced value of their retirement savings. What’s the risk? Employers that were relying on attrition to reduce their workforces may have to look for other alternatives. From an employer’s perspective first-in-first-out represents the biggest cost savings because veteran employees are generally paid more and their benefits cost more. Delayed retirements will mean hard choices to reduce labour costs.

The job hunters must also be aware of this as the reduction in retirements will likely reduce the number of jobs available, slowing the decrease in unemployment and the resulting economic recovery.

As with many risks, planning ahead will put you in a much better position than trying to figure out what to do after it happens. Lesson: Start planning on risk management today!

Brainstorm with staff to identify potential risks like this.
Plot the identified risks on a risk map to prioritize them which will put them all in perspective at a glance.
Higher frequency and higher severity risks should be given priority. Assess each risk to ensure that they are all risks you need to be taking. All those risks that make sense should then be analyzed to determine what is being done currently to mitigate them.
Determine what cost effective measures can be employed to mitigate the individual risks and implement them. Often a formal policy that is well researched so that it represents best practices will go a long way towards mitigating many risks. In this case a policy to have diversity of age in your workforce as well as cross training of employees would be a good first step.
Once implemented continually monitor the risks and regularly reassess your risks as they change as your company and world around you changes.

This doesn’t have to take a lot of time and once it’s started and up and running this process becomes a natural part of doing business.

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One Response to “Employers and Job Hunters Be Aware”

Ronald Hicks, CIC, CRIS on July 24th, 2009

I am surprised that no one has commented on this. Interesting that I will be presenting a meeting with a topic that is related to this. The double whammy of workers compensation. An aging workforce more susceptible to frequency and severity of claims combined with a sagging economy which is sparking an all time high of monday morning soft tissue injuries.

Workers Compensation carriers have faced recessions that have bred fraudulent claims in the wake of looming layoffs in the past, but are no better prepared at fighting it this time around. Hold on to your hats, Friday’s pinks slips are going to be trumped by Monday’s back injuries.
Part II
Todays aging workforce will not be looking at the retirement they were hoping their 401Ks would be allowing them to take. Now they will be hold off for another 5-10 years before they call it quits. The physical labor world will see an onslaught of joint replacements, brittle bones, and much longer recovery times. Workers compensation will be facing challenges it never has in previous years.

This is uncharted waters for the insurance industry.