...abilities (Foot, 1998). accomplish this task, organizations must have appropriate policies and procedures in place to hire replacements who have knowledge and skills equal or superior to those of previous employees, recognizing that each rotation occurs at an increased cost to the institution. This means that organizations must have the ability to recruit, train, and retain qualified workers which will soon become an even bigger concern as employers face the prospect of large numbers of baby boomers anticipating retirement, compounding expected turnover and retirement rates.

With the large number of retiring baby boomers, labor markets in the near future will begin to tighten. Currently, there are approximately 60 million workers between the ages of 41 and 59 who are approaching retirement, which will have an impact on the labor force for the next three decades (Holzer, 2005). With such large number of impending retirements occurring over a short period of time, the U.S. must find ways to meet the upcoming demand for labor.

The federal government has estimated that there will be a shortage of 10 million workers by 2010 (Loofbourrow, 2004), largely due to the fact that baby boomers greatly outnumber subsequent generations. This issue will affect other industrialized nations as well, including Canada, since half of Canada's labor force is approaching retirement age (MacKenzie & Dryburgh, 2003). All industries will be affected, with the only difference being the magnitude of the effect felt by each individual organization.

As institutions of higher education strive to provide their students with quality instruction, it is important for them to recruit and retain excellent faculty, which is done by offering competitive salaries and benefits, research support and resources, as well as quality working conditions. The mechanisms that facilitate this process are recruitment and retention. Recruitment and retention are important, ongoing processes that should be a top priority for higher-level institutions.

Routinely, recruitment and retention are important as institutions experience typical faculty turnover, but they are becoming increasingly critical since a sizeable proportion of faculty members across the nation are aging and nearing retirement. Replacing aging faculty is a primary...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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