Navigating the Skills Gap Means Navigating the Generation Gap, Part 1
IMS veteran Nick Griffin, of BMC Software, shares his advice on bridging generational differences in the IT workplace
The concept of modernization saturates our industry as we prepare decades-old systems for the future of business needs. But as we make the necessary technical preparations, we have to ask ourselves: Is our workforce prepared for that future as well?
In this two-part series, I’ll discuss what we know—or need to know—regarding the people who will inherit the world’s IT infrastructure from a generation of mainframers who are retiring from the workforce.
Over the course of my long career, I have had the opportunity to visit around 150 Information Management System (IMS) customers per year. I travel worldwide visiting customers on every continent. I listen to their issues on business outages, but more recently, I am hearing how few qualified resources are available in the workforce.
Many saw this coming years ago and started making plans, but a large majority just thought the problem would go away, like they thought the mainframe would die off. Many also believed that younger resources would not want to work on legacy systems. But as I talk to those younger technologists, they have seen the light and realized they could soon become valuable mainframe talents.
As I made those customer visits, I gathered many details on how they were going to manage these issues going forward. But before looking to the future, I want to provide a quick history lesson.
An Uneven Road
Let me start by saying I have been in this business for 49 years, working with IMS for 35 years. So, I have seen all of this in living color, having witnessed a number of events that have tested our mainframe workforce.
The first of these challenges came in the late 80s and early 90s, when the outsourcing boom started. It caused many of the older employees to be nervous, and many decided it was time to retire. But at that time there were plenty of strong, knowledgeable mainframers that remained.
In the 90s, the IMS subsystem owner, IBM, announced that IMS would be going away in the next five years, again causing many to question their futures. However, all the large companies that used IMS were able to convince IBM to back off of that announcement.
Then, Y2K became the saving grace for all those wanting extra money to retire. They exited their companies to make large amounts of money contracting to get applications ready for the looming software challenge. Many were extremely successful planning their retirement in the next five to 10 years.
Then, the crash of 2007 wiped out everyone’s retirement accounts. This happened again around 2014. After that, we had COVID and that recovery.
A Generation Finally Retires
Why am I telling you all this? Throughout these events, many of the older mainframers were hanging on so they could retire with enough money for the rest of their lives. That extended time in the workforce is starting to come to an end for many of those people. Baby Boomers are finally leaving the workforce.
This is causing a large exodus of our knowledge base. I know I mainly relate this to the IMS area, but it stands true across the mainframe.
The result of these experienced workers leaving their jobs is creating a skills gap in the U.S. labor market, known as the “Great Retirement.” This demographic trend has removed decades of experience from the workforce, which has made it difficult for organizations to find entry-level employees.
Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. They are known for their strong work ethic, loyalty and dedication to their careers. They are often described as “workaholics,” known for putting in long hours, sometimes on weekends. They are also known for being independent and goal-oriented, and for valuing achievement and success over personal satisfaction, which is how I feel about myself and the ones I work with.
Addressing—and Assessing—the Skills Gap
Baby Boomers’ absence has created a skills gap, but there are ways to address this shortage, starting with assessing it.
Most companies have put in place ways to identify their skills gaps. These include reviewing key performance indicators, doing employee assessments, completing a 360-degree review and conducting standard observations and performance benchmarking.
But is this enough? Another option is to perform a skills gap analysis, which helps identify the gaps between the skills your employees have and the skills your organization requires to achieve its goals.
Part of skills gap analysis is skills testing, which can be an accurate and efficient way of knowing what your employees know, and what they don’t. Assess not only your employees’ current skills, but the skills they could add to their resume.
Continuous Training
The next logical step is training and development. Training managers can determine where to start by completing a needs assessment to establish their training objectives.
One area to focus on is soft skills. Prepare millennial and Gen Z employees for leadership through management programs. Consider implementing engaging learning experiences that can help improve productivity.
The primary goal is to have your replacements be capable of keeping the lights on in your business. Otherwise, your business will suffer, and the responsibility will fall on management.
To be successful, however, companies must not only pay attention to their new workers, but their entire staff. Companies must embrace continuous learning and implement training on an ongoing basis. This may take the form of upskilling, another necessity that helps your workforce gain competence and keep pace with new opportunities for development.
Focusing on your entire workforce also means paying attention to those who are nearing retirement. Remember that these workers can still help in the looming transition. Consider phased retirement programs, and for those wishing to continue working in some capacity, consider retiree job banks. Finally, consider mentoring programs with the goal of transferring as much knowledge as possible.
In part 2 of this series, I’ll talk about training, and the importance of understanding intergenerational differences as we prepare these younger workers to take over.