August 6, 2003
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-- You Can't Fool Mother Nature - An Aging Population Fuels the Perfect Labor Storm
-- Time's Running Out - Stop Guessing, Start Knowing
-- Getting to the "darker" side of DISC - It's Mr. Hyde without the pathology and drugs!
-- Get certified now and save $500! CriteriaOne training - September 4-6, 2003
-- 5 Tips for Setting "A Hire Standard"
-- Read 25 Trends that will change the way you do business. Don't miss Trend #16.
-- The Manager's Pocket Guide to Emotional Intelligence
-- - and More Pocket Books.
-- 50 Activities for Promoting Ethics within the Organization

Mark this Date! December 2, 2003 - 2003 Annual Human Resource Conference sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.

Keynote speaker: Ira S. Wolfe - Success Performance Solutions

Topic: "Human Resource Trends that Will Change the Way You Do Business"

For more information, contact the "PA Chamber".

The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira does writes every article, every week!)

Success Performance Solutions ©2003 - All Rights Reserved.

Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

You Can't Fool Mother Nature - An Aging Population Fuels the Perfect Labor Storm
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One solution offered by many academics and consultants to soften the impact of anticipated labor shortages is retaining older workers longer.

To minimize the loss of knowledge when experienced and skilled employees retire, retaining older workers longer will not only be desirable but necessary. But aside from issues such as older workers wanting flexible work schedules and a host of other retirement and aging lifestyle changes, one possible crippling Catch-22 scenario is rarely discussed.

Health care costs are skyrocketing and few viable solutions are forthcoming. Few question the fact that the cost of providing health care benefits to employees will continue to increase. While employers attempt to shift health care costs to employees, the competition for talented and skilled workers will heat up. In order to attract and retain the best employees, employers will need to entice them with attractive compensation packages, growth opportunities and best-in-market benefit packages. And in order to retain older workers, they too will expect and demand health care coverage.

Ah there's the rub.

The health care utilization rates for males age 55 to 59 is 2.35 times the rate of a 40 year old male. It climbs to 2.76 for the 60 to 64 year old group and nearly 3.0 for 65 years and older.

For older females, the utilization rates jump from 1.83 for 55 to 59 years, 2.14 for 60 to 64, and 2.35 for 65 years and older.

From a purely financial play, it makes enormous sense to replace an aging workforce with males under 40 whose utilization rates range from .60 at 20 years old to .83 at 39 years old. (Compared to males, insuring women costs more. Female utilization rates range from .98 to 1.26 for the same age groups.)

But besides raising all sorts of discrimination flags and lawsuits, that's just the beginning of the Catch-22.

The number of people 65 and older is expected to increase 26 percent between 2005 and 2015. The population between 40 and 54 will shrink by 5 percent and the group right behind them will grow by only 6 percent.

To make matters worse, if older workers aren't employed, they will begin to use their Medicare benefits. Who funds Medicare? Employees and employers. So in addition to covering the cost of health care for employees on their active payroll, employer and employee tax contributions will likely increase to pay the cost of keeping an aging population alive and healthier longer.

Even if you ignore the two scenarios above, earning caps currently in place discourage older Americans from working. If employers don't provide health care benefits to part-time employees (and the assumption is that older workers will be retained longer but with flexible, part-time schedules), they will likely lose their Medicare coverage if they earn too much money. With no employer-paid health care coverage and earnings too high to qualify for Medicare, why work? The out-of- pocket expenses just for prescriptions will likely bankrupt most people, no less having to also pay for office visits, laboratory services, not to mention a hospital stay.

This is a real Catch-22. Shortages of skilled labor will only worsen in years to come. Older workers will have the knowledge and skills employers need but employers won't be able to afford the health care coverage to keep them. A sufficient supply of skilled workers to replace them won't exist. And the cost of health care coverage may be the root cause of the problem.

What a kick in the pants. U.S. productivity could be hampered by an inability of employees to afford and employers to fund the very health care that is supposed to be keeping us healthier and more productive longer.

So - what sounds like a rational and logical solution is no more than rhetoric without a global solution developed with a clear, far-sighted vision and loads of cooperation between business, consumers and government.

The Perfect Labor Storm is coming and it's not nice to try and fool Mother Nature.

Special thanks to Rick Burd at The Benecon Group for providing the stats on utilization rates.

Time's Running Out - Stop Guessing, Start Knowing
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How to Accurately Assess Personality and Competence

One-day only - August 20, 2003 at The Lancaster Chamber.

Tuition is FREE for Chambers members and $20 for non-members.

Registration is limited to the first 20.

Don't wait one minute longer to register for Stop Guessing, Start Knowing - How to Accurately Assess Personality and Competencies. Stop Guessing, Start Knowing was sold out in Atlanta and Lancaster.

Register today for Stop Guessing, Start Knowing.

Getting to the "darker" side of DISC - It's Mr. Hyde without the pathology and drugs!
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Most individuals familiar with DISC can describe the four classical style patterns. They know whether they are a D-I-S-C or green-red-blue-yellow or Dominant- Expressive-Amiable-Analytical. But few people understand or even know about the "darker" side of DISC.

Many of the most popular DISC reports describe only the strengths of the four styles. For example:

D stands for taking a Direct approach to problems. The strengths of "D" individuals are commonly described as taking initiative and a willingness to take risks.

I stands for being energized by opportunities to Influence or Interact with other people. "I' individuals love to get involved and generally respond with enthusiasm.

S stands for individuals preferring a Steady pace. "S" individuals offer stability and follow-through to situations.

C stand for Compliance of rules and procedures set by other people. "C" individuals provide accuracy and thoroughness to situations.

But individuals can demonstrate either a positive response - as described above - or a negative response to any given situation. Positive responses are generally more goal-based while fear and stress brings out the shadowy side of you. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde without the pathology and drugs!

When stressed, fatigued or fearful: