.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Unfortunately there’s a scene taking place in every work environment across the country. You may think I’m picking on you, or I somehow peeked into your cubicle to get this information. Let me reassure you I did not.

The scene goes something like this: You’re hard at work Monday through Friday, making sure you do your best. Suddenly, there is a change in the department. Somebody gives notice, and two weeks later, they’re gone. Next thing you know, you have to pick up a whole new set of duties you’ve never been trained to perform and are being held accountable for results. Your first thought: They knew the ex-employee was leaving; why wasn’t I mentored or trained?

This is called wisdom drain. Wisdom drain is when an employee leaves, but doesn’t leave behind his or her skills or knowledge for another employee to pick up. If tabulated, the amount of money lost in production and efficiency due to wisdom drain probably would be staggering. That’s not even mentioning the amount of frustration the remaining employees experience as they figure out their new roles.

That scenario is typically due to shortsighted managers who didn’t plan ahead. Ratchet that up a couple hundred degrees, and you may catch a glimpse of the world of work’s future. Let me give you a taste of what’s coming.

By 2014 all the Baby Boomers will be 50 or older, the oldest being 68. The amount of wisdom and experience leaving companies will be massive. Although a lot of companies know this, they aren’t dealing with the issue strategically and underestimate the challenges.

The wisdom drain could rival the brain drain in terms of negative effect on the work force. More than 85 percent of respondents to a recent Ernst & Young survey had no formal retention programs in place, and 70 percent hadn’t even attempted to identify where business wisdom resides in their organization.

Companies need to put programs in place to pass along knowledge and retain their aging work forces. Bring back the retiring workers to mentor the employees coming in behind them. It is as much about the particulars of the job as it is about the work ethic that needs to be shared. There are a lot of ways to work around the pension issue, including Manpower Inc.’s Happy Returns Program. Creativity is key for companies to be able to recruit, retain, move forward and meet their workforce goals.

Currently 27 percent of the working population in Des Moines and the surrounding area is 55 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In a few short years, the Des Moines marketplace will lose 109,000 of its 406,000 workers. With just 85,768 workers in the 45-54-year-old age bracket coming behind to take their jobs, we’ll be 23,232 people short of our current work force.

It’s not the older worker who suffers when companies turn their backs – it is the companies themselves, in lost productivity and bad morale. Waiting until the last minute to put together a winning strategy is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic; sure it looks better, but it is still going down.

Nick Reddin is the business development manager at Manpower Inc.’s Des Moines office.