I was staying at a lovely hotel - a resort in the Sonoran Desert with a spa and all the amenities.  I was there to give a presentation to a professional association.  I checked in the night before and laid out everything I needed for the next day.  I knew that time would be tight in the morning. The heat had taken its toll.  I sank into the lovely, white bed amongst all the feather pillows and died ? until 5:30 the next morning.

I had a full morning of activities to attend and had just enough time to jump in the shower and go.  As I gingerly stepped into the shower, I was surprised to find there was no shampoo. Wait..... I travel all the time, and even at the low-end of the hotel evolutionary chain, shampoo is always provided.  At the top of the line, I get nothing?  I looked in the mirror to find I definitely had ?bed-head.? Upon further investigation, I found there was no conditioner or bar soap provided either.  Not in the shower.  Not on the vanity.  Not on any of the shelves.  No where.  There I stand ? like the day I was born, my hair going in ten different directions with nothing to ?freshen? myself for the upcoming presentation.  What to do?  What to do?  I stepped out of the shower ? dripping across the floor.  I raked through my toiletries in desperation.  The only thing I found was a single use packet of Woolite.  Isn?t Woolite supposed to be used for ?fine washables??  The old advertisement came back to me.  ?Wash it in Woolite!?  Praise be!  That?s the answer.  If I can wash my dainties in Woolite, I can surely wash my hair!  It worked and was quite manageable, if I do say so myself.  Actually, I was quite proud of myself.  Necessity can be the mother of invention.  There in my desperation, I was forced to find a solution. I washed my hair (and the rest of me) in Woolite! 

I conducted the session later that day.  After the presentation, a group of professionals were lamenting how hard it was to find qualified personnel. Not only were they hard to find but when the candidates interviewed, their expectations were totally unreal. (This group of Boomers were interviewing Gen X and Y?s.)  In their opinion, the candidates ?expected to be paid way too much? and even worse, they demanded work/life balance ? a concept that was lost on this group.  And then, after they?re hired, the praise and hand-holding that had to be done! The Boomer Professionals started to cluck and commiserate amongst themselves.  They just couldn't find qualified candidates. They looked at me ? an obvious Boomer - to receive validation.  Not so fast, guys.  Commiseration won?t help.  After letting them air out their feelings, we began to investigate solutions.

What worked in the past is not going to work anymore, and professional talent is at stake.   I advised they need to stretch their normal boundaries and try things they?ve never done before.  We discussed creative job restructuring that could afford some work/life balance.  Would they consider a flexible work schedule that could afford some time to attend to personal issues?  How about a compressed work week?  (4-10?s, 9-80?s or a 3/36 ? Makes even more sense with the price of gas and commuting.)  How about telecommuting? Or job shares?  Even on the upper-end, job sharing is an inventive way to engage two talented people who can?t or won?t commit full-time.  How about letting people go to a part-time status?  Some mature workers would stay longer if they could cut back on their schedules.  Then we discussed creative hiring practices.  Hiring ? with a view toward the future.  Not just hiring for this job ? but for the potential of the next one or two promotions.  Giving the mature candidate a fair shake and listening to his motivations to work the position instead of just assuming that he is over qualified.  Hiring lighter and pairing that individual with a mentor who will transfer experience and knowledge.  Considering re-hires ? those ?boomerang children? that fit so well into the culture and bring back what they learned.    Networking and creating positions for talented candidates. There were a lot of new alternative ideas that were shared.

My best advice is ? when you?re caught with a need and the conventional solution isn?t available, look for a new solution.  Be inventive. Unlike my shower situation, life isn?t going back to status quo.  (The maids stocked my room with 3 times the amount of toiletries that day.)  The professional talent shortage is not predicted to let up for at least a decade.  And by that time, as we all get ?more mature?, the next two generations will step up and take over and their ways will prevail.  Even Ernst & Young and Merrill Lynch are looking at ways to woo Generation Y.  Change or die.

Which reminds me, my boss was born when I was already in eighth grade.

How much success have you had in convincing your hiring managers to look at new staffing solutions to accommodate the new workforce?  Or are they still in C&C Mode?  (Cluck and Commiserate.)