Determining the next step : how organizations and aging employees determine whether to stay or to go

Purpose: This paper aims to discuss the guiding principles for how to find solutions to a complex problem facing HR professionals: What to do with those who could or should retire and move on to the next stage of their lives? Design/methodology/approach: The author offers five guiding principles that may help you find a solution suited to your organization. These principles should help you assess where to focus your efforts and how to build a plan for moving forward. He then provides several potential solutions for HR professionals and their aging workforce to consider. Findings: The challenge to the human resource professional and the organization’s executives is to understand these guiding principles and develop solutions that work for the organization, business conditions and people. Originality/value: With these guiding questions and considerations in mind, HR professionals can better help their aging workforce stay, go or find a solution in between.