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Peter Sibanda
Employee retirement from service is one thing that is rarely discussed. I wonder how many employers make a follow up on employees that have retired from service. Normally the Out of sight, out of mind (OSOM) approach is used;. Do we retire employees or they retire on themselves? When I ask practitioners how they manage employee retirement I get all sorts of answers.

But at the same time one may be forgiven for thinking that companies are largely responsible for employees who pass away just after retiring; because they have not been retired.

We may quickly rush into transferring the responsibility for planning a retirement to the retiring employee, but at the same time this does not relinquish the employer’s Duty of Care and an employee’s right to a dignified existence.

The impression one often gets when retiring is; “C’mon old chap, go home and rest. You are no longer productive”.
At times it is like; “we wish your home is the furthest in the country, and we give you a truck to get your belongings there (so that you will not return to bother us anymore)”. They just cease to be important.

Many a time retirees often come back to HR and request extension; the above responses affect the self-worth of the retiree.
Some employees are reluctant to retire largely because of the uncertainty of their future beyond the workplace.
Worse off when companies do not remit pension and medical funds to the insurers.

They get so dissatisfied with the retirement itself and normally lose hope in life quickly.
They have been married to the workplace for say 20 to 40 years, or even more.

A retirement notice just kills them. Many companies rarely do anything beyond just communicating the notice and processing the conventional pension and other retirement benefits. In fact, the majority communicates this notice on the eleventh hour.

What most companies do not do however, is to gradually manage these loyal employees out.
There is need to deal with the psychological and emotional aspects of retirement, beyond these actions.

A proactive organisation retires its employees, leaving behind a standing legacy. Retirement should be transitionary, from full-time employment to full time retirement.

Examples abound of companies that notably administer effective retirement plans, which may include among other things setting aside and administering a retirement fund to make savings for the support activities for retiring employees and providing some medical cover for some time after retirement.

Because retirement expectations are shaped at earlier stages of life rather than when the employee is now retiring, it becomes crucial for an organisation to develop age-based HR initiatives that prepare employees for this occurrence well on time.

Beyond developing age-based HR practices, practitioners may also need to make discussions with the retiring population ahead of time to ascertain their expectations and also what they anticipate to do after retiring.

This may aid in developing support activities for these employees, for example, training them on those activities they may want to engage in, such as farming, poultry, etc.

Supporting them in preparation of life after service makes them so enthusiastic about retiring so that by the day they are supposed to sign out, they will be long gone.

This reflects an effective organisational approach to bridging employment for its veterans.
Most Zimbabweans really would love to go back to their rural homes, but they want to be well there.

Practitioners therefore need to thoroughly investigate the best ways to retire employees so that they leave lasting impressions to employees.
When these retirees are walking on the streets, remember your corporate stamp is still on them.
And corporate reputation drives business; it is your business.

Everything rises and falls on leadership.

Peter can be contacted on 0772906050 or email [email protected]