Anyone hear that Giant Whoosh?

That’s the sound of the first wave of Baby Boomers leaving the ranks of the Federal Government. As reported by Government Executive magazine, 60 percent of the Federal workforce, and an even more alarming 90 percent of its executives, will be eligible for retirement within the next decade. That’s right, over half the workforce and almost the entire current leadership in Government won’t be here ten years from now.

Is this an impending crisis or a terrific opportunity? Well, both actually.

Certainly, the Federal sector needs to react quickly in order to compete for the future best and brightest—a job that will be made all the more difficult by the fact that there simply aren’t enough Gen-Xrs and Millennials to replace the departing Boomers. This is why I say that in the possible crisis lies a terrific opportunity, especially if viewed as an opportunity to redefine the role of Government and the way it does its work.

If the exodus of Baby Boomers comes to be viewed by Government agencies as both a recruitment challenge and an opportunity for transformation, then the problem takes on a very different and exciting dimension. Taking it a step further, a message of organizational transformation is also a great recruitment message, as long as it’s real and it’s serious. And since Government is already faced with a need to transform itself in order to do more with less, shouldn’t transformation be a big part of the message anyway?

I believe that if Government agencies communicate to an incoming workforce of Gen-Xrs and Millennials that they have an honest opportunity to help transform Government, it will make a big difference in their recruitment efforts. That kind of message will resonate with a new workforce that seems to deeply desire making a difference within and through the organizations they are looking to join.

What do you think?