You’re right: The current unemployment numbers are a little off-putting, and we need a more skilled workforce to meet the challenges of today. However, an even scarier prospect is that organizations are losing institutional knowledge through the retirement of baby boomers, and they are unable to recoup that loss because of rampant Millennial turnover. If you aren’t shaking in your boots yet, you have permission to begin now.

Earlier this year, AARP released a study that showed that 72 percent of HR executives identified the pending retirements of Baby Boomers are a problem that their organizations hope to address. Moreover, these executives also shared the strategies they are using to combat this brain drain:

• increasing training and cross training of younger workers (45 percent of respondents)

• developing succession planning (38 percent)

• hiring retired employees as consultants and temporary workers to retain their expertise (30 percent)

• offering flexible work arrangements (27 percent)

• designing part-time positions to attract older workers (24 percent).

While these are great “short term” initiatives, it appears that HR may be missing the point. This is more than just a threat on the company’s SWOT analysis; this brain drain is a major shift in the macro business culture that America has known for so long. It isn’t enough to just come up with a succession plan and train some young people. We must literally manufacture a paradigm shift that promotes a climate change

This new American business climate must honor all generations within the workplace and highlight the strengths they bring to the table. It must promote dialogue and collaboration cross-generationally. It must place value in authentic community. You know, like:

• It takes a village to raise a child.

• Sticks in a bundle cannot be broken.

• Sankofa.

All of those feel good adages that macro America views as mumbo jumbo because it doesn’t promote survival of the fittest. Bottom Line: It’s time to bring humanity back into business.

What’s amazing about this revelation is that it may mean job security for our field. You see, we’ve always been passionate about people―that’s why we do what we do every day. As revenue, sales, and market share become much less attainable by the old strategies of yesteryear, we should be right there picking up the pieces and showing corporate the way.

Workplace learning and performance professionals, I triple dog dare you to revive the message of people first. And, don’t let it go until we stop implementing “initiatives,” and we start carving a new path toward true knowledge and skill optimization.