It’s been predicted that 78 million baby boomers will retire over the next 25 years, and the devastating effects will be felt around the world. If you’ve not heard about the baby boom crisis here’s what people have been saying and experiencing since 2003.

The Ministry of Labour in Finland created a report called, ‘Preparing for the Labour Market Change Caused by the Baby Boom Generation’. It calculated that after 2010 the population will begin to reduce and starting in 2030, it will go down by 400,000. This equates to approximately 20,000 people each year. Labor aptitude will also reduce after 2010 at a rate of 30,000 people each year. And the worst of it is, there will not be enough young people to replace them.

But lead researcher, Kevin Coyne of Coyne Partnership Inc., recently contradicted these predictions. He’s on record as saying that given the current trends of delayed retirement, the total number of retirees over the next quarter century will be below 43 million and possibly as low as 32 million.

But David Walker would disagree. He’s on record as saying that the mass exodus of baby boomers however fast or slow, will still have an effect on the US’s financial system whether they like it or not.

But with so much hype comes complacency, a “it won’t happen in our company” syndrome, and due to this, very few companies are doing anything to get ready for the looming human capital crisis. They think that the crisis will pass them by, and that hiring and firing will be “business as usual”.

Thnking things will be the same as before is crazy. True, many companies won’t be so affected, but can you say hand on heart, that it won’t affect the companies you serve – which in turn will affect you anyway; even if indirectly?

If the numbers are right, then the future might look something like this in as little as eighteen months.

Clients will start “freezing” their services to concentrate on keeping their company above water. You could also find your client base slowing dissolving into thin air as companies slowly go under.

For recruitment agencies, competition will become unbearable, as searching for the right calibre of people from an ever decreasing recruitment pool, will become tougher than ever before.

Boomers retiring is inevitable, there is nothing we can do about that. But to survive this crisis, smart companies can start preparing for it NOW. The three tactics are to:

– Appreciate the deeper ramifications the crisis could bring you — Develop a solid consumer profile — Focus on creating client loyalty

Forward thinking companies who want to survive and thrive in 2008 and beyond, have no choice but to start preparing right now, and these three marketing tactics are the way to go.