HiretoRetire

Hiretoretire is a workforce strategy in which employers recruit with the intention of retaining employees through to retirement. In this model, hiring decisions, training plans, performance management, and retirement benefits are aligned to support a long-term, stable employment relationship rather than short-term placement.

Common features include commitments to a defined career ladder, ongoing skills development, and structured succession planning; often these programs integrate with pension schemes or retirement benefits and may involve unions or collective bargaining. The term is used across public and private sectors, particularly in industries with high skill requirements or where workforce continuity is valued.

Benefits typically cited include reduced turnover costs, greater organizational memory, smoother succession, and predictable labor costs. Critics argue that hiretoretire limits labor market flexibility, can entrench aging workforces, and may discourage adaptation to rapid market changes. The approach may also be costly if pension liabilities rise or if business conditions deteriorate.

Historically, the concept is related to lifetime employment traditions found in some economies, such as lifetime employment in certain Japanese or European contexts, though hiretoretire is a contemporary terminology rather than a formal standard. In HR literature, it is often discussed as one end of the spectrum of employment security and workforce planning strategies.