Businesses of the future face a serious talent gap as almost half of senior managers will be eligible to leave their roles within the next five years, HR magazine has learned.

Chris Roebuck, independent HR adviser and former global head of talent management at UBS, reports that within the next 10 years 25% of the UK workforce will be over 50.

Roebuck's research of 262 managers shows older workers perform better than younger staff in terms of focus, determination and motivation, communication and taking a long- term view. He said: "Companies need to act now to make sure that when they eventually leave, there is an effective transfer of experience between older employees and their younger colleagues. If not, companies could face major management challenges due to the loss of skills these workers possess."

He urges employers to review talent pools to create a skills and experience database and use older workers to deliver better quality of service to older customers He also advocates phased retirement and part-time working to help with the transfer of knowledge from older staff as well as a balanced recruitment of new workers with the return of retirees, ensuring they have a flexible working and long-term learning strategy in place."

Roebuck added: "By taking these key steps now, companies can ensure they do not face continuity problems in the future, and that key skills and knowledge do not leave the company the instant those older workers walk out of the office for the final time."