Valuing Experience
Why are employers increasingly thinking about this issue?Although some organisations are encouraged to think about older workers through the course of their workforce planning, for many there are other triggers.
• Senior managers or HR managers realising that this is an issue for them personally
• People finding themselves going to lots of retirement morning teas.
• A group of key staff retiring at a similar time
• Individual older workers trying to work full-time when their health is making it difficult
• When work gets harder or customers are lost because a valued staff member has retired.
Companies that go from thought to action, however, identify clear benefits for their organisation. The companies we spoke with had a range of reasons for actively seeking to recruit and retain older workers. Their reasons were specific to their individual situations. These were influenced by the nature of their work and customers, the sector they operate in, their geographical location and ownership structures, their past employment practices and organisational history. Although most of them believed it was also a socially responsible thing to be doing, for none was this the prime reason. Motivations were:
• Coping with skill shortages
These were typically employers which had already encountered difficulties in employing people for specific roles or for specific locations and believed they could no longer ignore a potential skill source.
• Retaining skills and knowledge
This was one of the most common motivations. They wanted to keep the employees they had already invested in, particularly those who had demonstrated their loyalty to the employer and who could do the job well. This was a general concern for most employers, but for some it was an issue for specific roles, teams or occupational groups.
• Managing succession
These companies want to plan for, and as far as possible, manage the succession in key roles. To help them do this, they have found it useful to stretch the process of people retiring from the workplace at the same time as they take deliberate steps to ensure knowledge transfer and develop the skills and confidence of employees who may step into the roles.
• Encouraging full contribution
These employers were clear that they needed to get the best from their employees, regardless of their age. They acknowledged that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach they have sometimes used in the past does not always work well for their older employees.
• Preventing physical or emotional burnout
These employers typically value the contribution and loyalty of their older workers and want to retain them. However, they are aware of the risk to their employees and to the company if they expect them to work in a way that is either detrimental to their health or beyond their fitness levels. It forces the company and the employees to rethink the way they work.
• Understanding and meeting the needs of customers
Some had a strong preference for having older workers well represented in their teams. The New Zealand Racing Board has learnt to value the patience and rapport that older workers in its Call Centre have with their older customers.
• Strengthening and stabilising teams and workforce
CentrePort has found that the influence of informal leaders in their workforce, typically older employees, has been invaluable for steadying teams or helping younger workers get back on track.
• Ensuring continuity and sustained results
In work where it takes a long time to develop expertise and to implement programmes, it can be very damaging to lose critical employees for any reason. Employers such as the Department of Conservation have found that being flexible about how older employees work can allow them to continue to tap into their expertise.
• Maintaining key relationships
Professional firms have long known that when key personnel retire they are vulnerable to losing clients. The issue of maintaining relationships with customers, suppliers and partnership organisations is relevant to many other organisations as well. Having older employees continuing to work for the organisation, albeit in a different way, can help maintain these key relationships.
• Maintaining credibility
Having older workers who are known for their depth of experience, wisdom and ability to problem solve can help maintain the organisation’s credibility with customers, employees and other stakeholders.
Organisations which are clear as to why they want to recruit and retain older workers are much more likely to be successful in doing so.