Valuing Experience

Getting leadership commitment

It is difficult to start responding to issues relating to older workers if leaders do not understand the issues, see the benefits of addressing the issues and want to do something about them.  Without leadership commitment it is almost impossible to sustain any response or initiatives. All of the participating companies were clear that this does not work if it is, or is perceived to be, an HR initiative or just someone’s good idea.

Which leaders need to be convinced?  This will depend on the scope of the issue and the response that is likely to be needed.  In some cases it will be the whole senior management team, in others it may only be the managers in the relevant area.