By Heidi Holmes, Managing Director of Adage.com.au – Australia’s leading job board for mature age workers.
Up until now, mature workers have
not really been on the agenda for many employers, not only because of negative
perceptions, but more so from a lack of leadership.
Australia’s Ageing Population
Over the past few years there has
been no shortage of research or commentary on the implications of Australia’s
ageing population and workforce. According to current predictions as cited by
the Financial Services Council by 2050 there will only be 2.7
working Australians for every person over 65. To put this into context, in the
1970′s this ratio was 7.5. Successive editions of Treasury’s Intergenerational Reports have consistently
acknowledged the need for our labour force participation rate to increase,
particularly with regard to workers over the age of 50.
There is no denying that negative
perceptions and stereotypes portraying ‘older workers’ as difficult, slow,
expensive and not tech savvy have had an impact on the hiring intentions of
employers and recruiters.
Despite research and case studies
finding that mature workers actually offer in many cases a better return on
investment for business, mature workers face an uphill battle in the
recruitment process.
As the workforce ages, employee
retention and knowledge management are becoming increasingly important for both
the private and the public sectors. A recent survey of more than 1000 employers by the Australian
Human Resources Institute (AHRI) found that nearly half of them reported that
the departure of older workers from their workplace in the last year had
resulted in a loss of key knowledge and skills.
Still, it appears many are doing
little to resolve it, with AIM’s ‘Skills
Gap’ report finding that just 3% of organisations with a skills shortage
are providing mentoring or coaching roles for retired or long-standing
employees to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills to less
experienced employees.
Make your workplace mature-age-worker friendly
If you are keen to make your
organisation mature-age-worker friendly, but not exactly sure how to go about
it, here are some tips to help you and your HR team get started, both in
recruiting and retaining talented and experienced older employees.
·
Review job advertisements to ensure age-friendly
content;
·
Avoid words such as dynamic, fast-paced, young;
·
Advertise where older people are more likely to see it,
such as specialist job boards targeting mature workers;
·
Ensure hiring managers are educated on the benefits of
hiring mature workers, removing any unconscious bias that may exist;
·
Formally acknowledge mature workers in your diversity
policy.
·
Review your organisation’s workforce age profile; and
·
Implement an intergenerational mentor program between
employees.
Creating Champions
This is not to say employers aren’t
hiring mature age workers – many are, however it is often with little fanfare.
Others may be aware of the value of this asset, but need assistance in
deploying it.
That is why the Federal Government
has recently committed to providing funding for employers to sign up to the
revised Corporate Champions project.
The objective of the
program is to build workplaces that value the experience of older Australians
and increase the recruitment of mature age job seekers. This is to be achieved
through the provision of advice and support to help individual employers
realise the value of a diverse, flexible and loyal workforce. DEEWR
The Corporate Champions project
represents a fantastic opportunity for employers to gain access to a
professional assessment of their current workforce demographics and recruitment
and retention practices leading to the development of a strategic action plan.
The Government funded consultation
will also include assistance with developing strategies to address any areas
for improvement as identified in the initial review. This could include
updating recruitment processes, rolling out flexible working arrangements and
implementing mentoring programs to improve retention.
The over-arching challenge lies in
not only further educating employers on the benefits of hiring mature workers,
but also creating a broader culture where employers actually aspire to being an
‘age-friendly’ employer, along the lines of what has been achieved with regard
to gender and employers wanting to be an ‘employer of choice’ for women.
Through the Corporate Champions
initiative, it is envisaged that more employers will see the benefits of
recruiting mature workers whose skills, experience and diversity enhance
workplaces and increase productivity.
In partnership with Sageco, Adage
is thrilled to announce that we have been successful as a provider for the
expansion of the Corporate Champions program for 2013 – 2016.
If you’d like to find out more
about the program or to register your interest in becoming a Corporate
Champion, contact Adage today.
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