The value of older people in the workplace
New Zealand’s workforce is aging, with almost a quarter of us aged between 50 and 64. The number of workers aged over 65 years is expected to increase too; from 65,000 in 2006 to 105,000 in 2011.Our aging workforce, partly attributed to falling birth rates and longer life expectancy, means holding on to older, experienced professionals is now a key business strategy.
According to Statistics New Zealand, half the total labour force will be older than 42 in 2012, compared with a median age of 39 in 2001 and 36 in 1991; demographics that reinforce the need for employers to maximise the potential of older workers.
It is becoming increasingly important to up-skill and train valued staff, effectively transfer knowledge and plan for succession. The opportunity to either learn from experienced staff, or pass on hard-won business nous may be what makes or breaks your business.
The New Zealand EEO Trust’s 2006 Work and Age Survey found the main perceived strength of older people in the workplace was their reliability.
In fact, more than half of all age groups surveyed strongly agreed that older workers were reliable.
The EEO survey results signalled two main options that current older workers said would encourage them to remain in their jobs:
• Quality part-time work (66 per cent), and
• Flexible working hours (64 per cent).
Just over half (53 per cent) said they would stay in paid work longer if they could take extended leave and return to work.
Higher pay (42 per cent) and being able to work from home (47 per cent) were also chosen by just under half the working respondents.
Other conditions that respondents who were currently working said would encourage them to stay in paid work beyond their expected retirement date included:
• Challenging, interesting, varied work
• The ability to make a difference
• Having your experience needed and valued
• Less stress.
A good start to reaping the benefits of a diverse workforce would be to complete an age profile ofyour workforce.
A checklist for employers seeking to recruit and retain older workers:
• Is your organisation well regarded by people looking for work and do your current employees speak positively about their jobs?
• Does the organisation have an employee-centric culture that values internal customers as much as external ones?
• Is your staff provided with suitable opportunities for growth and development?
• Do you provide a comfortable, safe work environment and what sort of reputation do you have in the community?
• Is the leadership team of your organisation accessible and does it provide vision and direction?
• Do you know how much it costs to replace every employee who resigns/needs to be replaced?
• Do you regularly measure staff turnover next to employee age, gender, etc?
• What keeps your staff engaged?
• Is your staff turnover rate lower than the industry average?
• How much time and money does your organisation invest in staff retention versus recruitment?
• Are staff salaries and bonuses linked to performance?
• Are your managers effectively trained to select, identify, guide, coach, reward and retain their people?
• Do you know who the talented employees in the organisation are?
• Do you provide flexibility of hours/days leave or support staff to work from home?
• Are your staff able to take extended leave and return to their original job or one of a similar level?
• Do you encourage and support employees wishing to work part-time or job-share – particularly older staff?
The Human Rights Commission published a guide in early August that is designed to assist employers in employing staff. Titled ‘Getting a job, an A-Z for employers and employees, pre-employment guidelines’, the guide is written in plain English and it covers off a very wide range of job related information.
The guide can be ordered for free from the Human Rights Commission by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or downloaded as a PDF from the site.
