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by DJ Enga, CPFC, Financial Counselor (From The Sand Paper, Fall 2014 edition)
By 2020, those over age 55 are projected to account for 25% of the workforce in America. The succeeding generation – frequently referred to as Generation X – includes 46 million people, roughly 30 million fewer than the baby boom generation. With older people remaining in the workforce longer than they have traditionally done, the usual ebb and flow of older people leaving the workforce and younger people entering it has weakened, making economic recovery after a recession that much more difficult.
Many assumptions are made regarding the impact of older workers on the work force: Not being as productive, not being as ‘tech savvy’, or that a company believes that retaining older workers is too expensive.
A joint poll by the Society for Human Resources Management and
AARP shows that more than 7 in 10 human resource professionals polled say the loss of talented older workers is “a problem” or
“potential problem for them.” Why? Skills, of course. More than half of the HR Managers indicated they find older workers to have stronger writing, grammar and spelling skills in English and tend to have a stronger professionalism and overall work ethic.
The reality is that older workers are indeed a treasury of knowledge and have shown that because of this on-the-job ‘know how’ they tend to be more productive and efficient in their work. They also are more likely to be familiar with a variety of ways to accomplish their tasks, as well as having more years of experience to learn from others. Many companies have adopted mentoring programs by partnering older workers with younger talent with great success.
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It has also been proven that mature workers tend to learn new technologies when given the appropriate learning environment as it relates to their being able to adapt to new business processes.
The final assumption regarding older workers being too expensive for a company to hire is also somewhat slanted. Many pension and benefit plans can be scaled, with retirement and benefits phased to different age groups to help balance overall costs.
There are many ways an employer can leverage the vital experience of their aging workforce to create a high-performance, multi-generational talent pool that utilizes the knowledge of older workers. It’s very important to consider a company’s workforce as one entity. Combining diversity to help create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
610 N Main Street #200
Stillwater, MN 55082
651-430-3383
888-243-5744 www.sandcreekeap.com