Employability of an
Ageing Workforce
Dr. Gerlinde Ziniel
European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions
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Aims and objectives
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Document current measures and initiatives in 200
organisations in the EU 27 to improve the
employment situation of older workers
Identify factors influencing the success and
sustainability of initiatives
Review lessons and formulate guidelines for good
practice in age management
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Products
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/
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What is good practice?
Good practice in age management is defined as those measures
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that combat age barriers and/or promote age diversity.
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These measures may entail specific initiatives aimed at
particular dimensions of age management.
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They may also include more general employment or human
resources policies that help to create an environment in which
individual employees are able to achieve their potential
without being disadvantaged by their age.
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Dimensions of age management practice
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Job recruitment
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Learning, training and lifelong learning
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Career development
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flexible working time practices
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Health protection and promotion, and workplace design
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Redeployment
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Employment exit and the transition to retirement
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Comprehensive approaches
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Case study examples
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Germany, Continentale – Insurance
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About 3,000 office-based employees work for Continentale
and approximately 50% of these are women.
About 21% of the staff is aged over 50 years. The various
company departments, however, present quite different age
structures.
Longevity risk
Change of national retirement age and early exits.
Measures: active@work project (Alternative work
arrangements, mixed teams, managing stuff turnover, etc).
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Netherlands, Siemens – Electrical
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Company employs a total of 460,800 people worldwide, including
124,000 women, who represent about 27% of its global workforce.
Compass process applies to all staff members of Siemens AG
Germany aged over 40 years – promotion for mixed teams.
Siemens Nederland is the Dutch branch of a large German
electronics company.
3,448 employees with the following profile:
35% are aged over 50 years; 17% are women; 51% are educated to
lower secondary vocational education or senior secondary
vocational education levels.
Time-Optimised processes (TOP) project
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Czech Republic, Škoda Auto - Motor
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Škoda Auto a.s. is one of the biggest employers in the Czech
Republic and one of the most successful developing Czech
companies. Since 1994, Škoda Auto has been part of the German
Volkswagen group (VW AG).
23,000 workers, of whom about 9,000 work in skilled jobs
Pilot study which aims to revitalise middle management using
workers aged 50 years and over. It is also involved in developing a
policy for human resources (HR) staff who are preparing for the
increasingly pertinent issue of an ageing workforce.
Human resources management (HRM) encompasses three main
areas: HR development, efficient personnel management, and
personnel services, including wages, social services and catering
Cooperation with retired workers, mixed aged teams, new jobs for
older workers.
Third Career project – co-financed by ESF and Czech government.
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Benefits of age management measures
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Raise of the workforce’s overall skills level and capacity
for innovation.
With older employees on the payroll, younger staff see
greater potential for career. development: their
motivation increases as a result, as does their respect for
the performance of their older colleagues.
Improvements in the quality of an organisation’s
products and services.
In many organisations, the involvement of older
employers ensures the maintaining of skills levels and
the potential for professional development and internal
transfer.
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Success factors for age management
in organisations
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Age awareness
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Supportive national policy framework
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Management commitment and competence
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Careful planning and implementation
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Cooperation of all parties concerned – age awareness
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Evaluation, assessment of costs and benefits
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Conclusions
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Need for a comprehensive and coordinated set of policies –
acknowledged but only partially implemented
Integrated approaches are possible and worthwhile – need to
extend awareness and commitment
Policies must consider the whole of working life – working,
learning and caring over the life course – but how to
operationalise
Rethinking of pensions - but also disability and rehabilitation
schemes
The new Member States pose a special challenge for giving
priority and particular attention to older workers
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THANK YOU!
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