Archive for February, 2010
active strategies required to address ageing workforce challenge
Elizabeth Broderick is quoted in HR Leader:
“It is imperative that active strategies be developed to address the discrimination and prejudice that older workers can experience when looking for employment or even continuing in employment,” said Broderick.
We would add that employers need to implement intentional programs to address the development of workers in ‘late career’. There is a great paradox; employers will spend a large proportion of their development budget on Gen Y employees who are lucky to stay for even five years, but question investing even a small proportion of that budget on their ‘late career’ workers who may gladly work for another ten years, beyond a traditional retirement date, if they get the right support and training to do so.
In the words of Workforce Planning sage Julie Sloane:
Remember, retention first and recruitment will follow…
GFC only a slight reprieve
SageCo’s recent survey about the impact of the GFC on retirement and working intentions get’s some coverage in HC Magazine.
Anecdotal evidence to suggest that mature workers would hang on to their jobs and defer their retirement plans has been supported by results of a survey by ageing workforce specialists, SageCo.
a time to choose
Posted by Catriona in Commentary on February 2nd, 2010
We like Elizabeth Broderick’s comments on increasing mature age workplace participation.
“Genuine choice is the key to success in supporting and increasing mature age workplace participation – choice to work if we need to, choice to work if we want to,” Commissioner Broderick said. “Enabling this choice is important because, for various reasons, many people wish to work longer – and let’s face it, people have a right to work.”
Personally, I love seeing the lights come on for people in our workshops when they realise that retirement is just an assumption; they do indeed have a choice about creating their future.
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molehill versus mountain
Posted by Catriona in Commentary on February 8th, 2010
This article in The Economist neatly expresses what we often bang on about.
This is reality. It is not just about ‘preparing for an ageing workforce’ (like you might for Y2K in the hope that it never happens); it’s about MANAGING an ageing workforce.
The ‘molehill’ of management literature on managing an ageing workforce compared to the ‘mountain devoted to recruiting and retaining the young’ also reflects budget allocation by most organisations. In a word: CRAZY.
I’m not sure it is as difficult as The Economist makes out. It just requires a different mindset.
resourcing
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