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Susan Ryan, Age Discrimination Commissioner: Redrawing the picture

Posted by Alison in Commentary on October 19th, 2011

There is a buzz around the SageCo office as we eagerly anticipate the November launch of ENVISAGE – our new facilitated and online solution. ENVISAGE is an evolution of our popular Create program and takes a (very!) colourful and artistic view of retirement and planning in late career.

So with this in mind, Susan Ryan’s latest opinion piece strikes a chord as she speaks of ‘redrawing’ the mature age picture.

Recently appointed as Australia’s first dedicated Age Commissioner, Susan is already making her mark, recently putting forward a suite of proposals at the federal Government’s Tax Forum held in September.  The objective? To remove negative tax impacts on older Australians.

Getting rid of age barriers in super, workers compensation and income insurance would produce more productivity. If, in the near future, we can provide successful examples, put in place by forward-looking employers, we would have inspirational models for the broader workforce.

Age caps currently leave workers over 65 uncovered for workers’ compensation and income maintenance insurance. Not conducive to the current trend of working longer and deferring retirement.

The changes put forward by The Commissioner will support employers keen to benefit from the skills, experience, knowledge and loyalty of the mature workforce.

(Published in The Equality Law Reform Project, 10 October 2011)

 

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65 ain’t 65 anymore

Posted by Alison in Commentary, Media on September 29th, 2011

Just as 40 is the new 30, 65 ain’t 65 anymore

writes Greg Jericho in The Drum Opinion yesterday.

Last week the Daily Telegraph ran a front page story with the cheery headline “Graveyard Shift“, bemoaning that mature workers are being ‘forced’ to work longer. Not so, says Jericho. The facts support this counter argument, we are living longer healthier lives and mature workers have been steadily ‘working longer’ since 1983. A trend quite removed from the impact of the GFC and stock market fluctuations.

we should not be running front page stories about older people having to work, we should be running front page stories about what governments and employers are doing to encourage and help those over 65 to work

SageCo echoes these sentiments in an article published by Human Capital Online last week, sharing data gained from over 2500 mature workers in the past year on their future working intentions.

It comes down to individual choice (and of course ability) to continue working. For choice to occur, there need to be options available. For options to be available, organisations need to focus on reshaping the way we work and create space for the conversation.

81% stated they would continue to work, if they could work differently. The problem is that the conversation is not taking place, said Monroe

It is integral for leaders to be talking to the mature members of the team, and gauging their future work intentions, not their ‘retirement intentions’, which sends the wrong message to the older workforce.

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Baby Boomers – satisfied but overlooked

Posted by Catriona in Commentary, Media on September 14th, 2011

Mercer’s What’s Working survey declares that baby boomers are more satisfied with the work they do, less likely to leave BUT they are overlooked for career development and opportunities. Do you agree?

Sageco always encourages employers to actively support mature workers in their late career and retirement decisions. Sometimes it is the ‘assumption’ of retirement that is the greatest barrier to this. If you manage mature workers, then follow these three easy steps to ensure that they’re not being overlooked:

  • Have a conversation about their work and retirement intentions. Ask the questions, “What would you like the next ten years working here to look like?”
  • Encourage your mature workers to think about taking charge of their own career development.
  • Make sure that performance and development reviews are constructive and don’t assume that someone is ‘just going to retire soon’ because they are over 50.

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NAB puts Australia on the mature age map

Posted by Alison in Commentary on September 7th, 2011

Congratulations to National Australia Bank!

NAB has been recognized with AARP’s 2011 ‘Best Employers for Workers over Age 50’ award for their innovative and exemplary practices in recruiting, retaining and promoting mature age workers. This is an international award and NAB joins 14 other non-US based organizations that were recognized with this distinction.

AARP is a US-based non-profit association with over 37 million members, dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people over the age of 50.

This award shows that we’re really making a difference outside our organization, and even outside Australia

said Colleen Harris, Executive General Manager of NAB Human Capital.

Our focus on mature age workers as valued employees puts NAB in a unique position to retain experienced workers, which is critical in a shrinking labor market, and to build a sustainable competitive advantage

NAB is the 1st Australian employer to achieve this Award and they have placed a pin on the world map.

We put NAB’s winning strategy down to a few success factors;

  • executive support and advocacy
  • leadership awareness and education
  • a passionate, dedicated and influential diversity team.

Find out more about NAB’s Award here!

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Branson talks Experience

Posted by Alison in Commentary, Musings on August 29th, 2011

When Richard Branson speaks, people tend to listen. You don’t become a billionaire for nothing!

And once again he demonstrates his ‘deep smarts’ by sharing advice for promoting your business’s best asset – your experienced workers.

Q: How do you help ageing workers embrace a changing environment and adapt to new ways of doing things, and how can employers better utilize their more senior employees?

A: As an ageing worker myself, I will attempt to answer on behalf of my contemporaries.

When people ask how old I am, my favorite response is,

Younger than Mick Jagger!

No disrespect intended to Mick, who is a friend of mine, but seeing him onstage certainly shows how big a disconnect there can be between doing what you do best and acting your age.

In the business of entrepreneurship, past experience is particularly helpful, since building a business is an art. There’s really no right or wrong way to do it, but the more you practice, the more skilled you become.

Read the full response from Richard on Entrepreneur.com

 

 

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