keeping wisdom working…
Posted by Catriona in Commentary, Media on December 7th, 2010
A refreshing report from China in Human Capital Magazine where their elderly workers are welcomed for the wisdom and experience they bring. ” Older people are also sought after for their good attitude towards work, which experts have termed “glutton for work” attitude.”
And while concerns have been raised that the older workers are not making room for the younger ones, this was quashed by Liu Changjiang – a voice of reason:
… Liu Changjiang, a senior reemployed engineer, said the elderly would not usurp the jobs of the young, as the two had different positions to occupy in the workplace matrix.
“We are not in a contest; on the contrary, we learn from each other, as old people have rich experience while youngsters are more versed in new technologies,” Liu said.
Where are your mature workers on your ‘workplace matrix’?
who’s retiring when?
New research from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research and ANU provides more of a breakdown of who’s retiring when – according to the type of workers who remained in the workforce beyond the retirement age of 65 in the past 10 years. As reported in the Australian, there are two distinct groups who are ignoring the retirement age and remaining in the workforce; the most educated and the least educated.
Why the most educated?
- they enjoy work and the social interaction
- attractive employment conditions
- they need to recoup an investment in education
Why the least educated?
- the financial considerations of cash flow
- less accumulated wealth
- limited access to good retirement arrangements with super
We’re with Chris Ryan – author of the research:
I think there are positive things about keeping experienced, capable people working longer. I think there will be more people working at 70 than there are now, but they will have more choices with superannuation and pay more attention to their financial position as they age.
Organisations who actively support their employees in late career will benefit.
Winning ways for knowledge loss: three questions you need to ask.
Posted by Catriona in Uncategorized on October 27th, 2010
Last month we surveyed our SageCentre community (an online ageing workforce resource) about their three top concerns regarding the impact of an ageing workforce.
• 75% nominated knowledge loss
• 48% nominated skills gap
• 28% nominated lack of expertise in mission critical roles
When asked about the most successful age management solutions they had experienced, only 25% nominated a knowledge transfer solution.
My hunch is that so little is done because we are overwhelmed by the task. Here are three questions to help you focus your knowledge continuity efforts.
1 What do we need to know?
Think about what knowledge and skills are core to your business – now and in the future. Start with your critical areas and work outwards.
2 Who knows what we need to know?
There are people in your organisation who know a lot. We call them Sages. You can call them anything you like as long as it’s respectful! They are your living, walking, breathing database of corporate knowledge. Do you know who they are? Make sure you know who they are and keep them close! Do what you can to influence their late career decisions and explore how they might continue a relationship with your organisation beyond traditional retirement.
3 Who needs to know what they know?
Whether it be through the more formal processes of talent management and succession planning or the natural result of working together, you will identify people who need to ‘sit at the feet’ of your sages. Create opportunities for them to have conversations and begin transitioning knowledge.
Knowledge is slippery. There is no sure fire way to keep it, capture it or ensure access to it. What we do know from our knowledge continuity programs is that solutions emerge once you start the conversation.
advancing age management
Posted by Alison in What we're up to on October 14th, 2010
From awareness to action and now to the advancement of age management. This was the theme of the 2010 ageing workforce conference convened yesterday by the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Office for Ageing and IPAA NSW, with SageCo’s Alison Monroe as conference Chair for the day.
Having bounced back from a brief spell of retirement himself, Brendan O’Reilly DPC’s Director General was the perfect sage to provide an opening address to the 110 delegates present, including representatives from NSW Public Sector agencies, Local Government, and Industry.
Brendan opened the inaugural ageing workforce conference held in 2006 and by his own admission “did not expect to be here 4 years later!” but gave his support and advocacy to the mission stating;
This conference provides an opportunity to share knowledge, discuss the challenges and create strategies to tackle workforce ageing
Delegates heard from a range of speakers on policy development, program implementation and best practise case studies from the transport and health sector.
A few key themes arising from the day;
- know your data and create the story around it. present a sound business case for action
- executive support and advocacy is critical in positioning ageing workforce as a priority
- measure project outcomes and present back to the business
- continuity and consistency is key. this is not a ‘tick a box’ challenge.
One aim of the conference is to ignite the age management journey for those contemplating the enormity of the task. We look forward to seeing delegates from yesterday up on the speakers podium in years to come sharing their stories and successes.
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freedom of choice
Posted by Alison in Commentary on January 25th, 2011
From 1 October 2011 the ‘default retirement age’ of 65 will be scrapped by the UK Government in a move announced by the Coalition last week.
The move will prevent employers from forcing staff out when they reach the age of 65. Despite protests from employer groups, the government will go ahead with the plan stating that it would give people “more freedom of choice” and employers will be able to utilise older worker’s skills for a longer time.
Population projections suggest more than 10 million people living in Britain today will reach their 100th birthday. This in itself will keep The Queen working hard ~ mailing out all those letters!
Tagged in:ageing workforce, older workers, retirement, SageCo Talk
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