While the rate of new entrants to the
U.S. work force continues to
decline, its median age is rising steadily. There are 78 million baby
boomers, compared to 46 million Gen-Xers
behind them. As fewer new workers enter
the labor pool, employers will become
increasingly dependent on the mature
work force — the enormous employed
population aged 50 or older.
“This has significant implications for
employers and how they recruit, manage
and optimize the graying work force,” says
Lynn Billing, vice president of staffing services for Spherion Corporation in Atlanta.
Smart Business asked Billing to share
her thoughts about the implications for
employers and what they can do to maximize the talents and experience of mature
workers.
Is there something special that mature
workers offer?
Yes. Mature workers can invigorate and
improve business through lower turnover
and increased stability, experience and
leadership. The Spherion Emerging Work-force Studies, conducted by Harris
Interactive, show that 55 percent of mature
workers are likely to stay with an employer for at least five years, compared to 43
percent of younger workers.
Mature workers offer stability in an era
when younger employees have grown
comfortable with job-hopping. They bring
decades of work experience and industry
expertise to their jobs. And their skills can
be leveraged to teach and mentor younger
workers, analyze and improve processes,
and build a strong foundation of company
knowledge.
Should employers do anything different to
recruit mature workers?
To be sure you reach mature candidates, employers need to cast a wider net
when advertising job openings. For
example, job boards, social networking
sites and classified ads may not be as
effective as professional associations, professional recruiting firms and community organizations.
There’s also a growing trend for experienced managers to take on project work
and other flexible or temporary assignments as a bridge to later retirement. These
workers offer depth and breadth of experience and proven leadership skills. Hiring
them on a contract basis gives employers
more flexibility in structuring their permanent work force and payroll.
Speaking of payroll, don’t mature workers
demand more compensation?
That’s a really interesting point. Most
companies tend to link compensation to
tenure or experience. They tend to fill
lower-level positions with the youngest
workers and pay less compared to more
experienced levels. However, the reality is
that there are plenty of senior, experienced
people who are willing to fill lower-level
jobs that will enable them to ease into
retirement or continue to work while collecting pensions, accruing retirement savings, and so on.
Forward-looking companies are updating
their current thinking and adjusting HR hiring, compensation and benefits models
accordingly.
Do mature workers require special accommodation?
The key to successfully managing mature
workers is flexibility. While not all are planning immediate retirement, many have
already achieved their core career goals
and are looking for different things now.
Climbing the corporate ladder is not typically a priority — many have been there,
done that. Instead, they may be looking for
new and different opportunities to contribute, or for flexibility in the way they
work, such as four-day work weeks or the
ability to work from home, for example.
For many, good health care benefits are
more important than salary. We’re also seeing the desire for reduced job-related travel, for less pressure, and for a better balance between work lives and personal
lives — between business and leisure.
What can employers do to leverage this
unique resource?
There are a number of actions employers
can take to make the most of their existing
mature work force, or to attract new
employees. Provide them with the flexibility to cut back their time in the office by
enabling them to work from home or work
part-time instead. The freedom to work
fewer hours and to telecommute is often
viewed as a well-deserved reward for years
of what may have been long days and high-pressure work.
Mature workers often find it extremely
rewarding to apply their knowledge and
experience to completely new functions,
and may be very happy to move laterally in
an organization. Upward advancement,
typically, is not their driving force — but a
change of pace and a new learning opportunity can be.
It’s important to recognize that mature
workers are just as interested as younger
workers are in learning, gaining new skills,
and making a contribution.
LYNN BILLING is vice president of Spherion Staffing Services in
Atlanta. Reach her at [email protected] or (678) 867-3097. For information about Spherion visit www.spherion.com.