Chris Ball, the CEO of TAEN (The Age and Employment Network), discusses the ongoing and profound change taking place in the workplace due to the aging working population.









Though the recession’s impact on organisations will undoubtedly be profound, another factor will leave a more lasting imprint on organisations in the longer term - demographic change.

HR managers have certainly had plenty of time to think about population ageing. The industry used to refer to it in the 80s as ‘the demographic time bomb’ – quite a pessimistic view of the situation. Actually, the fact that we are living longer should be seen as brilliant news – and far nicer than the alternative! However, this does present a difficult downside; fewer babies are being born, causing our average age to increase. The bulges and curves on the demographic tables underline the maxim of the OECD’s seminal study, ‘Live Longer, Work Longer.’

We cannot understate the case. About one in every three children born today is likely to live to 100. Where will the new crop of talent come from? The young people so often relied on to fill starter jobs and training roles will simply not be there. Achieving and managing an older workforce is going to be a demanding challenge. HR professionals will need to assess the risks implied by such changes and find clever solutions to them. Getting the management skills in place to bring about significant culture changes will be key to maintaining the working capacity and positive attitudes of the workers themselves.

Fortunately, we can draw on a body of research and experience relating to good HR practices around age. At a TAEN and Equality and Human Rights conference in London recently, experience was shared with age management specialists from Germany, Norway, Australia, the USA and elsewhere. Some speakers focussed on maintaining the health, learning and employability of workers throughout the life course. Others stressed how older workers were valued and how their knowledge can be effectively shared. Each added something new to our understanding of age management, an emerging sub-specialism within HR, though little visited in the UK.

In looking at good examples, I am struck by the number of companies testifying to superb jobs done by their older workers. Cases include some individuals recruited in their sixties or even seventies who are continuing to work happily and effectively often setting an example to younger members of staff. The world is, of course, full of contrasts: in some organisations older people are denied chances to embark on new careers and described as over qualified; while in others, inspiring leaders respond creatively to the risks and opportunities the aging workforce provides, showing the way for others to follow.

A few examples may be mentioned. Keeping people able and motivated to work longer demands some rethinking of careers. Many, who are bored, fatigued or disenchanted with work for some other reason, may look forward to retirement as a release and bow out early under these pressures. A change of career direction, however, can motivate older workers to remain part of the workforce. Jobs which rotate, careers which offer a switch to less demanding front line roles and changes to make use of experience in a mentoring capacity, can keep people going a lot longer.

One HR manager in Sweden told me recently, “When you give an older person a chance, you can discover they are still ambitious, willing to rise to a new challenge and proud to prove themselves in another role.” At Siemens in Holland, every employee is given a time by which he or she must move to another job role – stagnation is not tolerated. Training plans support such future intentions.

One way we could re-shape our thinking is in broadening the concept of an apprenticeship. Many changes have occurred to the format of apprentice training, making far more efficient use of time and resources, but it is still widely regarded as being for the young school or college leaver. But adult apprenticeships are now available for the over 24s and some older and mid life people have indeed embarked on them. If we are serious about providing opportunities to re-shape careers in mid-life, we surely need more opportunities like this. Centrica (British Gas) demonstrates that it is possible to integrate these opportunities as 30% of the apprentice intake is now over 24 and one 57 year old has just finished his apprentice training.

Not everyone who continues to work into their sixties would want to work full time of course. Older people increasingly find themselves with caring roles – whether as grandparents, helping a son or daughter to combine work with parenthood, or as a carer of an adult family member. A range of flexible arrangements including time out provisions, reduced working time, term time and so on can be just as relevant to the older worker as to a younger worker who has children of pre-school age.

Flexible (or partial) retirement is another attractive option that can make a difference, though it is little used here in the UK. We can learn from Finland, Germany and some other European countries where it has been tried with considerable success. Flexible retirement involves drawing a pension and a salary from the same employer. This was not permissible in the UK until the Finance Act 2004 and though pension schemes and employers now have the choice to introduce flexible retirement, only a tiny minority have done so. Flexible retirement seems an obvious way of extending careers.

The age management approach builds on age diversity basics, such as age proofing policies and ensuring positive attitudes towards people irrespective of age. But it then goes on to address the age related risks organisations face. These can take many forms, for example, the imminent retirement of skilled workers or a labour market in which potential and talent are in scarce supply. Analysing such risks and intervening to offset them is part of what an age management approach is about. We are sorely in need of training modules in business school courses - perhaps the training industry will begin oblige!

At the call centre of insurance company Domestic and General in Nottingham, the management was keen to find ways of improving retention and recruitment of new workers. They encouraged applications from mature redundant former miners. In an industry characterised by young, highly mobile staff, this was a brave step, but it paid dividends. The former miners were given special training to handle the ICT and telephone equipment. Whilst it took them longer to learn, once the skills were acquired they performed satisfactorily. The company found that introducing older people had a positive impact on the organisation. They were better able to give wise advice to people calling about their domestic appliances. They stayed in their jobs longer and they had a good influence on the younger team members they worked with.

Certainly, the recession should not be a reason not to innovate. Indeed, it is precisely when times get tough that innovation is most needed. The organisations that emerge strongest from the downturn will be those that have conserved and used their strengths most effectively. Losing knowledge and skills that may be hard to replace is not the wisest strategy. Whilst adopting age management solutions could help to not only to survive the recession, but secure the future once the upturn begins.

For further information on TAEN (The Age and Employment Network) including membership and consultancy services contact: www.taen.org.uk


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