Tim Bradley, managing director of Pecaso looks at the implications of an ageing workforce for HR strategy.
The result of increasing life expectancy and lower birth rates is a top heavy workforce in which the elderly begin to outweigh the young. The much documented pensions’ crisis caused by this has made the British aware that working life may not be over when retirement age is reached.
Having youth on your side has always traditionally been viewed as a bonus, with ‘young and dynamic’ appearing on CVs and job specs across the land. This kind of lazy stereotype has, however, led to candidates being pigeon-holed a problem both that may exacerbate the skills crisis, as the over-fifties begin to outnumber the under-thirties.
Employers need to wake up to a change in perspective. Older, more experienced staff can, after all, be just as energetic as younger workers and it is worth remembering that these golden oldies are the children of the revolution, of the 1960s and all that decade evokes.
A generation that has really driven business forward during the technology revolution. Employees of this ilk are willing to take on new and exciting challenges, and are likely to want to continue and develop their careers – remaining in high-level positions, or even moving to new ones – at what is currently seen as a ‘pensionable’ age.
If the workforce becomes top heavy at the ageing end of the spectrum, what repercussions will it have for those who are further down the career ladder? Recent statistics released by vocational awards body City & Guilds have predicted that those starting work in 20 years’ time will undertake 19 different jobs in their working lives.
As the pension crisis looms and the pressures of mortgages and children grow, it is likely that older workers will tend to stick with their jobs while younger staff will be more prone to ‘job-hop’. However, it is equally important to protect the morale of new, young recruits, who could feel that promotion has become an impossible dream as older employees are sitting pretty well past their sixties.
Thus the workplace has to become a true meritocracy. For HR this may seem like an obvious yet impossible ideal, but with careful strategy and the right HR processes in place it should be an achievable goal. The end result? The cultivation of highly skilled, absolutely expert teams at every level – whatever their age. It will fall to the HR department to find the people that will excel in such a culture and to create the atmosphere in which they will thrive.
Training and the maximisation of existing skills will become key. Technology will enable HR departments to produce a skills matrix through the process of appraisals, training and accurate employee data, to really make the most of the human resources available to them. Recruitment will also be facilitated as internal and cross-departmental recruitment becomes a simple and cost-effective prospect.
The real benefit of such emphasis on HR strategy lies in enabling an organisation to avoid duplication of expertise whilst fulfilling the interests and intellectual preferences of its staff. This can also have a predictive function: potential problems, whether with systems or individual staff, can be highlighted early and appropriate measures taken. Similarly, airing concerns, noting future ambitions, agreeing targets and addressing problems, can set a course that will benefit both individual and company; providing targeted succession management and improving employee engagement.
Far from the crisis headlines of recent months, there are benefits to be found in our ageing workforce. The change in dynamics will force employers to embrace true meritocracy, not only increasing competition for the top spots in a business but increasing the investment businesses make in staff development.
In a time when the age of the bright young thing is waning, the need for a highly organised strategy for staff development has never been more integral. Employing the grey nation can mean that structures will be put in place to ensure that there will always be an excellent candidate available for each vacancy and always a vacancy for every outstanding candidate – if HR’s potential is fulfilled.
