Page 27 - Multigenerational Workforce
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2017 Thought Leaders Solutions Forum
• Focus on recruiting older workers. In addition to the skills and experience older workers bring, in some businesses hiring older workers can also help a business market to and better understand its client base.
• Create mixed-age teams. When managed well, multi- generational teams improve organizational performance for both older and younger workers. Age diversity has a positive effect on teams performing both creative tasks and decision-making tasks.
• Be flexible. Employees both young and old benefit
from the flexibility of being able to move among work, education, and caregiving life stages. This flexibility can include offering work-at-home options, phased retirement programs that allow people to work part-time, and caregiv- ing leave.
“If we want to attract some of the best and brightest, we’re going to have to figure out how to make these flexible arrangements work.”
—Libby Sartain
Discussion
After the presentation, participants made several observations:
© 2017 SHRM Foundation. Created for the SHRM Foundation by BullsEye Resources, www.bullseyeresources.com.
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Gig work plays a role. Older workers often enjoy gig work, such as driving for Uber or freelancing, as it gives them time to spend with family or volunteer, but still earn an income. Companies that hire people for gig work are generally less picky about how the work gets done; they just want it done.
Public policy needs to change to support older workers.
Smaller companies hiring older employees can see a negative financial impact from higher insurance premiums if there is an age-rated program. Public policy changes around healthcare are necessary to resolve this potential cost disadvantage. Many health plans proposed under the current administration impose higher premiums for older people, not lower.
Knowledge transfer is important. Companies like GE, where an employee can take 20 years to become an expert, encourage knowledge sharing between employ- ees. Technical tools, like Slack and online groups, also encourage knowledge sharing and offer a repository so information is not lost.