The logic of engagement is simple for HR managers and recruiters: If you keep employees engaged, you don’t have to fill as many vacancies. Engagement isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for the various generations in your workforce. Today we’ll focus on how to keep your older workers from wandering off due to lack of engagement.
There are a lot of factors at play keeping employees in the workforce longer than before. For example, for many years, pensions have been on the decline (only a small minority of employers offer them now, meaning employees have more responsibility to save for their own retirement and may need to stay working longer in order to do so). The age to collect full social security benefits has risen. People are also living longer, which means they need even more savings to fund a longer time in retirement.
Besides the people who stay in the workforce longer, there are also more and more retirees looking to rejoin the workforce as a way to stave off boredom and remain fulfilled over the years.
Putting these factors together means that employers will likely have the opportunity to keep their older employees in the workforce for longer periods if they choose to do so. They may also have the opportunity to hire more experienced employees. But as the workforce diversifies, it can be a challenge to know how to meet the needs of employees who have differing needs and desires.
Let’s take a look at some of the many ways that employers can keep older employees engaged and productive for as long as they would like to remain working for the organization.
Here are some ideas on how to keep older workers engaged on the job:
- Give supervisors training in ways to manage different groups of people. Some supervisors/managers are unsure of how to manage a subordinate who is older than they are. Likewise, someone who already has decades of experience may be frustrated to have a much younger supervisor, so it pays to have training to help those in supervisory roles have tools to best manage the situation. This may include encouraging the supervisors to get frequent input from their experienced staff members—which can help both sides.
- Consider implementing a mentorship program with more experienced workers who volunteer to be a part of it. This can have benefits of keeping both the experienced worker and the newer worker more satisfied on the job. Mentors can pass along valuable company expertise, and the newer employees can help the older employees stay engaged or even help them with newer processes or programs that are in use.
- Pay attention to the types of benefits an older workforce may appreciate. This may include things like flexible working arrangements, allowing individuals to sometimes work from home, or to work a reduced schedule. It could also be implemented as a job-sharing program in which more than one person is responsible for a single job role.
Tomorrow we’ll look at a number of other engagement suggestions for older workers, including reduced schedules, additional training, and reducing age discrimination.