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Why employers should be hiring over-60s

This age group is loyal, experienced and the fastest growing labour market in Australia, so why aren’t more employers hiring workers in their 50s and 60s? Here’s why they should. There has never been a better time for jobseekers in their 60s to jump back into the workforce, with the government announcing it will chip in $10,000 to business owners who employ workers over the age of 50. The decision to expand the senior employment incentive payment scheme was announced in Australia's 2019 budget. This will see business owners receive $3000 followed by a second $3000 payment if they keep a mature worker in employment for 12 months. A further $2000 will be given to those who keep over-50s employed in the workplace for 18 months until a final payment of $2000 is provided if they employ the person for over two years. Heidi Holmes, managing director of jobs board for jobseekers over-45 <a href="http://adage.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adage.com.au</a>, says mature age workers offer a number of benefits to business owners. “Mature age workers offer a great return on investment for employers as they will reward employers with loyalty, increased productivity and also take less sick days,” she reveals. “Research has shown a mature age worker will stay with an organisation up to 2.5 times longer than a young employee.” Sydney-based retirement coach <a href="http://www.peterblackcoaching.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Black</a> agrees, adding that these workers are motivated to work because they’d like to continue learning and engaging with other people, as well as to boost their retirement savings. A growing talent pool It’s no secret that Australia’s population is ageing, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics predicting that by 2041 one in five people will be over 65 and seven per cent of the population will be over 80. Ms Holmes says employers can no longer afford to neglect this talent pool as the 45-plus market represents the fastest growing labour market segment in Australia. “Often employers haven’t considered the mature age workforce as a separate talent pool they need to target directly,” she explains. “Unconscious bias against mature age workers may also be playing a part in mature applicants being screened out of the application process. Hiring managers and recruiters need to be educated on the benefits mature age workers bring to the table in order to tackle any negative bias that may exist.” While illegal, age discrimination continues in Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman welcomed a court ruling in April this year when two Thai restaurants on the Gold Coast were fined nearly $30,000 for telling a worker that he would be terminated on his 65th birthday. The worker had a good employment record at the restaurant over a number of years. Mr Black says age discrimination continues, as does misperceptions about the motivation of mature workers. “Younger managers and human resources professionals don’t appear to value experience. However, companies like Bunnings and the banks are recognising the value of older workers in communicating with front-line customers,” he explains. “Also, a declining pool of total workers due to baby boomers retiring over coming years will necessitate employers to relook mature workers to accommodate their growth needs.” Michael O’Neill, chief executive of consumer lobby group <a href="http://nationalseniors.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Seniors Australia</a>, is another industry representative who has been vocal in encouraging the government and the corporate sector to tackle community attitudes towards workers in their 50s and 60s, as well as promoting workplace flexibility. Currently, older job seekers are unemployed for an average of 71 weeks compared to younger workers with an average of 41 weeks. If there was just a five per cent increase in paid employment of Australians over age 55 it would add $48 billion to the economy a year, according to research by the Human Rights Commission. More support is needed Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan says the government needs to do more to ensure older Australians will have the same opportunities as everyone else to access paid work. While the staggered $10,000 incentive for employers to hire a person over 50 is encouraging, it doesn’t shift the entrenched cultural attitudes and structural barriers that exclude older workers from the workforce. Training and development of older workers is important if people in their 50s and 60s are to have a chance of either remaining or returning to the workforce. On top of this, employers need to realise the benefits of maintaining their older workers for more years in the job. “This might require workplace flexibility and some retraining,” Commissioner Ryan explains. “Government has a role in supporting a more positive and productive approach to longer working lives.” It’s a win-win for both businesses and those looking for work. Unlike some workers in the younger generations, people over 50 place a higher value on job security and are motivated to perform to the best of their ability. This offers a great return on investment for employers, especially small businesses, who would not only benefit the most from the cash incentive but also from an employee who research shows stays in a job longer. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

10 ways New Zealand employers can turn the ‘great resignation’ into a ‘great recruitment’

Internationally, and especially within the US, there has been a lot of talk about the so-called “<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/great-resignation-accelerating/620382/" target="_blank">great resignation</a>” – the trend seeing large numbers of workers leaving their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, having reevaluated their priorities or simply because there are more opportunities than ever before. While there isn’t enough firm data to confirm this is happening in New Zealand yet, there is little doubt a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/457103/skills-shortages-top-challenge-facing-company-bosses-survey" target="_blank">chronic skills shortage</a> has given workers more bargaining power. Perhaps not surprisingly, <a rel="noopener" href="https://news.aut.ac.nz/news/the-great-resignation,-nz-style" target="_blank">research</a> shows more and more workers are at least thinking about either changing or quitting their jobs since last year. But this phenomenon – defined as “turnover intentions” – could also fuel what we’re calling the “great recruitment”. After all, as physics teaches us, for every action there is a reaction. Calling it the great recruitment is obviously related to the sheer volume of recruitment activity that logically follows a great resignation. But it is also a reference to the related importance of a positive – great – recruitment experience for potential employees. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435205/original/file-20211202-25-bujsov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Shutterstock Not a negative trend Classic supply and demand principles tell us that if more workers are seeking greener employment pastures, there will be more ready-to-hire talent in the marketplace. For that reason alone, we urge organisations not to consider the great resignation a negative trend in the job market. Of course, to be successful the great recruitment must be supported by businesses that prioritise the recruitment process, from candidate care to the vetting and hiring team, to the use of technology and protecting the organisation’s reputation and brand. However, there are many practices that not only undermine but entirely defeat the positive potential of a great recruitment, including: <ul> <li> “<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/02/17/a-new-study-by-indeed-confirms-that-ghosting-during-the-hiring-process-has-hit-crisis-levels/?sh=7bdd556599c4" target="_blank">ghosting</a>”, where candidates apply for a role but get no response or experience a sudden silence part way through the process </li> <li> posting vague or corny job descriptions – “customer services expert” anyone? – that do nothing to excite or provide context for potential applicants </li> <li> relying too heavily on quasi-scientific personality profile tests and asking questions that are at best tokenistic, at worst discriminatory. </li> </ul> Making recruitment great We also see recruitment processes stumble at the last hurdle by engaging in Game of Thrones-style salary negotiations, where candidates feel like they’re challenging a noble family. This is particularly disadvantages <a rel="noopener" href="https://hbr.org/2020/07/stop-asking-job-candidates-for-their-salary-history" target="_blank">women</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.employeenetworks.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Pou-Matawaka-Final-Report-Ethnic-Pay-Gap-March-2019-for-release-.pdf" target="_blank">ethnic minorities</a>. How then to ensure your organisation is capturing the talent potential released by the great resignation and maximising the employment potential of the great recruitment? Here are our top 10 tips: <ol> <li> Choose your words carefully: write inspiring, authentic job advertisements. If your recruitment team can’t do it, get someone who can. </li> <li> Be realistic: create reasonable candidate specifications – wanting extreme levels of skill, attitude and experience is likely put off good candidates. </li> <li> Canvas others: when designing employee value propositions, get input from recruiters and current employees. </li> <li> Remember glass houses: recognise there is no such thing as perfect behaviour when using behavioural-based interview questions, especially given the organisation itself may be questionable in some of its conduct. </li> <li> Consider the context: give due consideration to reference check results – if a candidate’s last boss says he or she was disconnected in the end, perhaps it’s because they were already in a high state of turnover intention. </li> <li> Go back to the future: be open to hiring past employees. Initiatives such as alumni programmes can be used to connect with and recruit former employees. </li> <li> Know your team: be open to conversations about the attributes and attitudes of the person a successful candidate will be reporting to, and the team they will be working with. </li> <li> Be technology wise: use automated recruitment technology (such as SnapHire, JobAdder or QJumpers) to enhance – not replace – an integrated people-oriented recruitment experience. </li> <li> Provide <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/salary-most-important-part-job-ad.aspx" target="_blank">clear pay ranges</a>: if an applicant knows what the pay is from the outset, it saves everyone valuable time and energy. </li> <li> Be gracious: formally thank all candidates for applying – this can help ensure you retain them as future applicants and/or customers. </li> </ol> Great expectations With more talent in the market, those in recruitment will need to sharpen their games. Given much recruitment activity is outsourced and many recruiters will be booming in the current climate, organisational clients should have great expectations of recruitment professionals, too. Employees face enough challenges in their working lives without having to endure a recruitment experience that is anything less than great. Finally, the great recruitment must also account for future talent. Before we know it, the <a href="https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainers/explained-what-is-roblox/">Roblox</a> generation will be hitting the workforce, already adept at digital creation and collaboration, and expecting similar things from recruiters. If we get it right, the great recruitment is a chance for employers to recast the great resignation as an opportunity for everyone to do better – now and into the future.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172952/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/candice-harris-611631" target="_blank">Candice Harris</a>, Professor of Management, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/auckland-university-of-technology-1137" target="_blank">Auckland University of Technology</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jarrod-haar-521652" target="_blank">Jarrod Haar</a>, Professor of Human Resource Management, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/auckland-university-of-technology-1137" target="_blank">Auckland University of Technology</a> This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/10-ways-new-zealand-employers-can-turn-the-great-resignation-into-a-great-recruitment-172952" target="_blank">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

How to overcome 3 common barriers to mature age employment

<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/welcome-to-the-minefield-that-is-21st-century-retirement-20190409-p51c98.html">Retirement isn’t for everyone</a>. Growing numbers of Australians have consciously decided to <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/australians-delaying-age-of-retirement-working-longer/news-story/3fa00e382d5dc98a804a99536535505e">continue working</a>, although they are old enough to retire Some realise they are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/too-poor-to-retire-more-australians-than-ever-will-work-past-70-20160408-go1ubf.html">too poor to retire</a>. Some have retired, but have become bored with the retired lifestyle. They’ve decided to come out of retirement and return to work. Some seniors are facing obstacles to continued employment after retirement age, despite the fact that experts have documented how older workers could significantly <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/retirement-income/older-workforce-could-boost-australia-economy/">boost Australia’s economy</a>. Common <a href="https://nationalseniors.com.au/uploads/201208_PACReport_Research_BarriersMatureAgeEmployment_Full_1.pdf">barriers to mature age employment</a> include the following: <ul> <li> Illness, Injury and Disability</li> <li> Outdated Skills</li> <li> Age Discrimination</li> </ul> Let’s discuss solutions for these common problems senior Australians face as they seek to remain in the workforce. How to prevent a disability that could keep you from working <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/body/back-pain-explained/">Lower back pain</a> is one of the most prominent <a href="https://www.woombyechiro.com.au/single-post/2017/05/18/Lower-Back-Pain---top-causes-of-Disability">causes of disability</a> in Australia. According to <a href="https://physioworks.com.au/Injuries-Conditions/Regions/lower_back_pain">J. Miller and Z. Russell at Physioworks</a>, lower back pain is one of the most frequent reasons Australians miss work or seek a doctor’s care. So educating yourself about how to prevent lower back injuries is one step you can take to empower yourself to remain in the workforce longer. We’ve posted a helpful list of things you can do to <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/body/beat-lower-back-pain/">prevent lower back pain</a>. Familiarizing yourself with the items on this list, and implementing these suggestions, could help you to prevent serious lower back injury. Researchers have determined that people who stick to a regular exercise programme endure less back pain. In general, regular exercise is an important key to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12424867">preventing and treating</a> a broad variety of injuries and disabilities. If your goal is to continue working past retirement age, it is essential for you to implement and adhere to an <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/the-exercises-you-need-to-do-to-stay-fit-over-60">exercise programme</a> that includes aerobic activity, strength training, and balance building exercises. If you’ve previously been sedentary, it’s wise to speak with your GP about this. Your GP is well equipped to advise you on how to incorporate a selection of proper exercises into your daily routine. How to overcome outdated skills <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/the-secret-to-lifelong-success-is-lifelong-learning">“Lifelong learning”</a> has become one of the most vital buzzword phrases of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/continuous-learning-changing-world-work/">fourth industrial revolution</a>. In the past, it was standard for people to gain education in childhood and young adulthood. Then, later in adulthood, people applied what they’d studied as they pursued careers where that education could be put to good use. Experts at the World Economic Forum are warning us that this clear-cut transition from academic life to work life is fading. This is because shifting technologies are now creating constant demand for workers to acquire new skills. This, in turn, is making old skills obsolete at a rapid pace. Nowadays, what you know is becoming less relevant to remaining employable than ever before – because in the current technologically driven environment, much of what you know will inevitably become outdated soon. Today, your capacity to learn new skills is a critical key to remaining employable. Formal training is the most straightforward way to acquire the skills you may need for continuing to be employable. <a href="https://www.training.com.au/">College and university courses</a> are available for every type of instruction you could possibly desire. This could be an especially beneficial option for you if you never earned a university degree in the first place. Some other possible ideas for <a href="https://www.hays.com.au/blog/jane-mcneill/HAYS_1380884">upskilling</a> include participating in webinars, listening to podcasts, attending live events, starting a blog, reading and participating in social media. How to combat age discrimination <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/age-discrimination-in-the-workplace-and-how-it-affects-you">Age discrimination</a> is a <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/people-human-resources/recruitment-hiring/ageism-employers-illegally-specify-age-limit-job-applications/">sad reality</a> that some older Australians are dealing with – despite the fact that ageism is illegal in Australia. The relevant law is the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00341">Age Discrimination Act 2004</a>. According to this legislation, it is unlawful to discriminate against individuals on the basis of their age. <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination/publications/know-your-rights-age-discrimination-2012">Knowing your rights</a> is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself from age discrimination. Australian law specifies that employers must give fair consideration to all applicants for all jobs, apprenticeships and traineeships, regardless of age. Employers may not refuse to hire you or consider you for a job on the basis of your age. Additionally, you can <a href="https://www.cio.com.au/article/576064/7-ways-mitigate-age-discrimination-your-job-search/">mitigate age discrimination</a> by choosing stylish, up-to-date clothing to wear to work; emphasizing all your relevant work experience; leveraging your professional network; and looking for a senior-friendly company that would be an excellent cultural fit for your skills and expertise. Of course, these are not the only barriers you may face as you seek to remain employed past retirement age – but these are 3 of the most common obstacles senior citizens must typically overcome as they pursue ongoing employment. If you can successfully overcome these hurdles, there are many <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/partner-content/articles/how-hiring-older-workers-is-good-for-business/">benefits</a> to your continued employment – both for you, and for your employer, who will benefit from your lifetime’s worth of accumulated expertise.

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Why employers should be hiring over-60s

10 ways New Zealand employers can turn the ‘great resignation’ into a ‘great recruitment’

How to overcome 3 common barriers to mature age employment