In the age of ‘millennial employees,’ a lot of employers seem reluctant to hire an older employee as part of the workforce. There are all sorts of misnomers about older employees – ranging from difficulty in adapting to technology to lacking energy and motivation that the younger lot seems to bring to the table. However, that is not entirely true and companies can actually benefit from having an older workforce, blended with the millennials.
Today’s businesses can leverage and actually take advantage of all those decades of hard-earned experience. As businesses grow, and good talent becomes scarce, finding qualified people to work for you can be a big challenge, especially when you ignore reaching out to the older pros.
Here Are 9 Reasons Why Companies Should Consider Hiring Older Workers
1. Right Fit for the Right Job
It doesn’t matter how old you are, it matters how good you are! It is actually unfair for employees to be judged by their age. They should be judged more on what they bring to the role. Age should be taken as an advantage since older professionals often have had plenty of time to learn what works and what doesn’t.
As philosophical as it may sound, there cannot be denying the fact that they are truly the better versions of themselves, with the time and experience gained over the years. They have had plenty of time to work on themselves through professional and personal life lessons.
2. They Bring With Them Experience & A Network
Be it people skills, industry experience, communication and organization skills, the older workforce have it all in them. They come to the table with a whole set of experience and maturity that a young employee lacks. They know how to deal with people from all walks of life. And with great experience, often comes an extensive network of contacts which can be of great help to an organisation.
Also, think of it, personal computers have been on our desks for 35 years now.
This means even the older employees, have a fair amount of experience with technology, to ensure your day to day work tasks are carried out with ease.
3. They have the Maturity
From their greater years of experience and life, they get less rattled when they come across challenges. They can also help improve the efficiency of processes and give confidence to the team to get things done.
4. Mentoring Opportunities
Pair up older employees with younger ones and it works wonders. And this is will be a great experience for the entire team. While younger employees can learn a lot from their experienced counterparts, the older pros too can pick a lot from the younger ones. A strong mentoring program in your organization will foster a positive work culture that is fair to all.
Morgan Stanley ran a successful mentorship scheme to retain their young female talent by selecting older leaders from different departments to brainstorm a curriculum. This curriculum was designed to consider what characteristics created great company employees. The wisdom and value imparted by these senior employees went a long way to keep the top talent at their company intact.
5. Loyalty
Millennials are great employees, but it cannot be denied that they tend to move around a lot when it comes to switching companies. However, if you older employees are more stable in that regard. This helps reduce employee turnover as well.
6. Open To Part Time Roles
Older employees are more flexible and willing to take up part-time work or temporary assignments as well. So, if you are looking for someone who can fill up a part-time role, and doesn’t have to necessarily undergo extensive onboarding or training process, an older employee can be a great hire.
7. Training Old Employees Can Be Worth Your Time And Resources
Often employees don’t want to invest in training older employees and pace them up to speed with what has changed in the workplace on the tech front. However, it is worth considering that they are more than willing to learn as they are well aware of the changing times and the fact that they need to consciously catch-up on it.
8. Easier to Manage
A pride in a job well-done something the older employees care for. They are as dedicated and willing to spend more time at work to get a job done, as the younger employees.
9. Good Work Ethic
In a report published by Randstad Work Solutions, 90 percent of the respondents who were older said that being “ethical” is “extremely or very important” to workplace culture, whereas 83 percent of Gen X workers and 66 percent of Gen Y workers agreed.
Older employees are willing to take more responsibility and have a better grasp of work ethics, which the younger employees can learn and look upto. They are very cautious to do things the right way.
Employees in their lates 40’s, 50s, 60’s and even 70’s, can be very valuable to the organisation and will help in building a greater resilience in your workforce.
Age should not be an issue, instead assess what skills, attitude and experience each of these people bring to your workforce. Don’t overlook older employees and miss out on classic talent.
