{"id":8825,"date":"2021-07-26T21:40:18","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T01:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=8825"},"modified":"2021-07-26T21:44:09","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T01:44:09","slug":"age-as-an-asset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=8825","title":{"rendered":"Age as an Asset"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I\u2019m moving to Colorado.<\/p>\n

Not really. But my goodness, the state is setting a leadership path for connecting employers with experienced workers over 50.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a good thing when you realize that that there\u2019s a demographic shift under way and the world population is getting older. Employers must grasp and embrace it with strategies to keep experienced workers on board and on-ramps to hire them<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not going to delve into all the reasons many of us will need to keep earning as long as it\u2019s feasible. And that\u2019s true not only for baby boomers and Generation X, but the cohorts coming behind us. Longer, healthier lives take a lot more capital to support as the decades click by and living to 100 is not such a big deal.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n

The issue here, though, is the business case for hiring and retaining older workers for employers.<\/p>\n

Read on MarketWatch<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Myths persist about the high cost of older workers, their energy, their technological capability, and their enthusiasm for learning new ways of doing things.<\/p>\n

What if employers viewed age as an asset? That\u2019s the aim of the swelling movement in Colorado that started pre-pandemic and is gaining steam as we emerge from it. The advantage is that everyone gains from companies to workers, to the economy.<\/p>\n

My colleague,\u00a0Chris Farrell<\/a>, recently\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0about Colorado\u2019s forward-thinking efforts for Next Avenue and what we have to learn from its initiatives to hire and keep older workers. I encourage you to read his insights.<\/p>\n

As he explains: \u201cThe Rocky Mountain state boasts the nation\u2019s second fastest growth rate of people 65 +, a combination of ones aging in place and retirees moving there. One-in-four Coloradans 65 and older were in the labor market before the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado has established the groundwork for persuading employers of the worth of older workers. The impetus was that before the pandemic employers in Colorado were struggling to find what they considered to be qualified workers. As a result, Gov. Jared Polis\u2019s office aided by nonprofits in the state and private foundations took up action to persuade employers look to experienced workers as the solution.<\/p>\n

That effort was somewhat revolutionary in an era of lip-serving to an openness to hiring workers over 50 and the \u201cNope, no ageism in our company,\u201d wink, wink denial that is so frequently embedded in corporate culture.<\/p>\n

Ageism is awfully hard to prove. But when you look at who is getting hired and who is being offered early retirement packages, it\u2019s pretty clear that this is the\u00a0ism<\/em>\u00a0that lingers in workplace cultures\u2026 deeply.<\/p>\n

In full disclosure: I was recently the keynote speaker for a\u00a0webinar<\/a>,\u00a0Age-Inclusive Management Strategies in Colorado<\/a>, hosted by The University of Iowa College of Public Health and nonprofit Transamerica Institute. Funding provided\u00a0by NextFifty Initiative.<\/a>\u00a0My topic:\u00a0Finding Work After 50 and Rethinking Retirement<\/em>. You can check out the video\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n

The event explored the business case for hiring experienced employees (age 50+) and unveiled the team\u2019s new tool designed to help employers implement age-inclusive management strategies (AIMS) and recruit and retain experienced employees.<\/p>\n

It was based on a multiyear collaboration between nonprofit Transamerica Institute and\u00a0University of Iowa College of Public Health<\/a>\u00a0The webinar was the next stage stemming from the research findings from the\u00a0Colorado\u2019s Above-Fifty Employment Strategies (CAFES)<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Joe Barela<\/a>,\u00a0executive director of Colorado\u2019s Department of Labor & Employment,\u00a0explained<\/a>\u00a0to the audience a statewide strategy to connect employers to experienced workers and programs the state is offering to provide access to apprenticeships, training and skills development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is much work to do to ensure that we don\u2019t waste talent and every Coloradan worker can reskill, up skill and next skill to find a good career in our state as we recover from COVID-19 and prepare for the future work,\u201d Barela said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no longer appropriate or acceptable or even relevant that we don\u2019t realize lifelong learning\u00a0has<\/em>\u00a0to be something that both workers learners and employers and government embrace,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to make sure that our workforce has access to skills training that makes them relevant to the work of today and the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applause all around. Read my MarketWatch piece on adult leaning\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe also know that as employers struggle to find talent that we need to look at different ways on how we prepare and recruit talent into the needed roles we have from hospitality to engineering, to construction to healthcare the way that we do this is really focusing on skills-based hiring practices that will be a wave of the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Barela finished up by saying that Colorado employers who don\u2019t actively recruit and retain older workers who \u201cwill be put at a big disadvantage and lose out to competitors who have put thought and effort behind older worker recruitment and retention strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about more than recruiting and retaining older workers. It\u2019s about creating a better society, a society which older people are not only seen, but fully appreciated for their talents and contributions,\u201d Barela said.<\/p>\n

Lee Wheeler-Berliner<\/a>,\u00a0Managing Director of\u00a0Colorado Workforce Development Council<\/a>, talked about ways to evolve to fully support the older adult workforce and discussed the success of the Council\u2019s collaborations with partners like\u00a0Change the Narrative<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Skillful<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was pleased to hear Wheeler-Berliner share information about the job coaching for older workers, career navigation and peer support groups that the state\u2019s workforce centers are offering.<\/p>\n

Lastly,\u00a0Age-Inclusive Management Strategies in Colorado<\/em>\u00a0(AIMS Colorado) is a groundbreaking tool designed to support employers looking to hire experienced workers.\u00a0Brian Kaskie<\/a>\u00a0associate professor, University of Iowa, gave a tour of the AIMS Colorado website, which provides in-depth information on the 10 best strategies to become an age-friendly employer, as well as tips and tools to implement the best practices.<\/p>\n

Now for my top reasons to hire and retain workers 50+.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re more steady and not as likely to jump jobs than someone still gaining traction and climbing on up in the workplace. Plus, it costs more to hire than it does to keep and commit to developing current employees.<\/p>\n

An experienced worker can typically ramp up fast to a new position without much supervision They have shifted and twisted many times along their career path and have decision-making acumen in their back pocket.<\/p>\n

And they generally have the whole kit of qualities that shine with age from an ability to manage others to written and oral communication skills.<\/p>\n

Plus, workers who have some of life\u2019s challenges in the rearview mirror such as raising kids turn their energy and mission to their work in a way that wasn\u2019t possible previously.<\/p>\n

The truth is, for many workers over 50, it\u2019s easier than ever to be a team player at this stage of the journey. The big ego days are behind them. They\u2019re energized by working with a diverse crew of younger co-workers.<\/p>\n

Age diversity increases organizational performance. Studies have found that the productivity of both older and younger workers is higher in companies with mixed-age work teams.<\/p>\n

Finally, older workers play an important role in providing skills and workplace savvy to younger colleagues. It\u2019s a two-way street. Each generation rubs off on the other. Everyone prospers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a>by Kerry Hannon<\/a><\/div>\n
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Kerry Hannon is\u00a0a leading expert and strategist on work and jobs, entrepreneurship, personal finance and retirement. Kerry is the author of more than a dozen books, including “Never Too Old to Get Rich,” “Great Jobs for Everyone 50+,” and “Great Pajama Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Working From Home.” Follow her on Twitter @kerryhannon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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