10 Great Reasons to Hire Older Workers

Would you hire Winston Churchill?

Would you hire a senior citizen?

Would you encourage a senior worker to stay if he worked for you?

Maybe you should.

Winston Churchill reached 65 years old and “his career was still regarded as a bit of a failure.”  It would have been easy for him to have retired then and for a company he may have worked for to encourage him to retire.

Instead he was elected Prime Minister of Britain. He led his country during World War II, made great speeches that made him famous, and “topped the polls of the greatest Britons ever.”  (Source: Hiring Grandpa, The Economist, April 9 – 16 , 2011.

At a time when the number of people over the age of 65 is increasing and the number of available younger workers is decreasing, some companies are deciding to hire older workers.

“B&Q, a British DIY retailer, has been recruiting older workers since the 1980′s, after a pilot project showed that having more of them around:

• Reason # 1 - Improved customer services
• Reason # 2 – Improved sales
• Reason # 3 – Reduced staff turnover
• Reason # 4 – Reduced absenteeism.”

( Source: Hiring Grandpa, The Economist, April 9 – 16, 2011.

Reduced absenteeism!

Reduced staff turnover!

Improved customer service!

Improved sales!

Seems there may be some advantages to hiring older workers.

More Advantages to Hiring Older Workers –

Reason # 5 – they are more engaged than workers who are 39 years old or less!

As reported in Workforce Management, July 2011, Special Report – Employee Engagement, page 28 by Garry Kranz from a LeadershipIQ engagement survey of 102,322 employees and managers across 130 organizations:

“Workers 39 years old and younger are the most disengaged, while workers 60-69 are the most engaged.”

Even workers 70-79 years old are more highly engaged than workers 39 years old and younger.

There is an average of 25% more highly engaged workers in age groups over 40 years old compared to younger workers.

As companies gear up in the new uncertain economy, older workers make sense for all of the above reasons in this uncertain economy.

Here Are More Reasons -

Reason # 6 – If you do not want to make a long term commitment by hiring a younger worker, hire an older worker who is probably only looking at working for 5 -10 years and not looking for a pension and  may already be covered by medicare.

My own personal thoughts on why older workers may be more engaged  include the following in addition to the above reasons:

• Reason # 7 – They do not have small children at home that need their attention and can be a distraction.

• Reason # 8 – They are more settled.

• Reason # 9 – They are part of the generation with a strong work ethic that places a high value on working hard and doing a good job.

And the greatest reason of all – Reason # 10 – many have expertise, specialized knowledge, experience, and skill sets that would be very valuable to most organizations.

Want proven ways to attract “top performers” and “critical skill” employees? Get your copy of Module 15

Copyright 2011 Lois Moncrief All Rights Reserved