Age - the Superpower you cannot afford to ignore
Sarah Taylor Phillips ??
Attracting & Retaining 50 & 60+ solving talent drain intergenerational solutions. Flex, Jobshare, Branding, AI, Intergenerational Teams, Wellbeing, Interim, DEI & Age Inclusion Advocate Speaker Connector #CSW69
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As someone with deep experience in the 50+ workplace agenda, there is one organisation that I look to for good practice, experience and the pioneering attitude that is continuing to pave the way. ?
I first met Alistair McQueen , Head of Savings and Retirement at Aviva plc, when I followed him onto the stage at a MidLife MOT event in February 2020 to do a Brand You Confidence at 50+ Strengths workshop. The event was organised by Claire Lynch Bath & North East Somerset Council , and it was a real eye-opener.
The room was full of talented individuals, but they weren’t aware of their own abilities. Often experienced people underestimate their own talents and potential, so the strengths workshop is an absolute game-changer.
The statistics and issues he outlined were staggering then. Three years on, post-pandemic, the stats are even more shocking, with 1m fewer over 50s in the workforce following the Great Retirement, and the number of over 50s coming into the workforce is flatlining. It’s clear that whilst Aviva is still leading, others are not following fast enough. We believe other organisations must!
Listen to Alistair’s guest appearance on Avivah Wittenberg-Cox Brilliant 4 Quarter Lives podcast for more information here (I love the Avivah and Aviva conversation!)?https://lnkd.in/eSq9i4kr
“The ageing demographic is a very current and huge issue, and the organisations that are ahead of the curve on the longevity journey will be able to attract and retain extraordinary talent.”
Successful organisations will be ones who understand, value and leverage workers of 50+.? Their employer brands will lean heavily on the value they place on their 50+ workers. They will see and promote these workers as ambitious, aspirational, and critical and a value for all of the five generation workforce.” says Claire Lowson
Here’s why!
Paradigm demographic shift…
In 2019, Aviva was aware of the changing demographics that were impacting pensions and saving planning. On average, most people underestimate their life expectancy by ten years – that’s ten years more living to fund. At that point, the situation looked pretty clear: people needed to save more, work longer, or retire poorer.
The Aviva team were interested in how that would play out in their own workforce if that is the real objective. In fact, from an ESG perspective, the right goal was surely to help people embrace a longer, fuller life. With that in mind, they turned their attention to their own workforce.
What they discovered was profound. Within the Aviva workforce in 2019 of 20,000 UK workers:
Together, these figures made the issue a significant shift – from an HR challenge to an FD challenge.
As we race towards a point when we will have more people of 60+ than under 16, the situation is stark - not only do older people need to fund longer lives, but there won’t be enough younger people to fill the roles required.
Aviva’s findings were such as to get buy-in at a government level, and the term MidLife MOT was born. ?
Surprisingly, they also found that the attrition rate of this age group was higher than any of the younger cohorts, making it a finance issue rather than just an HR concern.
And that was all before the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, the UK witnessed a long-term trend of increasing participation in the workforce among individuals over 50. The pandemic saw a major fall-out of 50+ workers, and whilst many now want to get back in, they are not finding it easy.
Many cannot get back in at all. Factors such as an increase in long-term sickness and difficulties in re-entering the job market due to algorithms all are contributing to this decline. Generally, the outdated assumption that people are past their best by 50 is working against both individuals and the society that needs their expertise.
(NB: Our findings are that you have a 70% higher chance of finding a new role via your network than via an advertised role. And we even have examples of people securing a role via their network that they had previously been rejected from. This is a game with its own rules, and everyone needs advice as to how to play them.
As the figures show, with 7m young people coming in and 10-12m older people leaving, the balance has to change.
Paradigm Positives!
The Aviva Mid-Life MOT initiative was aimed at challenging ageism and the prevailing mindset that assumed people's best years were behind them after turning 50.
As older people outnumber schoolchildren, it’s clear we have to change our mindset.
We have to work out how to support ourselves and our infrastructure: with the social care, health care and legal system that longer lives will demand.
We have to challenge the past and show people a new future where they move beyond previous limitations and expectations.
We have to show a future in fact in fact, where age rocks!
Because when change is inevitable, we have to make it good.
Aviva Show and Tell
Aviva has consciously invested in, listened to and communicated to their 50+ in the past 5 years and has reversed preconceptions at an individual and corporate level.
Aviva has proven its credibility in seeking the best for this population – and in demonstrating the huge competitive advantage and individual advantage to be gained from it.
In short: as we know - older workers are proven to be valuable assets:
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It’s Anti-Retirement rather than Pre-Retirement
Aviva was clear this was not a pre-retirement course. It was much more about advocating for anti-retirement. As people live longer and healthier lives, the concept of retirement needs to be redefined.
Avia talks about work, wealth and well-being.
To enjoy a longer life, health is imperative - being active, contributing and connected is key. Work is one sure way to achieve all those things – as well as an income.
This is a simple equation that individuals and organisations need to action.
‘Gentelligence’: for the Five Generation Workforce
Meaning and purpose are important to older workers.
They may want more balance and not to work full-time.
They often, and as with childcare, the bulk of this still falls upon women, who want and need flexible arrangements to suit work and life commitments.
Women have to be considered independently. Women over 45 are the fastest-growing cohort of all. And where there is the greatest attrition. The gender pay gap is four times greater at 50+ than at any other time. Women’s pension pots have 39% less in them than men’s.
We need to innovate for a different future – one that works for all generations and all genders.
Innovate to Stay in the Game
With a workforce comprising of five different generations, businesses have a unique opportunity to leverage diverse skills and experiences.
Each generation brings its unique strengths - ?younger employees bring fresh perspectives and technological expertise; older workers offer historical knowledge and valuable insights.
Embracing this diversity fosters better leadership and increased staff inclusivity. You might consider inter-generational job shares, inter-generational teams, broadening the scope of roles to allow for older workers’ breadth and capacity – and opportunities for them to share and teach.
Older workers possess invaluable wisdom and experience: the concept of fluid intelligence vs. crystallised wisdom highlights how accumulated knowledge and past experiences contribute significantly to better decision-making.
Statistics also show that younger workers prefer to be developed by an older female leader, arguing for their demonstrating inclusive, diverse and empathetic leadership approaches.
These power skills, including leadership, teamwork, communication, productivity, and well-being, are essential in today's workplace.
Conclusion
These are lessons that need to be learnt. And innovations that need to be tried. The future of work is not the same as work as we’ve known it. We know already that reliance on GenZ to fill gaps left by older leavers just doesn’t work. They haven’t the same experience, commitment and loyalty to match, and there are not enough of them.
Aviva's Mid-Life initiative serves as a blueprint for businesses and individuals to navigate the challenges and opportunities of increasing life expectancy.
Actively challenging outdated mindsets, investing in the potential of individuals over 50, focusing on mindset, wellbeing and being prepared to try new solutions, companies can unlock a wealth of knowledge and experience – managing a changing workforce AND achieving 21st-century growth.
We have to have a paradigm shift in the way we view longevity, retirement and age diversity in the workforce. Embracing age as a superpower is not just one option but the imperative for a future that works.
Come and talk to me at Career Voyage Ltd , and Claire Lowson , Supermenopause , for some Reframing, Reenergising, Resetting, Refocussing, and Resetting to Sustain Retention and halt the second female talent drain at 50+
Aviva Wittenberg Cos 4 Quarter Lives podcast with Alistair McQueen
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Aviva Working Lives report
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Reasons over the 50s make the best employees
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Source?Shut Out, Forced Out and Overlooked, 55/Redefined 2021 report
Global Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning Expert | Recruitment Strategy | Transformation Consultant
1 年Sarah Taylor Phillips I fear that it is just a reflection of society right now. Move everything online and get your customers to sort their own problems out! Until there is a compelling business reason (ie profit or tax) I fear very little will change. The over 50’s will vote with their feet. The affluent will leave the country, the motivated will do their own thing and the rest??? Fortunately their are more and more lights in the darkness (like yourself) so there is hope. Stay safe
Retired HR Professional (2019). Passionate about Fractional Working & Job Sharing for 35 years!
1 年Sarah Taylor Phillips agreed and this trend started well before the pandemic. I left my HR career at 54 almost 11 years ago after redundancy from my senior advisory job share post. I had worked part-time since 1990 to fit in with ongoing family/caring commitments. I struggled to find another part-time role in the HR profession and volunteered until my retirement at 60. I’m not alone. It’s difficult enough to secure a full time role at 50 plus, but trying to find a part-time role is impossible! I spent 6 years searching for a suitable part-time role in my 50s and can count on one hand how many interviews I had for a part-time role in HR between 2013 and 2019. The best offer I received was a 4 day week which I declined. 1 in 3 women aged 50 to 64 are carers according to the Centre for Ageing Better, often with multiple caring commitments. This may include teenaged or adult children (perhaps with a disability), elderly parents, partners or grandchildren. Many of us have worked part-time for decades to care for and support our families. When our established part-time/job share contracts are withdrawn after redundancy or a change of management we often leave the workplace and volunteer as we drift towards retirement.
Leading Digital Transformation | Change Management | Creating Technology Focusing on People
1 年Whilst I applaud your analysis and as a 60 something silver surfer I totally identify with the message. The reality is that 20 something recruiters regard anyone of 50 as already dead. The idea that somebody that age is computer literate (we invented the mobile phone and the web) or able to serve more than a year or two because we are already terminal is something they cannot comprehend. Millions of over 50’s will never be selected as long as AI CV selection driven by greedy agency’s don’t accept the concept of transferable skills
Financial Adviser for Women & Couples in Professional Services, Tech & Business | ? 2025 Top Rated Adviser ? | Financial Planner
1 年That's a really shocking stat Sarah. Keep up the great work!
Helping To Change The World One Lip At A Time ?? GMB/Labour Party/Retail Manager/Make Up Artist/Blogger/Trainer/Luxury Retail Store Manager
1 年Really great article Sarah!! Well done and so true!