Defeating Ageism in Your Medical/Ophthalmic Device Sales Recruiting

After all the years of discussion as to why older adults rock in the workplace; after all the reports about how middle-aged and older adults make such great employees….

…There is still a bad case of ageism when it comes to recruiting and hiring!

How can you and I – the people who source, screen, interview, and eventually hire employees – be part of the solution, especially in medical/ophthalmic device sales?

Here are some solutions I believe will help:

·????????Stay away from referring to different ages and “generations.”

Referring to team members as “boomers,” “millennials, “Gen Xers,” etc. only serves to differentiate people, rather than encourage them to look for their similarities and connections.

These terms also serve to stereotype people. Remember when “millennials” were the fabulous young things “everyone” wanted to hire? Well, they are now approaching middle age (the oldest have started turning 40 this year) and just as the “don’t trust anyone over 30” boomers started wanting things people who are 40 tend to want, they became less radical.

Remember, it is more about what stage in our lives we are in, not the “generation” in which we were born into that matter most.

·????????If you work in HR and you have not put together diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for your company, do so.

These types of initiatives should deal with sexism, racism, gender issues, abilities, sexual orientation and, of course, ageism.

The idea is that by offering training in these and making it a part of your company culture that these “isms” will not be tolerated.?Your company has a great chance of helping your team members identify their stereotypes and biases and help them eliminate prejudice towards different groups.

·????????Align your company’s policies with work equality principles.

Company management and leadership have a great effect on the entire company. As much as we would all love it if just talking about how important DEI is and how to recognize it in ourselves, worked; we would all be golden.

But in reality, only if HR and company leaders create actual policies – and they should be audited regularly – will most people in an organization follow an organization’s desired principles.

One suggestion to combat ageism: incorporate age bias as unacceptable in your company’s written harassment and anti-discrimination policies.

This statement should be exhibited throughout the company’s physical space as well as posted on your company’s website.

·????????Build multi-generational teams.

Hire an older sales manager and put younger sales pros under their care, right?

Why not mix it up and put your older sales reps under the management of a younger sales manager?

Teams made up of employees of different ages will be a learning experience for all of them.?What’s more, multigenerational teams help ensure you build a diverse work culture that encourages every employee to grow while providing you with their best efforts.

Most importantly, doing so plays a critical role in ensuring that the strengths of every one of any age work together towards a specific goal.

The last few years have shown the country how creating a culture of DEI in your work place is important.

Don’t forget the importance of removing ageism from your workplace as an important part of your efforts.

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