A MESSAGE TO CORPORATIONS: CEO’S, HRD’S, HIRING MANAGERS & CORPORATE RECRUITERS

Please JUST consider an over 50 Person For Your Next Vacancy!

Here are 10 Reasons Why...

The world can be a crazy, fast, demanding and exhausting place where we are pushed from pillar to post, having to meet our own and society’s high expectations all the time. Make money, climb the corporate ladder. Acquire things, look good, material acquisitions and experiences. Go go go!

We are constantly reminded by everyone, social media perhaps the most, just how we have to do more, achieve more, be more.

And frankly, this can cause inner turmoil, tension, anxiety, and disconnection of with oneself.

The over 50’s generally have passed this phase of disconnection and have come to terms with themselves, the ego has been talked to, fought with, compromises have been reached and deals are done.

The over 50’s employees have generally got their sh*t together and are more down to earth, more accepting of who they are and why they are.

This is a benefit that they bring to their employer because things in their private lives are usually more stable, they are not fighting for the top job, and have less to prove to themselves and others

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Been there. Done that!

Work-life throws many many unforeseen challenges at us, things are hard to predict. Having the skill set, experience & attitude, to face these challenges can often mean the difference between success & failure.

The over 50’s, because of their years of work experience have done more & encountered more.

I think probably all mistakes & the solution involves humans.

The > 50’s have 30+ years of dealing with people and generally know how to get the best out of people to minimize the negative results from a situation or even create opportunity from events.

Malcolm Gladwell, in Outliers, mentions the ‘10,000-hour rule’, claiming the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill, is a matter of practicing the correct way for a total of around 10,000 hours. If someone practices something for 10000 hours, then generally they should know what they are doing!

Over 50’s employees have generally been there & done that, they have stopped worrying about climbing the corporate ladder & they probably not looking to jump jobs every year.

Companies benefit from a stable, loyal employee & which filters through the entire company.

Employee retention and employee motivation improve, which equals a happy workforce.

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Learning how to do things right, learning what not to do, having someone to talk to who has been there and done that can really boost an up and coming employees happiness, effectiveness, and productivity in the workplace, and ultimately employee engagement.

Having an over 50’s person in a team can really boost the team's performance if the over 50’s person is encouraged to mentor individuals.

Sometimes we can find ourselves lost in the workplace, alone, confused, frustrated, unsure what we are doing or where we are going.

A mentor can add so many benefits to individuals and the company.

Ashton University (UK) lists the following benefits of a mentor to an individual:

• Improve communication & personal skills
• Develop leadership & management qualities
• Reinforce your knowledge of your subject(s)
• Increase your confidence and motivation
• Engage in a volunteering opportunity, valued by employers
• Increase your circle of friends
• Gain recognition for your skills and experience

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Every business is the same. Irrespective of whether your business is small or huge & whether your business makes widgets or consults on fixing the climate crisis, whether your business is located in New York or Kathmandu, the NUMBER 1 ingredient for business success is employing & retaining the best & more importantly the right people.

Every business needs happy, motivated & skilled employees to be successful. Recruiting & training a new employee costs a bucket, opinions ranging from 6 months to 2 times the annual salary of the employee.

AKA it costs a bloody lot!

High employee turnover causes disharmony in the workforce. I don’t know many people who say “I want to join a company with high staff turnover!”

An over 50’s person can help reduce your employee turnover.

Over 50’s employees have generally been there & done that, they have stopped worrying about climbing the corporate ladder & they probably not looking to jump jobs every year.

Companies benefit from a stable, loyal employee & which filters through the entire company.

Employee retention and employee motivation improve, which equals a happy workforce.

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We all live a really busy and sometimes frantic corporate life - "deliver, deliver, deliver, deadline, deadline, deadline, achieve, achieve, achieve, be creative, be creative, be creative" are pressures placed on us, what seems like all the time!

Even just thinking about it causes my heartbeat to speed up!

A key to getting more done and ensuring that deadlines are met on time and with quality is to delegate.

However, you may have had less than positive results sometimes with your delegation in the past. You set expectations which sometimes aren't met.

An over 50's person has the valuable life skills, by the very nature of the number of years that they have worked (over 30+ years)

This generally means that they can work successfully on their own initiative, generally with the confidence that they will get the job done.

And sometimes with going the extra mile with a more creative solution! These valuable life skills that an over 50's has should not be ignored. They add a huge advantage to companies and teams. Don't discount them!

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We all make mistakes.

I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of mistakes that I have made over the years, for that I would need to borrow some of yours!

But what I have noticed over probably the past 5 years, perhaps just before I turned 50, is that I am making fewer mistakes than what I did in my 30's and 40's.

A lot less!

An over 50’s person can make better and more robust decisions: quicker and with significantly less risk as there is less “trial and errors” made!

An over 50's person has 30 or more years of these collective experiences and have generally tried, failed, tried, failed, tried and finally succeeded, and learnt by these experiences. 

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In this customer-focused, client orientated, CX world we live in we are bombarded with social media, influencers, strangers telling us what is good for us.

I must say it gets bloody confusing and downright annoying actually. I am constantly being oversold to, over-promised to and under-delivered to.

What will make the difference when I am being marketed to?

For starters, I want to be able to believe the person that is selling to me. I want them to be credible, knowledgeable about the product/service, I want to trust them.

And you know what. If I see some maturity, some grey hair, a few wrinkles, AND a nice person, then subliminally my mind registers credibility and trust.

An over 50’s person really does get the concept of customer experience

One of the best managers I ever worked with was this little old grandmother (she was probably only 50years old but I was 25 so all over 50's were grandmothers and old then) She was as sweet as pie, caring, just like all our grandmothers.

And boy could she sell ice to the Eskimo's. Why? Because she used her skills, her experience, her age to her advantage.

Everyone won by the way!

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As an employer, I have certain expectations of my employees.

Call me fussy, but hey I am the one paying the salaries! So what do I expect of my employees?

Well lots of things, but one of the things that I do expect is for the employee to be at work, not just physically, but mentally.

I expect them to be at their best and deliver on what they are engaged to do!

Ok, I am generalizing here, but as a 54-year-old, the days of me going out during the week, staying up late, partying, playing video games until the wee hours, or whatever, well they are basically over.

The days of going out partying during the week are probably long gone for an over 50’s person, which means they are generally on the ball when at work!

Come 10 pm I am looking for my favourite pillow!

Given that I am looking down the barrel of mortality (ok perhaps I am being over dramatic, but the day is getting closer, well 30 to 40 years away), I am more conscious of my body and mind being fit for my final years, which means I wake up early, meditate & exercise!

The benefit of this means that when I get to work, I am clear-headed, effective & everyone benefits! I am not tired, hungover or distracted! And I take less sick days!

By the way, I get it, a younger person wants to experience life to the fullest, I know I did, so go for it!

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You know for lots of the over 50's crew, being continually rejected for jobs can be quite tough and can lead to some dark moments.

A lot of the time they don't even hear back from the hiring managers and recruiters, which is often even more sole destroying. (not to mention that this just downright rude)

So when a company does show that they are committed to anti-discrimination and embrace the #NeverTooOld ethos and give an over 50's a job, (or even just an interview) then what they often get is an employee who is exceptionally grateful.

This gratitude has significant follow on benefits to the company such as increased loyalty, productivity, and staff retention.

The mature person appreciates how lucky they have been and this luck is paid back 10x to the business! A win-win for all!

By employing an over 50's, you are not only getting an experienced, talented, life-experienced mentor, but also a grateful and committed fan of your company!

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It has been mentioned that it is more economical to hire an over 50's person?

A contentious reason but merits discussion & all businesses need an economic incentive to change!

This doesn’t mean that all over 50 year olds are cheaper, because some are really not cheap, and probably worth it, but sometimes they can be more affordable than a younger person.

How can hiring an over 50's person to be more economical to a company?

• The over 50's just may accept a lower salary than a younger person as they may be more interested in the opportunity than the money (hopefully money is a low priority at this stage of their lives)

The mature candidate is probably more stable, will stay longer in the job & the company won't need to pay money to replace them as often (lower CTC)

• They probably don't need as much $ invested in them to train - as by now they have probably have done the job before!
• They generally take less sick days, (lower CTC)
• They get up to speed quickly (cos they have been there and done that before probably), so are productive quicker.

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Don’t get me wrong – I am not against the ’20s, ’30s, and 40-year-olds. After all, I was one of those once, and I am a huge fan of the Millenials, Xennials, X-gen and so on. These are the people that are going to hopefully save our world from the mess that the baby boomers and silent generation made.

What I am against though is discrimination of any kind. And age discrimination seems to be very high against the over 50’s age group.

So CEO’s, HRD’s, hiring managers, recruiters….please listen to my message:

When looking for your next employee, why not just interview an over 50 person, just give it a go, there is nothing to lose and you may be onto a winner!

Say NO to age discrimination in your company now.

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About Michael

Michael created the #NeverTooOld campaign to raise awareness and enact change against age discrimination.

He is a transformational coach with a passion to end discrimination.

You can find out more about him at www.human-elements.com