One of the most important issues in the current labour market is the ageing of Australia’s workforce. There are not enough Generation X’s and Yers to replace the retiring baby boomers (BBs). However, this is not necessarily cause for concern as over the last decade we have seen a big increase in the number of BBs working past traditional retirement age (60-65 years).
In 2000 approximately 47% of men and 21% of women worked past the age of 60. In 2010 the figure for men had increased by 15% to 62% and the figure for women had more than doubled to 43%.
While this was partly due to the fall out from the Global Financial Crisis and the impact on superannuation, it is a positive step for organisations as it provides an opportunity both to benefit from the wealth of knowledge that more experienced workers possess and to capitalise on the changing workforce to introduce more flexibility in terms of part-time and casual work, mentoring, opportunities to combine work and further study and working from home arrangements.
Older and more experienced workers have a wealth of knowledge about an organisation and any shortcomings can be easily managed with retraining and increased workplace flexibility. It makes good business sense to retain, train and hire older workers as, according to a National Seniors Association study, the cost of not using the skills and experience of older Australians is estimated at $10.8 billion a year.
Clever companies see the potential benefits of tapping into mature, experienced staff. Some organisations have recognised this group as a critical team to drive sales for a generation of older workers. Others are hiring and training mature age workers to deliver peer-to-peer customer service.
If you would like to restructure your organisation, increase workforce flexibility and determine the best ways to use your mature staff, organisational surveys are an invaluable first step. RightPeople’s organisational surveys can help you to determine:
- How engaged your employees are and where issues may exist
- Who are your best organisational leaders and where there may be weaknesses in leadership
- Whether there is a good person/organisation fit for staff
- Whether staff are happy with current organisational practices
- Which areas of the business are performing well and which are not, and why
- Many other key organisational indicators
Contact us to utilise these organisational surveys to help you get the best out of your workers, ensure your organisation is structured effectively and to make the most of your mature workers.
