Are your HR decisions being guided by gross inaccuracies?

• Are your older employees being passed over for promotion?

• Are you less likely to invest in training and development initiatives for your mature workers?

• Do you have a tendency of negatively evaluating older workers performance just because- well just because they are older?

You may want to rethink those decisions.

 

There exists little empirical evidence suggesting that older workers are poorer performers in comparison to their younger counterparts. And when a decrease in performance is found it tends to be small and often related to technological tasks.

While it is true that younger workers may perform computer related tasks quicker, their performance does not translate into fewer mistakes.

Recent work from the field of neuroscience indicates that even when cognitive declines are found they tend to be small and do not translate to work settings.

Unfortunately, ageist stereotypes are alive and well and managerial decision-making is still being guided by inaccuracies about mature workers being more expensive, less capable of development and resistant to change.

These beliefs often result in older workers being passed over for promotion and less likely to receive training because they are perceived as having less potential than their younger counterparts.

Employers don’t believe they will receive a return on their investment. However, research findings indicate that “payback” periods for training investments usually require 3-5 years.

As researchers Greller and Simpson point out, “even 60-year-olds may well have that much career ahead of them”.

In fact did you know that training initiatives are more beneficial to workers age 36 and over than they are to their younger colleagues?

Next time you are making a decision about who to promote, or what talent you want to develop, consider the advice of Dr. Sarah Harper:

“If you train workers in their 40’s and 50’s you train them for the next 20 years they will spend in your organization. If you train workers in their 20’s, you may well be training them for your competitors”.

Soon to be Dr. Gill

Is your business prepared to compete in the war for talent? Join our study free of charge and discover whether or not your mature workforce wants to continue working past the age of 65 or if opt for retirement. If 30% of your mature workforce retires at the same time – you may suffer significant efficiency and productivity challenges. Don’t get caught in the dark. We can help. Reach out to me at gill@rewiretoretire.com

This study is being funded by the John Molson School of business