How inclusive is your approach to talent development?
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The population is falling, and talented people are said to be in short supply. We are also judged, in several studies, to be ageist. Yet, when people can and want to work for longer, surely the answer to any talent shortage is to open our minds to the skills, experience and talents of older workers. So how can you ensure you take a genuinely inclusive, non-ageist, approach to talent development?
Audit your team’s skills, experience and strengths – then share these and actively encourage each to learn from the other. Formalise this through team objectives which, when successfully completed, can be rewarded through your performance and pay review structures.
Give experience a name and status. At T&P, we talk about Champions and Key Contributors when discussing how to identify talent and potential with line managers. Think about how you can ‘promote’ your champions and key contributors both within your team and the organisation, gaining recognition for their expertise and experience in the process.
Encourage new managers, as well as yourself, to draw up an organisational experience map so that you readily know who to turn to when more complex or unusual problems arise. Too often we reinvent the wheel when coming across challenging situations assuming the same thing hasn’t been experienced in the past.
Also encourage new, younger, managers to see the experience of their older team members as a gift, not a burden. Some young managers secretly fear managing more mature staff thinking their experience will expose their own lack of knowledge. Instead, encourage them to realise how much they can learn. Recognising and respecting others’ talents and experience motivates everyone to work together for the good of the organisation.
Emphasise the value of continuous learning. Encourage your experienced team members to organise ‘lunch and learn’ sessions, offer job shadowing opportunities to less experienced staff, join mentoring programmes where they can both share their experience and, in a reverse relationship, learn new skills themselves.
Use your manager status in working groups to talk about the ROI of training and developing older workers as well as utilising their experience. Older workers are often more loyal and committed to their organisations and willing to ‘go the extra mile’ just as much as their younger counterparts. Include the perspectives of different age groups in project teams tackling issues around customer care, brand management and other strategic initiatives.
Be flexible in your approach to working patterns and part-time or job-sharing initiatives rather than seeing full retirement as everyone’s end goal. Working part-time, flexi-hours, or as a consultant, or part of a bank of workers, can be just as desirable for older workers wanting to remain active beyond their pension retirement age as for younger workers needing the flexibility to manage childcare responsibilities.
Consider setting up an alumni network of experienced long-serving staff. Ask HR for their support in setting up a pilot which, if successful, can be implemented across the organisation. Too often, organisations under-value the organisational knowledge and memory held by staff with long service only to realise this lost opportunity to learn from them after they’ve left. An alumni network can help you to tap into that memory and knowledge even after people have completely retired.
Promote the value of continuous learning and development for all and be open about your own learning and development activities. Sometimes older workers are reluctant to talk about any development needs in case this is seen negatively by managers and hastens their departure from the organisation.
Challenge out-dated stereotypes. Older workers are more energetic and fitter than ever before, keen to continue contributing to their organisations and society, enjoy feeling purposeful and earning money! Well, why not? Children are grown, more exotic holidays beckon! At my tennis club I am regularly beaten by older players, as fit as I am, with a greater range of shots and slice serves than I’ve yet to master!
Finally, remember there’s only one way to avoid growing old. I remember being bemused by a 32-year-old manager informing me, in all seriousness, that the candidate he’d just interviewed (aged 45) was too old for the job. We then had a long conversation about ageing and about how he would wish to be viewed when he was aged 45. He had the grace to blush by the end of it.
TAKE AWAY
Don’t overlook or undervalue the talent, experience and organisational memory of older workers. Instead, think about how you would like to be treated and managed as you age. Consider how you can bring more open-minded, flexible, management approaches for all your staff and then share the results with your peers and senior managers, thereby influencing an organisational-wide change in attitude and approach. Talent really does come in all shapes, sizes, and ages!